Sorry, long post!
It was a very early start and only just light when we pulled up in the car park in Milton Keynes. There had been a lot of discussion about weather and temperature and what to wear so with TailChaser in shorts and Katnap with bare arms I felt a little over dressed in long sleeves and leggings, but I was glad because stepping out of the car, it was very chilly. We had a photo meet up with some Fordy runners and an efficient toilet queuing experience, a half hearted attempt at the warm up and we were off, me in the last wave and the Kats in the one before mine.
Who knew Milton Keynes had so many miles of beautiful places to run? The course was pretty much flat, with well surfaced wide paths that ran alongside the canal, through pretty parks, alongside a river and past picturesque cottages. We were only next to traffic for about 200 metres. There were encouraging marshals and water stations with fortifying sweets and gels at regular intervals.
This was only the second time I had attempted a half marathon and I really was unsure about it. But I was soon able to settle into my rhythm and pace and just keep going. At the first water station I paused to drink (the water was ice cold and served in plastic cups, I couldn’t manage it and move), I could hear church bells and the view of the church was so delightful I took a quick photo. A bit later I was running in a small group and there was much hilarity when a lady said ‘I’ve got to stop to have a baby’ , it reminded me to chew on an apricot. I got talking to another lady who shared my love of Shakespeare (she was an English teacher too) and we settled in to run together and before very long we were over half way. My new friend was an experienced marathon runner but was recovering from a recent back problem. We were well matched in pace and found plenty to talk about.
We were on our 3rd Parkrun (I’d broken it down this way) when it started to get hard. We walked short sections (particularly where there was an uphill gradient) and it started to spot with rain. By the final Parkrun the rain was heavy, we were soaked, cold and very tired. Thankfully there was a lovely long downhill section and we ran it all, back to the canal where the puddles were getting bigger. We had been warned not to wear our ‘pretty new shoes’ as there was some standing water on this part of the course. My waterproof Ghosts had kept my feet lovely and dry until now, but even they could not cope when the water was deep enough to come over the top!!
I crossed the line at under 3 hours (a PB for me) but my watch said I had only done 20.9 kms so I ran a few laps of the field before I stopped it. Katnap was waiting with a jacket to escort me back to the car where Tailchaser was huddled under a blanket. I did all my post run stretches as I tried to get out of wet clothes and into dry ones in the back of a car!!
Katnap had reminded me I had a T-shirt to collect so once I stopped running around the field I’d queued to get it, with the rain and mud and my fatigue I’d forgotten what I had ordered so gratefully accepted what was given to me. Back in the car I discovered it was a rather nice hoody! Too late to go back and change it now!!
It was an incredible experience. Will I do another half? I said I wouldn’t but there is a rather nice flat one in Bordeaux next year!
One more VLM race report ... 😍🌧🐄🐄🐄
Tims Run Clonakilty Marathon County Cork Ireland. My first marathon distance!
Race report: Bath and Bristol Railway Races 10km