Barns Green Half Marathon

Well, yesterday I ran the Barns Green half marathon. I wasn't expecting a brilliant time because I haven't put the training miles in that I would have liked to but I really enjoyed the race :)

I followed my normal pattern of walking through the water stations to make sure I drank properly, after a very long day at work the day before I knew I was a bit dehydrated before I started the race so I really didn't want to make it worse.... Because I didn't plan to run and race to get a PB I slowed down to high five the children at the side of the road who had turned out to cheer us on and chatted to other runners on the way round; on the whole runners are a very friendly bunch, it doesn't matter how fast or how slow you are we have all turned up to do the same thing. When you look at a bunch of runners together you see a real assortment of sizes, shapes and ages.... Along with a real mix of clothing, I think Gok and the other fashion gurus would have their work cut out to make runners look fashionable, we all end up with our favourite or lucky items of clothing that we wear in to the ground....

I was one of the lucky ones whose chip time actually worked (note to sports systems, don't keep screwing up the timings, if you get my marathon times wrong I really won't be a happy bunny) and I finished in 2:01:34 which is only about 2 mins slower than my PB from earlier this year that was after a lot more training on a flat course !

Could I have pushed myself harder and got a PB ? Quite possibly, but I wouldn't have had as much fun and for me the enjoyment of running is a very major part, if that isn't there then one of the main reasons I run has gone...

Anyway, at the end of it I got a nice shiny medal for my collection :)