Hampton Court Palace Half Marathon Report

[RiceAndPeas]

I finally made it to the start line of a half marathon after being a DNS four times last year. I made it to the finish line too. As well as Henry VIII there were 12 thousand runners in attendance but I mostly had my non sop internal gibbering to keep me company. It went a little like this:

Miles 1-3 This is fun, I'm like a happy puppy bounding along without a care in the world. Perfect temperature for running, nice and cool. Glad I wore my vest. Thank goodness it's not raining. Brilliant!

Miles 4-7 Caffeine gel, the elixir of life! Look at me overtaking everybody! It's warmed up a little. Go faster legs, we've got this. Still no rain, this is the best I've ever felt. I can definitely hold this pace to the end. Yippee!

Miles 8-11 Wow, it's so hot! I thought I was running along the Thames not through the Sahara. Wish it would rain so I could cool down. Legs, why have you rebelled and stopped me at the side of the road?

Miles 12-13.1 Oh, this awful. I have never felt worse than this in my whole life. Look at everybody overtaking me. No more stopping. Oh curses, legs why have you stopped again so close to the end? This is truly grim!

Back home. That was brilliant!

It was a pleasure to run in such a historic setting. The event was so well organised and the bling is a thing of beauty. Despite feeling like I was dying a thousand deaths for much of the second half I really did enjoy it. Oh, the virtual pom poms did help, they didn't quite manage to put down the rebellion of my legs but they did get me to the finish line.

As ever, many thanks for the encouragement.

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon]

Sometimes runs just turn out that way! You are a professional so I am sure that you were well hydrated; maybe pushed the pace a bit? No matter, in a week’s time all you will see is that amazing hard won medal, and your thoughts will have turned to your next challenge. Well done for seeing it through 👍

[RiceAndPeas Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

It didn't go quite as planned but at least I made it to the event this time. I thought I might be in for a rough ride after not sleeping well for a week or so and feeling sluggish abd below par. The medal more than makes up for the sufferfest it turned into though. I'm most definitely looking forward to the next challenge already! 😃

[Sandraj39 Half Marathon]

Congratulations on your HM RiceAndPeas ! 👏 This looks like a fab setting 🤴 and a much bigger field than I thought - 12000.

Lovely bling and a fab time despite the warmth being responsible for it feeling so hard! You did it though!🙂🏅

[RiceAndPeas Marathon in reply to Sandraj39]

Thanks so much Sandraj39 , it really is a great setting for an event with fantastic supporters. Yes the bling is so lovely and made the self inflicted punishment worthwhile. I wore it and my Malaga marathon medal round the house for the rest of the day! 😂

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon]

That photograph reminds me of the Tube Station advert; Henry asking for a return to Tower Hill and a single for the wife!

[mrrun Ultramarathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

Hahaha, l remember, classic!

[RiceAndPeas Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

🤣🤣🤣 Love it!

[aliboo70 Half Marathon]

What a great report,love it! You described the stages of the race so well! 🤣Congratulations! And yes,it's a lovely medal 🏅 🥰x

[RiceAndPeas Marathon]

Thanks aliboo70 , it was a lovely event. Wish I'd been 15 seconds quicker. Perhaps a eating a few less pies during race week will be the answer next time. 🤔

[Mudita11 Half Marathon]

Love this report - and what a great medal. Makes me want to do this race one day. Well done on completing it in great time too!

[RiceAndPeas Marathon in reply to Mudita11]

Thanks so much, it's a fun event with great support. There were so many small children giving out high 5s, theu really made me smile. Even living in London it was a challenge to get to because Sunday train service on my local line is a bit limited early in the day. If it works logistically definitely go and run it! 😃

[00marks Marathon]

Congratulations, well done. A great achievement!

[RiceAndPeas Marathon in reply to 00marks]

Thanks so much! 😃

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon]

This made me laugh 😂 very funny and very relatable.

What a brilliant first HM event you had! Brilliant sounding course, fabulous time 👏👏 and what a piece of bling that is!! I have bling envy 🤩 But you earned it. Really well done 👍

PS I love the photo of you and Henry!

[RiceAndPeas Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

Haha, I thought you'd like the picture with Henry VIII. 😃

The bling is glorious, I'm wearing it right now, the finish line picture shows just how hard earned it was. 😂

Ouch!

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to RiceAndPeas]

You're still upright which is great! In most of my race photos I have my eyes closed and am looking at the ground 🙄

[Dexy5 10 Miles]

I love this, and I can certainly relate to the changing thoughts on a run be it short or long. I can imagine it is a lovely place to run and hope to do 10k there one day. Beautiful bling too. Well done.

[RiceAndPeas Marathon]

Thanks so much, it is definitely a lovely place to run. I think you'd love it.

[SueAppleRun 10 Miles]

Brilliant report of a very successful race.....loved reading it 😁 congratulations on finishing

[over61andstilltrying Half Marathon]

Quite a write up! I have read it more than once and laughed each time. Amazing that you can felt so bad and yet still enjoyed it. Shaking my head in astonishment. Congratulations to you! 🏃🏻‍♂️🏁🏅😊

I had a little read of some of your other posts earlier today. Wow! If I have it right you have been a speedy cyclist but somehow that went and you finished up pre-diabetic and obese. But you have completely left that stage behind. Your doctor must have been amazed at the transformation and probably many others who know you as well. Many, many congratulations! Astounding 🎉🎉🎉

[RiceAndPeas Marathon in reply to over61andstilltrying]

Thank you so much, I am glad you enjoyed the report. I think the overwhelming relief at finishing such a session of self flagellation brings a greater part of the enjoyment.😂

Yes, in a previous incarnation I was able fanatical cycling TT racer. That hobby tried to assassinate me a bit too often though. Running has really given me a second lease of life.

Long ago on a dual carriageway far, far away...

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon]

Love that race report! It must feel so good to finally get to run it after so many disappointments.

I can imagine you at mile 12 though, wondering how on earth you ever ran twice that far 😍

I reckon we can die a thousand deaths whatever the distance ... sometimes 3k is tough! mentally we set our head for the end (however long or short) ... and we can almost make it ... til the last few kilometres (which is one of the reasons why I hate short runs ... they can be hard from start to finish 😂🤷‍♀️)

[RiceAndPeas Marathon]

Haha, you are so right when you say even 3k can be tough. Only last week I set out for a run, got a mile up the road, stopped and walked home. 😂

[Katnap Marathon]

Great result RiceAndPeas . I always find heat one of the biggest challenges in a long run.

🐱 Katnap 🐱

[RiceAndPeas Marathon in reply to Katnap]

Thanks so much, it was humidity and setting off too fast that cooked me. I got it done though. 😀

[Sandie1961 Half Marathon]

Great report RiceAndPeas Brought back memories from 5 years ago . You didn’t mention running over bumpy grass for the last 2 miles 😖 All worth it for that fabulous medal though 😍

[RiceAndPeas Marathon]

Haha, I'd banished that last 2 miles on the grass from my mind. It was utter purgatory! 😂