Henley 1/2 Marathon and 10k Report
9am, Sunday 11th October 2009
Following an early Sunday morning start and what seemed like an extra long drive Marie and I finally made it to Henley, to join a queue of traffic. I didn’t realise the event was that big! Once parked up we walked over to the start area, to join a queue for the loo. Well, Marie queued. I, erm… found a quiet spot.
Before we knew it, it was time for the 10k race start. The conditions were good: calm and cool with a bit of sun. The first kilometre, with its gentle downhill, was a doddle, and it was at that point that I remembered someone telling me that going out of Henley meant going uphill for sure, hmmm…
Half a kilometre on I hit a hill, I don’ like those. 10 minutes later I was still going up and it was at point that I remembered reading somewhere that the route has a 2.5 km hill, oh dear.
After what seemed like an eternity (and a bit of walking) I got to the top, hurrah! Gentle slope all the way home? No. The way down was too steep for my liking. I attempted the “Larry shuffle” but I’m clearly a long way off perfecting it as other runners flew by. I’ll have to get some coaching.
The rest of the race just seemed to pass by and the final 2km or so were down but almost flat, my favourite!
As Marie and I walked back to our car we could see half marathoners going past, starting their last 10km, the same 10 we’d just finished. Poor sods…
Well done to all those who raced, especially ½ marathon runners Denise Bridges and Jackie Pinnock for their PBs, and Kate Williamson and Larry Poole for 1st LV60 and 2nd MV60.
The full ERR results are here.
