Gosport Half Marathon

[Mudita11]

Didn’t sleep very well on Saturday night due to excitement and nerves about my first official HM race. Why hadn’t I stuck to the Nike HM plan? How strong would the winds be along the coast? Have I packed enough snacks. Why did I run a bit at parkrun when I said I’d walk to preserve energy for Sunday? Anyway I was lucky enough to get a lift to Gosport with some parkrun friends so off we went.

Saw the lovely aliboo70 and had a hug and a catch up which was fab. She was there to support Mr aliboo70 along with other runners from their Isle of Wight running club who’d all come over to the mainland for the HM.

The race started and boy was it windy! Cross-wind mostly so not much assistance. Really lovely flat course, along the shore road then back on the beach path, then round for a second time. I ate my own bodyweight in snacks and chocolate covered coffee beans to keep me going. A few times the wind off the sea was blowing my legs into each other but I managed to not fall!

Ran passed lots of interesting things such as the hovercraft museum, yachts, shops and cafes, there was a drum band, good crowds too considering the weather. I’d like to run the route again in calmer weather (only once round, not the whole HM distance)

I was hoping to finish in under 2hrs 45 minutes and managed to get a chip time of 2:30:12 which I was chuffed with. I love the medal which celebrates Gosport’s aviation heritage. No t-shirt but a great goody bag. Apparently the local running club who organised this race had laid on tea and cake too but our driver wanted to get back so I missed that. Oh well, might have to do it again next year just for the cake.

Legs are a bit tired today and I have only one small blister so all in all a successful race and I loved it despite the gale force winds (that might be an exaggeration but they were pretty strong lol)

I’ll post a pic of the medal in the comments as HU is telling me I’ve exceeded the size limits here.

[Mudita11 Graduate10]

Gosport HM medal

Medal

[Yesletsgo Administrator Graduate10 in reply to Mudita11]

Congratulations, that is such a fabulous achievement and a great time too

[Mudita11 Graduate10 in reply to Yesletsgo]

Thank you 😊

[CBDB Graduate10 in reply to Mudita11]

Gorgeous medal and so well deserved! Amazing!

[Mudita11 Graduate10 in reply to CBDB]

Thank you 😊

[RiceAndPeas]

Brilliant Mudita11 , what a great report of fantastic achievement. The conditions sound very challenging to say the least. This is very inspiring and on topic for me as I started day 1 of a Garmin HM plan today with the notion of doing my first at the beginning of March.

[Mudita11 Graduate10 in reply to RiceAndPeas]

Thank you 😊 and good luck with your training. I do wish I’d stuck to the HM plan that I started 😂

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate]

What joy, what a time, what a medal 😁 I think you are amazing and so glad you didn't fall over in the wind xx

[Mudita11 Graduate10 in reply to SueAppleRun]

Thank you Sue. HM for you next year 👌🏻😊 xx

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate in reply to Mudita11]

I'm hopeful Ng so xx

[Dexy5 Graduate10]

You are not exaggerating  Mudita11 , it was gale force winds, and I was running just 5k in it . That is a brilliant time with those conditions so very well done to you. So lovely to meet up with  aliboo70 too. Enjoy that bling, but shame about the (lack of) cake!

[Mudita11 Graduate10 in reply to Dexy5]

Thank you Dexy5 . There were kite surfers on the water having a great time. The seagulls didn’t seem too happy though as they were having trouble flying 🤣

[Shake-and-run Graduate10]

great time! Well done you for fighting the wind

[Mudita11 Graduate10 in reply to Shake-and-run]

I can no other answer make, but, thanks, and thanks. 😊

[Shake-and-run Graduate10 in reply to Mudita11]

Love a bit of Twelfth Night!!

[Mudita11 Graduate10 in reply to Shake-and-run]

Saw it in an outdoor theatre in August. Loved it. I’m a big Shakespeare fan having done O Level English Lit a very long time ago! X

[Kevin41 Graduate10]

A great medal and well deserved. Congratulations on completely smashing your time goal!!!

[Mudita11 Graduate10 in reply to Kevin41]

Thank you 😊

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate10]

Huge well done to you! Super medal too!

[Mudita11 Graduate10 in reply to Oldfloss]

Thank you 😊

[aliboo70 Graduate10]

Great to see you again! And super well done on that 1st HM, Gosport is a bit renowned for that kind of weather it was very similar the 1st time I did that one! You and Kenny had very similar times! Great to see you through the finish line too! We missed the cake too as were heading for the ferry, but our club always makes cake for on the return journey so we were lucky there!

See you again, Ryde 10 race in February??!!! 🤔xxx

[Mudita11 Graduate10 in reply to aliboo70]

Thanks 😊, I did love it despite the weather. Lovely interesting route isn’t it! And what a great club you belong to. Hmm you’ve got me thinking about the Ryde 10 now 🤔🤣 xx

[aliboo70 Graduate10 in reply to Mudita11]

It's only £18!! Lovely medal too! Xxx

rydeharriers.co.uk/races/th...

[linda9389 Graduate10]

What a fantastic run you had! beating your target time by such a margin is amazing - race magic is awesome! Love the medal, but missing the cake? Oh my, you have my sincerest commiserations 🙃

[Mudita11 Graduate10 in reply to linda9389]

Thank you 😊 and thanks also for the cake sympathy. It’s a serious matter 😳🤣

[Beachcomber66 Graduate10]

What a great time Mudita11!! A super speedy first HM; faster than I have ever managed by some distance. You have set the standard now. A period of basking in glory and cake eating is now compulsory.

So pleased for you 👏👏👏👏🏆🥇

[Mudita11 Graduate10 in reply to Beachcomber66]

Thank you BC. I’ve eaten a LOT of everything since the race 🤣😊 x

[Irishprincess Graduate10]

Well done! Great report and fab looking bling 😍 And a super duper time too!

Shame you missed the cake, maybe get a different driver next time 😂

[Mudita11 Graduate10 in reply to Irishprincess]

Now that’s a good idea 🤣. Thanks IP 😊

[Jools2020 Graduate10]

Fantastic! Well done indeed 👏👍

[Oldgirlruns Graduate10]

I’m a bit behind the curve here Mudita11 and have only just seen this - huge well done to you on your Gosport HM ! A lovely bit of bling for your collection as well!