Madge’s Swansea half marathon report 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏅🏃‍♀️

[Madge50]

Hi there,

Well, Swansea....almost four seasons in one day and mixed terrain.....it’s not as flat as it’s made out to be......I think I mentioned it was my birthday weekend, with family celebrations too, so had a ‘birthday girl’ pin badge on.

Quite muggy and overcast as we walked towards the start area, not 100% sure where to go but the increasing volume of people heading in the same direction seemed a good bet 😂........then a few spots of rain......after a lovely sunny warm day on Saturday we were a bit hopeful it would stay a bit cooler....

Into the start pens, glanced up at the sky and the sun was trying to break through.....noooooo! Warm enough already, without full on sun.....the cloud closed over, then a lovely rendition of the welsh national anthem with the welsh people around me joining in......that was a lovely moment. Several people wished me happy birthday which was lovely. Then we were off....

Around the town, down the well known Wind Street - if you know Swansea, you’ll know Wind Street.....(pronounced wined).....then out onto the road to The Mumbles....it was very warm by now and although the route is near the coast, the bank and trees seemed to stop the sea breeze getting to us which made it seem even more humid.

Through some of the lovely villagey streets of The Mumbles, then the turn at 7 miles onto the coast path, hurrah, wonderful views of the bay and a sea breeze! And it was on my back......result! Not for long.....by 9 miles there was a strong headwind.....by 10 miles....it was getting tougher.... there were a couple of live bands along here which were great, I kept looking at the sea, by 11miles.....the heat, the wind, general tiredness was kicking in, I ended up doing run/walk and with that momentum got enough mojo back to slowly coast in to the finish..........done!

The family were there to watch us get home, which was lovely - and all the more special as it turned out......

Not as quick as I would have liked, but you had to respect the conditions, the humidity caught a lot of people out, with quite a few needing assistance from the wonderful first aiders and event makers. The time is immaterial really.

Would definitely recommend it as an event, great organisation, great atmosphere, great support all the way round, good music acts, including drummers, a mixture of city, village and coast run.

We had a great weekend, after a Sunday afternoon snooze we were out for a family dinner.

I was in two minds whether to post my report, seeing as, very sadly, as you would have seen in the news, one young man collapsed and died during the event, however, shocking though it was, and my OH was running in and had full view as the tragedy was taking place.........that does remain a very rare occurrence. Whatever the cause, as with others, our thoughts are with the young mans family and friends.

Run because you can, take joy in the every day, take it easy, and take good care of yourselves.

Mx🤗

[skysue16 Half Marathon]

Many congratulations, very well done Madge Sounded quite a tough run, especially with the humidity so even more well done for your achievement. Rather nice medal too!

[Madge50 Marathon in reply to skysue16]

I was saying ‘never again’ as I came through 12 and half miles.......😂...but......BUT......here we are two days later......🤔.....honestly...what are we like.....I do think doing two in two months has been harder than I thought.....and yes.....the bling is rather nice, 3 welsh dragons on it....

Mx

[Sandraj39 Half Marathon]

Well done on your run, Madge🙂 It sounds like a great course, though a fairly challenging one too, especially in the heat -quite understandable that folk reduced their pace because of the warmth and humidity.

Hope you are recovering well and we're able to enjoy the rest of your birthday weekend.🙂👍🏅🎂

I had heard the sad news about the runner who died - such a tragic thing for all involved and thoughts, as you say, go out to the whole family.

x

[Madge50 Marathon in reply to Sandraj39]

Thanks Sandra, Swansea is a lovely place, I’d definitely recommend it, and yes, we had a great weekend, other family stuff too.

Mx

[Sandraj39 Half Marathon in reply to Madge50]

It is - we looked at the Uni there last year with my eldest son, but he has opted for Nottingham or Bristol (fingers crossed for the grades now!) Husband has family in Llanelli, a bit further west. The Mumbles is lovely. 🙂x

[Madge50 Marathon in reply to Sandraj39]

Yes, daughter is at uni there, that was the first trip to The Mumbles for us.....more to see next time.....😄.......and we won’t be running past it.....😂

Mx

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon]

Ooh that sounds like a really nice mix of a route. The conditions sound very tough though - there's not enough oxygen available when it's hot and humid. Well done for pushing on through that last couple of miles. So what next then?

[Madge50 Marathon in reply to linda9389]

Thanks Linda, well........we’ve got a couple of local 10k’s then we can’t decide whether to do just one more half......or 10 miler......one event, choice of distance......trail......it’s tough.....🤦‍♀️.......what to do.....what to do.....🤪

Mx

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to Madge50]

Lots of fun to be had looking for races 😍

[Dave58 Half Marathon]

Excellent report Madge. I agree with what you say about the humidity and the wind. It certainly caught me out and affected my performance. Condolences to the young man's family and friends who lost his life. So sad and upsetting. I was the same as you vowing never again to myself as I crossed the finish line but now 2 days later having recovered somewhat I'm considering my future options. Good luck to you in your future running

[Madge50 Marathon in reply to Dave58]

Thanks Dave, Good luck to you too 👏💪

Mx

[over61andstilltrying Half Marathon]

Congratulations Madge! Well done indeed and what a lovely photo! So very sad to learn of the young man dying. That is awful. But thank you for writing your report.

