Hackney Half Marathon

The Hackney Half Marathon held in East London on 10th May marked my tenth ever half marathon.

Spanning some 9 years my half marathon times have improved markedly from struggling to just be able to dip under the 2 hour mark in the early days to my impressive PB of 1.39 which I achieved last year that I am incredibly proud of.

I am pleased to say that Hackney marked my second fastest ever time where I finished in 1.43. 

A rather weary post race selfie!

After two disappointing half marathon races this year at Tunbridge Wells and the Hampton Court where I hadn't been able to train enough to put in a run I could be proud of I wanted a race where I could train hard for and run equally hard to at least get close to my PB.

So I opted for the Hackney Half marathon which is in its second year forming part of the Vitality series taking place on Hackney Marshes. Incidentally a venue I have become familiar with due to recent visits to the Hackney Marshes parkrun where I recently ran a 21 minute minute parkrun smashing my PB. I picked Hackney out of the plethora of spring half marathons as it was local (ish as in its in London as opposed to the other end of country), was around six weeks after Hampton Court which felt like an optimal time to build on this race and push for a PB and it is also advertised as a super fast strong PB potential course.

One of the landmarks on the route the RUN sculpture in the Olympic Park

And after parting with the best part of fifty quid to enter the race had a lot to deliver!

And to be fair it pretty much did!

Arriving at the race village was like walking into a festival field full of carnival atmosphere, people chilled, relaxed and ready to have a good time. Which I know isn't everyone's emotions when they think about running 13.1 miles around East London.

The awesome race village which had a real festival atmosphere

I had arranged to meet up and run with my Asics bootcamp buddy Chris Brammer as we figured we were equally matched for pace and both fancied a crack at breaking the 100 minute mark and running a sub 1.40 time, Chris to improve on his 1.46 PB now that he has two sub4 marathons under his belt and me to prove my 1.39 last year was no fluke.

We had a clear strategy in place, 2-3 kms at around 5min/km pace before settling into the required 4.45min/km rhythm before hopefully finishing with a few quicker kms closer to the 4.30min/km mark.

Negative splitting, fueling strategies, warming up gradually over the first few kms, using the 1.45 pacer as a market we had discussed it all like a well thought out military campaign.

The Obit and Olympic Stadium as I walked my way to the start area

The time soon came to take our place in the starting pens and this is where my only criticism of the race organisation comes in. The starting straight was far to narrow for the volume of runners and could have done with being twice as wide and as for having a designated walkway cutting through the starting pens still open minutes before the start? Sheer lunacy! Needless to say chaps congestion and a fair bit of runners being squeezed into the starting pens like stressed commuters on an overcrowded rush hour Northern Line ensued.

Organisers please take note!

Anyways we started the race around half a dozen tightly packed runners behind the 1.45 pacers. The first few hundred metres were similar to most races, finding your feet, warming your legs up and meandering in and out of runners trying to settle into your own rhythm. 

We covered the first km in around 4.45 minutes and I was conscious to slow it down a bit and relax into 5 minute km pace as to not peek to soon and burn up too much energy. 

However allowing the pace down didn't feel right I kept surging past slower runners and pushing the pace rather than easing into the race.

Around the 2k mark I started to feel too hemmed in as there was a big bunch of runners sticking close to the 1.45 pacer, feeling the need to see a few inches of clear road in front of me I pushed on. 

I went through 5km in sub 24 and tried to maintain pace through the halfway point where I passed 10 in sub 49. I wasn't suffering at all from the slightly faster start and realise now that my faster race start was due to a caffeine energy gel I took pre race, although I have used one before I haven't had one in a while so wasn't used to the sudden injection of energy. 

I had by now left Chris and the 1.45 pacer behind, I knew Chris wouldn't be too far behind and as a more experienced and disciplined runner I knew he would be running a steady and consistent pace towards his goal. I dare not look behind me as I didn't want to be panicked by my proximity to the 1.35 pacer. 

So what about the route? Well I will be honest and say it left me quite uninspired as it failed to live up to the pre race hype. You didn't see as much of the Olympic park as I thought although turning a corner to be greeted by the incredible view of Olympic stadium and Orbit at around mile 10 was pretty awesome. 

The course also wasn't as 'flat as a pancake' as runners were promised, true there are no hills but there are several inclines and undulations that are enough to blow the wind from your sails.

What about the support? The support in places was amazing, really amazing, some of the best I have ever encountered. One section in particular will live long in the memory, it was at almost 10 miles I think just around the corner from Hackney Wick Overground station as you go up a bit of an incline over the canal. The road narrowed and was completely surrounded by supporters banging saucepans, cheering and waving banners, it was like a scene from the Tour de France as words of encouragement had also been drawn on the ground, a truly inspiring scene that spurred me on and made my hairs stand on end. Thank you people of Hackney for your support you deserve medals for your efforts!

And the conditions? Last year the run was held in June and it turned out to be too hot so this year it was moved forward to May and guess what? It was still pretty hot! On Sunday evening as I relaxed after eating a mountain of food it was my sunburnt face that was causing me problems not my aching legs so that gives you an idea of how warm it was and how strong the sun was. 

Part of the mountain of food I ate post race

So my tenth half marathon, my second fastest time and a run that is definitely in my top few half marathon races. I think the half marathon remains my favourite race distance and Hackney is a great example of a brilliant half marathon which I would highly recommend for beginners and PB chasers. 

Check out the goodie bag below, quite a stash and an awesome medal so at least you can see what the fifty quid entry fee went on. 

