Well, I did it! I finally got to the start line and crossed the finish line and I can tick this one off my list at long last. Thank you for all your pom-poms, I thought of them often along the way 🥰
The first time I entered this race was 2015. My dad was in the final stages of vascular dementia and I wanted to raise funds for the Alzheimer’s charity as well as completing my first HM. The training went well, I got to 18K and then my dad died and I got injured and couldn’t do the race. “There’s always next year” I said. But alas, that didn’t happen. I can’t remember why not but since then I’ve tried on numerous occasions to get to this start line. I’ve done other HMs but this one has turned out to be elusive and a bit of a demon but, with every missed chance to take part, the one that I really needed to do and overcome.
Race day arrived. My ever-supportive husband took the stress out of the travel arrangements (my nearest park & ride wasn’t operating this year) by driving us into Bath and parking up at a friend’s house, which is about 15 minutes’ walk from the start line. Fab! We got there early and I could use his loo (twice) and get changed and do all the usual last minute preparations that need to be done. Then it was time to set off, the walk there a good little warm-up.
The Runners Village was horrendously muddy and I kept getting stuck. I’ve never been to Glastonbury but imagine it would be exactly like this, sticky mud galore. A final visit to the loo. I didn’t need to go but thought perhaps I should 🙄and then got in line with my wave ready for the start. I was in the final wave of three and apparently it was the biggest of the waves so it took me about half an hour to get to the start line after the gun went off!
Crossing the start line was absolutely amazing! The crowd noise was deafening and so uplifting 🥳 There are more spectators at this event than runners and Bath is famous for its crowd support, but to experience it is something else. Needless to say I got carried away and ran the first K too fast but then realised I needed to take control. This wasn’t going to be about chasing PBs, this was about enjoying myself, getting round, crossing the finish line and getting my hands on the bling.
The weather conditions were perfect, my choice of shorts and tee was spot-on and I was just so thrilled to actually be there that I forgot about everything else. I think I ran the first few miles with a massive smile on my face and I must have knocked hands with every single little person there 🙂
But then reality popped up. At around 3K we had to keep to one side to allow an ambulance through. In fact, sadly, I’ve never seen so many ambulances in a race before. I lost count after the fifth one and my husband saw a couple of people being carried away on stretchers near the finish line. At around 12K I saw a young girl lying flat out on the road with a group of medics around her. I really hope all the runners are ok.
In nicer news, I was lucky enough to see the winner of the men’s race, Omar Ahmed, speeding by in the next lane. He was so fast! These elites just whizz by! He finished in a mind-boggling 1:04:42 😳
But back to real life for mere mortals like me. After the first couple of Ks, we hit a long stretch of nothingness, on the outskirts of the city. There was nothing of interest to see and little, or no, crowd support and I find these areas harder. But then at around 7K we started to hear the roar of the crowds again as we approached the beginning of the end of the first lap. Running down Great Pulteney Street was thrilling but at that stage I began to feel a bit of a niggle on my left knee. It’s my right knee that normally gives me grief so I had no idea how or why the left one was grumbling. It was a new pain that gradually got worse. I started to stop to stretch and it felt better for a while and then started up again. (Looking at the race photos I know exactly what the issue was but that’s for another day 🙂)
At around 12K I was thinking that this was not going to get better and I should stop. That was the right and sensible thing to do and I could hear my physio screaming in my ear to STOP RIGHT NOW! If this was any other race then I probably would have but, given my history with this particular race and the links to dad, I knew I had to cross that finish line this time. I needed to do it.
So, the remaining 9K was a mixture of run/walk/shuffle/stretch. It wasn’t how I imagined running this race but hey ho, such is life.
To be honest, I can’t say I enjoyed the second half. I was in quite a bit of discomfort and I just wanted to get it done. But I wasn’t alone. There were loads of other runners doing the same thing and, of course, I had all your voices and waving pompoms to think about which kept me going 🥰
The course was longer than my Garmin so when I reached 21.1K on the watch I really wanted to stop but wanted the bling more so I kept shuffling forwards 🙂
Approaching the finish line was electric. I was amongst the last of the runners but there were still loads of supporters screaming for every single runner and urging them forwards towards the line. At one stage I had to have a little walk but then all these people started shouting out my name and telling me to keep going, that I was nearly there!
Because of the memory of dad, it was always going to be emotional and, with thoughts of him and the support from the crowd and the fact that at last, at last, I had done Bath, I ran towards the finish line and eventually crossed it with huge relief and a few tears. It was done 🤗
I saw my husband waving frantically and went over to give him a kiss and hug. He’s my biggest supporter and has been my cook, personal trainer, driver, coach and psychologist 😂 He use to be a runner so he understands 🥰
Then I had to walk for another five minutes to pick up the bling! My first for over two years and so welcomed. Another 15 minutes to get back to our friend’s house, which is on a bit of a hill. That was interesting 😫😂
Not surprisingly it’s my slowest ever HM and my hardest and most painful! But also, my most hard won and therefore cherished.
It’s my eleventh runniversary on Wednesday and this has been my gift to me.
Bournemouth HM race report (eventually 😂)