The Bristol Half Marathon (13.1 miles/21km)

Sunday September 9th, 2007 was a day I was waiting in anticipation for and yet also dreading more than you can imagine. I have been training for the half marathon for the last few months and although I felt ready for it wasn't too sure what to expect. I started out with a goal of 2 hours as I really didn't know what a good time was but someone suggested 2 hours was pretty good. Perhaps the part that made me the most nervous though was the fact that I had told so much of my family and friends that the plan was to run in it in that time and I really didn't want to have to tell everyone if I didn't achieve my goal.

I was up bright and early on the Sunday morning to get breakfast in 2.5 hours before the race began. With everything I needed ready (ipod shuffle and race number) I set off to the centre of Bristol to meet up with a few friends from work who also ran the race.

About 8500 people managed to make their way to the start line out of the 15000 that entered so I made my way to the middle where the 2 hour mark was set. There are 2 times that you are given in the race, one being the clock time which is the official time you ran since the clock time and the second being the chip time as everyone has a chip attached to their shoe to record your times at certain markers and is the more accurate time. Since there were so many people running it took me over 4min to actually reach the start line so my chip time was the time I was going to go by. I set my stopwatch, started my ipod, and was on my way.

The start of the race was quite hard with so many people in the way and I quickly realized that I should have started a little further up as I was dodging and passing people within the first few min. That said there were also people doing the same thing and passing me. After an hour I was about 7.5miles through the race and with energy still in me decided I could push it a little faster. By the time the small hill approached at the 11mile marker I was dead tired but determined to run constantly through the whole race. The 12th mile marker was a blessing and I decided to sprint the last mile and give it everything I had. Wow was that ever a mistake. Half a mile later I was feeling incredibly sick and dizzy so I slowed down to the previous pace until I could see the finish line where I sprinted the last 150m or so. I crossed the line with a clock time of 1 hour and 46 min and a chip time of 1 hour and 42min putting me 18min ahead of goal. I couldn't have been happier and yet more tired if I tried.

Overall I placed 1398 out of 8500 and averaged a speed of about 8miles/hour (12.8km/h) over the whole 102 min of constant running. As it was my first organized race I now know what to expect and plan on doing a few more and trying to beat that record in the future. It also gives me a great incentive to stay in shape and push myself further. It was a great experience and one that I am very glad I did.

Not long now until the Cardiff Half Marathon on October 14th. Not sure if this is a wise choice or not running in 2 almost within a month of each other. Only one way to find out!!!!