Did you run the #HackneyHalf this year? Or were you were of the supporters helping to create a remarkable atmosphere? I would love to hear your experiences from the race, I hope you had a successful run and enjoyed the day just as much as I did. 

Tunbridge Half Marathon 2015

My first run of 2015 The Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon was taking on a grueling and hilly 13 miles amongst the scenic villages in and around Tunbridge Wells.

The race was the scene of my triumphant PB run last year but this year I knew such a performance would not be on the cards. 

The early part of 2015 has seen me move into a new flat and take on a new job which all in all has disrupted my training somewhat. Added to this my troublesome calves which have been playing up since Christmas.

The race was always going to be a struggle and just about getting round rather than aiming for a certain time, but in the days leading up to the run I was doubtful of running at all. Being busy with the flat move logistics had meant having to squeeze in runs to my schedule where possible and with time being constrained I was in the bad of not warming up or cooling down properly leading to my calves getting worse. 

On the Friday before the run I was so concerned at not being able to run the race on the Sunday I started making inquiries with local sports massage establishments to see what they could offer at short notice. I managed to squeeze in an early morning appointment at a local physiotherapist where I received a gentle sports massage to try and ease the tightness but without causing too much damage to prevent me from running the next day. 

Come the day of the race I just about felt well enough to run but didn't feel particularly fighting fit to take on 13 miles. 

I was running with my main running buddy my brother in law Tom who was raring to go for this years race after having to sit out last years event through injury, as this is his local event he was more keen to run and do well. 

We headed off at a gentle pace meandering our way through the other runners. It was nice to enjoy a bit of a company and a bit of a chat. Around a mile and a half a bottle neck of runners going into a tight corner meant that we got split up, it was also a slight downhill bend which Tom decided to take full advantage of and put his foot down and accelerated away. Not being in the greatest shape I knew I couldn't speed up to catch him so I watched him run around 50m in front of me, however every time I looked up he had sprinted further into the distance.

After 3 or 4 miles my calves felt better and I felt like the race had started so I started to concentrate on my strategy. 

I was conscious of not pushing to hard and making sure I just finished in one piece and I was of course spurred on by trying to catch Tom up.

This year I found the hills much harder than last year but the genius of the race organisers of positioning bands and musical entertainment at the summits of hills was incredibly motivating. 

As I moved into the second half of the course my thoughts turned to trying to catch my running partner Tom up, I wondered where he was on the course and how far ahead he was. I was chugging along with the aim of finishing in around 1.50 which I knew Tom was more than capable of matching and probably even going a bit quicker. 

As the miles past I expected to see him and overtake him but with every mile that I didn't pass him I was more concerned firstly that he was going to beat me by a sizable time and secondly concern that he might have pushed to hard and dropped it.

As the race entered the final stages with still no sign of Tom I had feelings of both feeling pleased that Tom looked on for a great finishing time matched with the anguish of fearing he had pulled out. As my own chances of a good time faded the thought of knowing Tom was achieving a good time kept me motivated and I hoped I wouldn't see him again until the finish.

When I got to the ten mile mark I found it tough as usually I would summon up what energy I had left and push for the finish line but not on this occasion. This time I went to look to see what I had left in the tank and the answer was 'very little!'.

I still didn't see Tom in the final miles and felt excited to find out how well he had done but was still concerned he might have pulled out.

After I staggered across the finish line feeling as bad as I probably have after any race I worked my way through the finishers area where I spotted a disorientated but jubilant looking Tom who had finished a few minutes before me and smashed his PB to run a blinding 1.48! 

I was kind of disappointed with my own time of 1.51 but at the same time I knew I couldn't have worked any harder during the race I just simply wasn't fit enough on this occasion. 

I couldn't be too downhearted as the memories of my own triumphant PB in the race last year came flooding back. 

It was great to revel in the enjoyment of someone elses achievements and a pleasant afternoon was spent recovering, refueling and suggesting how much faster than our PBs either of us could go. I suspect these predictions became more fanciful and less realistic as the beers flowed! A cracking Sunday lunch at the Duke of York pub was heartily enjoyed to wrap up a great race weekend.

What do you do with your medals?

A question you see banded around running communities and forums fairly regularly on social media.

Until recently it was a question I had struggled with, but then I found out that specialised medal holders are an actual thing! 

So last week I ordered one for myself and I am now the proud owner of a medal holder to proudly display all my hard earned medals!

I ordered my medal holder from runningmemories.com and they offer a full range of customisible options. I didn't have anything obvious that I wanted to have as the wording so I opted for the title of my running blog.

I am really pleased with how it looks and I am very happy I now have somewhere to proudly display my medals to fully celebrate my running achievements.

Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon

Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon

I ran in the 2014 Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon on Sunday 2nd March. 

http://www.twharriers.org.uk/racing/tw_half_marathon

It was my 6th Half Marathon and I managed to smash my PB by 7 minutes! 

To anyone looking for a great event to run this time next year I would definitely recommend taking part in this event. Great route, great scenery, great marshaling, great medal, great music from live bands and a pretty decent chance at a PB as there are plenty of downhills and also pacers are provided. 

I can also recommend Tunbridge Wells for some excellent pubs, cafes and restaurants which provided a very pleasant Saturday pre race which required a lot of will power to resist a drink or two!

I did very much enjoy my post race refuel though at Java cafe who have a great range of Egg Benedict specials. I opted for the Cumberland option which went down a treat!