Wokingham Half Marathon Report by Rhea Douglas
It was quite a nice race to start off the club championships this year.
There were some concerns about the weather and general health on the drive over from Botley. I was recovering from a chest infection and others had some ongoing niggles. Its important to get the excuses in early in case it
doesn’t go as well as we hope!
The drive was pretty straightforward and we parked up at Shute End, near where I used to live in 2010. It was a bit of a walk to the race head quarters and we nearly went the wrong way. The hundreds of people dressed for running going the other way eventually tipped us off.
Arriving at HQ, we found it a little chilly and we had 45 minutes to choose when to divest ourselves of outer layers. Once we did, it wasn’t so bad. We were packed in pretty close in the starting pen, so the mass of human bodies kept us warm!
The race got off to a good start and it was actually quite nice to run with other people. I’m not used to running with pace markers but they were really good at gauging their pace (I could hear them discussing pace and making sure the were on time).
I don’t always love doglegs on a race but it is nice to see your team mates at the turning points. At mile 9, my pace was starting to drop off but I tried my best to keep the pace markers in sight. (I didn’t want the ones behind me to catch me!)
The final 4 miles were a bit of a slog with the wind in your face and slight inclines at the bridges over motorways but overall it was a pretty fast course. I was pleased when it was over!
Everyone had a brilliant race, some people with some incredible PBs, Matt Daniels on 1.25.53 and Ros Hall on 1.42.38 and second V60! Kate Daniels came in at just under 1.30!
I was particularly impressed by John Rowland who started slow to assess an injury and then just casually passed everyone by, saying ‘hello’ as he went coming in at 1.41.19.
Overall, it was a pretty good race and in places it was quite pretty. I was pleased that I was able to drive us all home after. Though it was a pretty difficult job to get out of the car after an hours journey!
There are lots more club championship races to come and you can join in the fun! The next one is Goring 10K in March and the start of the Motivation races in April. Hope to see you there!
