2013 Challenge Series: The St Albans Half Marathon

The St Albans Half Marathon was the last in my Challenge Series of runs before I take a bit of a break from racing (well, running in races) during the summer months. I've now run in 8 races since the end of February and have a little bit of "race fatigue": getting up in the early hours on Sunday mornings and traveling across the country was beginning to lose its appeal and sense of excitement! So, although I was looking forward to running in St Albans, I was not particularly looking forward to the "race" aspect of it, particularly as I felt my preparation in the weeks leading up to the race had not been great for running a half marathon. 

At the start of the race.. about half way back

So when I arrived in St Albans, I was not really "feeling it" and was really just looking to complete the course, rather than try for a PB. I took this feeling into the race itself, and maybe partly as a result of this, started slowly, and continued slowly well into the run. Having said that, I found the course to be really pleasant, far from the urban experience I was anticipating: it really did go through some nice woods and parkland and out into the countryside surrounding St Albans, so it was far removed from the urban courses of Sheffield or Birmingham and was really enjoyable. It also presented a bit of a challenge, as although it was not particularly hilly, it was definitely not flat, and I certainly felt it to be a bit more than "undulating". However, it was excellent weather for running, feeling cool to warm and certainly not hot, with a little breeze: so yet another day where I've been fortunate with the weather in this series. 

The race was also very well organised, with excellent information beforehand, great parking, loads of loos, plenty of water stations, friendly volunteers and brilliant marshals, who were fantastic at clapping and encouraging us as we went round the course. Although not on the same sort of scale as some of the other races I've been to, there were approximately 2,500 runners, so it was not a small field to get ready for the start, and there was also a 5k race, wheelchair race and 13 mile walk. So, all in all, there was plenty going on: a really well run day.

Although the race was well organised, I wasn't. I forgot my watch, which meant that I wasn't able to time and pace myself properly, and I therefore had no idea how slowly I was dawdling along. Although I had my phone with my "Runtastic" running app with me, earphones were strictly not permitted, so I was straining to hear my times and pace above the other noise. In addition to this, the music on my phone suddenly decided to turn itself on after about a couple of miles, which meant, to my chagrin, that I was the only runner to be blaring out music. The fact that it was Pink Floyd, Genesis and Supertramp made it worse. Although I got one comment of "great music" (I was not sure if this was sarcastic), I was incredibly embarrassed and got fed up of apologising to everyone else. So in the end I had to stop to turn the music off, probably costing me about 30 seconds, but helping me to run the rest of the race in peace, and with an easier conscience. 

Shirley and Gareth before the start

Anyway, it was clear that I wasn't going to break any records: despite starting somewhere near the back at the start, I was overtaken by more people than I overtook during the first half of the race, so I knew that I wasn't running brilliantly. The second half was slightly better, although my legs felt pretty weak from about 8 miles, right until the finish. Anyway,I sped up a bit towards the end, encouraged by the great support from the people of St Albans  and the knowledge that I might be able to squeeze a few more pennies out of my son, to finish with a chip time of 1:59.10........ quick enough to get my son to make another donation to NYAS, so not all was in vain!

Shirley and Gareth - with medals!!

Although I was not really in a great mind to run the race, I WAS hugely encouraged to be joined by a NYAS volunteer, Shirley, and her friend, Gareth. Shirley had gone through the training to become a volunteer, but had postponed starting with NYAS due to family complications: however, she was hoping to look at starting to volunteer with NYAS in a few months time. It was great to meet someone else with a connection to NYAS, and to hear her obvious enthusiasm for the work of the charity and the role of the volunteer Independent Visitor. 

"The hardest thing I've done since child-birth"

For both Shirley and Gareth, this was their first half marathon, and it was humbling to see both of them wanting to run, not just to raise money for the charity, but also as Shirley said, to raise the profile of NYAS and to tell more people about what the charity does. They both did brilliantly as well, on a difficult course for a first half marathon, with Shirley finishing in a time of 2:36 and Gareth in a time of 2:08. This really was a great effort and it meant a lot to me that they were prepared to put the effort in to train, and then go through the pain of running a half marathon, because they believe in the work NYAS does with vulnerable children and adults. As Shirley said at the end of the race, "That was the hardest thing I've done since child-birth!" I think for me it was great to see how pleased they were at finishing the race and to see their obvious sense of achievement, particularly as it was their first long run. It was also great to hear that this had not put them off running, and that they were looking forward to the next run!!! Good stuff! If you want to support their achievement and the work of NYAS, visit the BT Donate page, and please give generously!

As for me, I have a break from racing until the end of September, but will be running and training in preparation for the final races in my Challenge Series. I think I will just mainly enjoy running (hopefully) in the sun: should be great!