[Lavender1962 Half Marathon]

Congratulations Madge! Nice photos. Great to see the flat Madge turned into the real Madge in motion. Well done! It’s very sad about the young man!

[Madge50 Marathon in reply to Lavender1962]

Thanks, yes flat Madge worked this time.....but I still faffed about, hat, bottle belt....etc., etc., 😂

Mx

[Decker Ultramarathon]

Congratulations Madge! Great report and a lovely medal. Sounds like a beautiful place to run. Well done for getting through in that humidity. It’s a sad thing about that young runner, but thankfully very rare like you say.

[Madge50 Marathon in reply to Decker]

Thanks Decker, I always like a run on the coast, wouldn’t have minded a bit of sea spray on this one......but the tide goes out a long way at this bay!

Mx

[Decker Ultramarathon in reply to Madge50]

Spray would have been the icing on the cake - best of luck in whatever you have planned next

[Nwrkpak]

Congratulations. Lovely report . You make it sound very appealing, apart from the weather, which unfortunately none can control. Hot run days are the worst. A great group of girls from my run group did it but struggled.

Well done on your achievement .

[Madge50 Marathon in reply to Nwrkpak]

Oh well done them, 👏, it always surprises me when the ‘elites’ , I.e gazelles, no ballast, at the front.....say conditions were tough, (which they did) I take that as a job well done for a part time wobbler like me.....🏃‍♀️

Mx

[Whatsapp Half Marathon]

Go Madge... its your birthday..!

Great report and well done in the conditions. I am strictly a 5-1ok runner at this time of year as I am not great running in the heat, so any HMs at this time of year don't appeal, but I admire those of you who do.

[Madge50 Marathon in reply to Whatsapp]

Thank you very much.

Mx

[misswobble Marathon]

Great stuff Madge . Well done 👍😃🏃‍♀️💪🏅. Wind and humidity. Eek 😬

Very dehydrating I would guess You powered through though 💪 Happy birthday too by the way

It was a terrible tragedy about the young man 🙁. You just wonder why don’t you 😞

[Madge50 Marathon in reply to misswobble]

Thanks wobble, yes, they couldn’t have done any more, so you do wonder that there was some underlying cause that wasn’t known about, being so young and apparently fit and healthy.

Mx

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon]

Well done Madge. It sounds brutal - humidity and wind all in one race. Arghh. 😩

You did it though didn’t you? How amazing is that? I know what you mean by thinking never again, but how funny that we forget oh so quickly and come back for more! 😅

What terrible news about the young man. I hadn’t heard. His poor family. ☹️

[Madge50 Marathon in reply to cheekychipmunks]

Thanks cheeky, yes, it does put it into perspective, overall we had a blast and got back safely, A LOT of people had assistance - many of them young, I might add, probably going out too fast for the conditions....

Mx

[Pippa49 Half Marathon]

Well done Madge50. I found it tough too. I did it as my first ever half marathon last year and it was extremely hot. I did it in 4:26:33 and was a bit concerned about whether the finish line would still be there this year but I was with the tail walkers who kept them informed of our position after every mile and I finished in 4:19:45 and got a guard of honour by the army cadets clapping me as I went to collect my medal and t-shirt. X

[Madge50 Marathon in reply to Pippa49]

Oh well done Pippa, 👏, it certainly was pretty tough, I bet that made the finish special for you, how lovely, I did find the support and ‘event makers’ just fantastic, made for a great event. The t-shirt is pretty bright isn’t it , won’t get missed in that! 😎🏅

Mx

[Pippa49 Half Marathon in reply to Madge50]

Thank you. Yes it did. No certainly not lol. I was with the tail walkers and they were lovely even bought me a Callipo. So sad that a young man died. X

[roseabi Ultramarathon]

I'm glad you decided to post! It sounds like a lovely event xxx

Well done, and what a fabulous photo 😍

[Madge50 Marathon in reply to roseabi]

Thanks abi, the event really is good, highly recommended, the sad and tragic event shouldn’t take anything away from that. Daughter took the photo, I’m always amazed I can pull my face into anything resembling a smile.....I usually have a frown, squinting etc.,., ..that was close to the finish too.....😂

Mx

Ps. It’s this great community that gives the confidence to tell of our experiences

[roseabi Ultramarathon in reply to Madge50]

💗💗💗

[aliboo70 Half Marathon]

Well done Madge that sounded tough in the weather but good overall.

I haven't seen the news so didn't know about the poor guy that died, that's sad news. Xxx

[Madge50 Marathon in reply to aliboo70]

Thanks aliboo, it was a great event, I would recommend it.

Mx