Half Marathons galore, Yorkshire Marathon, Ridgeway 15k
Heathsiders were out in force elsewhere showing that road running certainly isn’t ready to slide into hibernation over the winter just yet. There were half marathon PBs galore at the Royal Parks, Peterborough and Oxford, some of the more evergreen Heathsiders took on the Ridgeway Trail run through Hertfordshire, the Yorkshire Marathon saw another pair of PBs and there was some domestic rivalry at the Peninsula Triathlon. I don’t have to do much writing this week thanks to an inbox full of reports, so without further ado, over to our runners in the field (literally, in some cases):
Vitality Oxford Half Marathon
Henry Hamilton Gould took a trip home and enjoyed perfect conditions: “Crowds came out in force to cheer on the 7000+ runners. With this being my last race before the New York marathon and with a few races (and decent track sessions) under my belt in recent weeks I felt confident I could go under 90 minutes! What I didn't expect was my Garmin to freeze after 2 miles so without a watch (maybe it was a sign?) I pushed on and crossed the line in 87 minutes - a full 61 seconds ahead of my previous PB set in Bath back in 2013! Very, very happy and a race I'd recommend especially anyone looking for a PB next year!
Perkins Great Eastern Run Half Marathon, Peterborough
Ed Samuel let us know that Peterborough is a pretty flat course but rather modestly omitted to mention he finished with a PB. Jessica Vinluan also posted a best ever half marathon time (an excellent 1:44:24) and Michael Perrett was also there enjoying the good conditions.
Royal Parks Half Marathon, Hyde Park
A handful of Heathsiders turned out for this, myself included (rather absurdly doubling up after Claybury the day before) and since I missed my start time due to the insane queues at the bag drop, for anyone doing this next year, when they advise you to get there an hour early, they really mean it! Kimon Doulis was also there and had a similar early morning panic:
“Why would you get all the kit sorted the day before the race? How hard can it be to sort it out in the morning? Well… apparently too hard for me. Forgot my watch and had to give Rebecca a panicky call from the tube station. Thankfully, Rebecca came to my rescue. She delivered my watch to the start line and also dropped my bag off for me. Panic over. The race went pretty much as I had hoped. The plan was to go out sort of around 6:10 mile pace and then see how I feel with the intention to just keep the pace. That’s what happened. Finished in 1:20:54, which is a big PB. The support around the course was very good. The course was scenic, with the first 6 miles sort of along the Strand, the Mall, Wellington Arch etc. and the second half meandering through the parks. Overall, it is a very enjoyable race. Best of all, the race is not packed with club runners. I, therefore, managed to finish 33rd out of about 15,000. I ran the race with a team of people from work for the charity Scope. I was the first runner for Scope running through their charity stations and always got a big cheer. That was quite nice as well. Well, I am sure my distorted picture of my running abilities is going to get corrected at the next cross-country when I will be nowhere near that finishing position even in abolute terms (slightly depressing thought). Mario Cadete ran as well. Unless my eyes deceive me, he managed a fantastic 1:23:16, which to my knowledge is a huge PB as well.”
Plusnet Yorkshire Marathon, York
Two Heathsiders ventured North to York and returned with big PBs (and in Andy Barnes’ case, even some cold hard cash! Andy reports: “I finished bang on target in 2:44:11, and as it turns out in 10th place - which I think puts me in top 8 British finishers and in the cash prizes! Whoop!’ Drinks on Andy at the next Tuesday Social. Also enjoying a t’personal best was Becky Sweet, who came home in 3:50:33. Judging by the smiley face in her email, I reckon she’s quite pretty chuffed, quite rightly.
Ridgway 15k, Hertfordshire
Caroline White and Robert Bowler both reported back on the eight hardy Heathsiders who took on part in an ‘amazing, and hugely scenic Ridgway 15K trailrun’. Caroline goes on: “Tucked up in the Chilterns, it is a multi-terrain course, starting in the foothills of the Chilterns, near Tring, it takes the runners up a steep climb, to the Ridgeway itself, with a few miles along the ridge and then gradually down back to base, via the notorious Pitstone Hill and Incombe hole. Despite a lot of climbing uphill, and being full of tricky roots, rabbit holes and low hanging branches it is an extremely popular race reaching almost full capacity of 600 this year. First home was Robert Bowler (running this race as a Gade Valley man, having recently moved to the area, although his heart is still firmly with London Heathside I'm sure, and he can still have a mention here). Sandra made a huge jump up from her last time on this course, and was second Heathsider home, despite having cycled 60 miles the day before, and Jesper was 3rd, seemingly completely unaffected by competing in the Met League xc the day before. Everyone was happy with their times, their tee shirts and a morning spent in such beautiful surroundings”.
Robert describes the event as “gruelling, but fulfilling” and assures anyone planning on trying it out next year that the views at the top are worth the effort. He also singles out a couple of people for special mention: “Strong performances from Bob Gould, who was pipped to first place in the V70 category by only one second and Caroline White who missed out on third place in her age group, by only 2 seconds. And yes, I beat Sandra this week; why couldn’t I have had those extra seconds at Middlesex last week??”
Peninsula Triathlon, Holbrook, Suffolk
Last but not least, Rachel Newstead enjoyed the inaugural Peninsula Triathlon: “It was a sprint but with a long bike leg (500m swim, 20 mile bike, 5km run). Great course, a bit windy and hilly on the bike leg but very scenic and the run was lovely on gravel paths and grass with a short sharp hill at the end of each 2.5km lap. I was 4th lady in 1:39:47 (Swim 9:41, T1 0:47, bike 1:08:11, T2 1:08, run 19:58) Pleased with my run time but my boyfriend managed to sneak in 3 mins ahead of me as he was a lot quicker on the bike”.
Parkruns
Fairly thin on the ground this week which is probably down to the mass turnout at Claybury later in the day but Leigh James was the pick of the bunch as she was first finisher at Finsbury Park. Full results here: http://www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=2017&eventdate=2015-10-10