Gloucester Half Marathon 2018
Even though I am now training for my first marathon I still have a couple of races booked in before hand, the first of those was Gloucester half marathon last Sunday (14th January).
I only signed up for this race 2 weeks before the event so didn’t really prepare much but I knew I could run it comfortably. I also invited my mates Steve and Sonny who I knew wanted to start running races but I didn’t expect them to actually say yes, which they did!
Pre race flatlay
So it was a pretty early start as I picked them up at 08:00 to drive up to Gloucester. I’m glad we got there early as the race HQ was small and it soon filled up with people gathering their race packs and t-shirts.
Before the race I bumped into a few familiar faces from Instagram which was nice and I also met a few others after the race. I then did my warm up and we headed for the start line.
Despite having no time goal for this race, the sub 1hr30 dream was always in the back of my mind, so I lined up at the at the front like I usually like to do. I was determined to get a good start but not let myself get dragged in to the fast starters and set off too fast. The first couple of miles ticked by and I felt pretty good, much better than I had at Burnham half marathon in October last year.
My mind instinctively turned to that elusive PB, my first couple of miles were sub 7min which is where I needed to be but then the next couple were a bit slower so I resigned myself to the fact that yet again it might not happen but to just get round keeping a steady pace and if I had enough left in the tank towards the end then maybe I could drop the hammer and see what happened.
Oddly, this wasn’t just a half marathon event, it was also a full marathon and a 50k race. All three events had different start times and slightly different routes but a few miles in we were mixed in with the marathon runners which suddenly made the country lanes full of runners!
Cracking medal with all 3 distances on it
It also got a little confusing at a couple of points as parts of the routes were loops and out & back sections so the organisers gave out coloured wrist bands so they and we knew where we were in terms of distance. There was a bit of panic at a couple of junctions where the different races had to split so there was lots of shouting from marshals to ensure we all went the right way. Overall though, it was pretty well organised.
The miles soon ticked away as the marathon crowd thinned out. I took a gel about 8 miles in as I could I feel I was working hard and although I felt ok I didn’t want to risk blowing up. At mile 10 it was decision time. I had improved my pace from the early 7min miles so I knew there was a reasonable chance I could get under 1hr30 but I knew it was going to be close and if I was going to do it, I’d have to go flat out for the last 5k.
I think we all know there was only one thing I was going to do, I was going to go for it! So I took another gel and upped the pace. I actually remember contemplating pushing the pace at the same point in the race at Bristol half marathon last year but I decided then that it was far too early, so I knew to do it here was a bit of a gamble.
Sonny, Steve & I at the finish
I picked a couple of the half marathoners off as I pushed the pace to around 6.30min miles. I was getting closer to the finish and I was starting to feel the burn but I was determined to maintain my pace for as long as possible. The last half a mile was horrible, I was hanging on for dear life but I was convinced that if I didn’t slow down then I might just sneak under 1hr30. At the end of the race you had to go the wrong way round a roundabout to go left and as I came off it my watch ticked over to 13 miles but I couldn’t see the finish line! I have no idea why but it was round a bloody corner so it was difficult to have a proper sprint finish but I gave it everything I had left.
As I crossed the line I saw on my watch those magical numbers 1h29.22!!!!!! I’d finally done it! After coming close at Bristol and failing to get anywhere near it at Burnham I was delighted to have finally done it! I was also really pleased that I hadn’t just sneaked under it but had taken nearly a minute off my PB.
Delighted at the finish
That was it, the monkey was finally off my back and it was time to turn my attention to Steve & Sonny who soon came over the line in a cracking time of 1hr48 which is amazing considering they had next to no training before the race!
So what’s next for me and the half marathon distance now? Well, obviously sub 1hr29 is next up but long term I’d like to get as low as 1hr25 and maybe even 1hr22 one day. It seems almost ridiculous to talk about those kind of numbers but I’ve taken over 12 minutes off my PB in less than 18 months so if I can continue to progress then who knows what’s possible in the future.
