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Stroud Half Marathon 2016
Sunday 23rd October 2016 – 10am
Stroud, Gloucestershire
On Sunday 23rd October, John and I took part in the annual Stroud Half Marathon. I still remember clearly exactly 10 years ago, it was my first time taking part in this event. I really like this event even though it is very far from London. The route is very scenic within the beautiful Cotswold Way. It is predominately flat except a steady and gentle incline between 6 and 7 miles hence it is a quick course with great potential for PB. My half marathon PB is still in Stroud when I finished in 2007 in 1:54’51”. I am yet to break this time.
Another reason I like the Stroud Half Marathon is that it is entirely on road and the roads are wide. Secondly, it is a relatively local event attracting about 1,500 runners. Therefore, there is no congestion from the beginning to the end. I’ve done other half marathon events in London and near London such as Hampton Court, Silverstone, Grand Union Canal and Royal Parks. They are all very packed. The Silverstone half marathon is the worst. There were far too many runners (more than 11,000) running on the F1 track with so many twists and turns. I was pushed to the ground by another runner when approaching a very tight turn when all of a sudden all runners wanted to get into the inner circle. I tore my groin ligament and I limped the last 2 and half miles to the finish. I never went back again.
I felt a lot better and with more energy on the race day. I was keeping sub 9 minutes a mile pace for 7 miles. By mile 7, it was just under 1 hour 1 minute. I thought with this pace, I might be able to finish sub 2 hours. Then I started getting tired. By mile 10, it was already 1 hour 30 minutes. It meant that I was already on 10 minutes a mile pace from mile 7 to mile 10. I tried to push to 9 minutes a mile but only after a very short distance I dropped back to nearly 10 minutes a mile pace. It was a very painful feeling when my head wanted to run quicker but my legs just didn’t budge. I finished in 2:00’56”. I did my best. I had nothing left in the tank. If without the upbeat atmosphere and the encouraging words from the lovely marshals, it could have been worse. John finished in 2:34’. He said it was his PW but he is determined to do better next year !!
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