Race Report: Potters 'Arf Half-marathon 08/06/2014 #2

After such bad weather forecast for the weekend I was expecting a very wet Potters half Marathon, but the sun come out and stayed out, which is great for sunbathing but not for running.

Striders before the race start.

The race only started at 10:30am so there was no need for an early start, meeting Mik, Tom and Steve at the club at 9:15am to car share, we headed to Hanley. It’s so nice to go to a race with club members, quite funny seeing how everyone else prepared for the race, with a bit of Vaseline here and there and thanks to Mik being organized with sun cream which the rest of us take advantage of and boy was it needed!!

We made our way down the bypass to the start and dead on 10:30am the horn blow and we were off, the first race for sometime that started down hill, but that was soon to change. I remembered there were hill’s, but forget just how many of them there were and how some of them just seemed to go on for miles. Well that’s how my legs felt !!!

Mik coming up to mile 13

Its not one of the most scenic Half Marathons but what I can say is that is the most supported local race I have ever ran, the locals do themselves proud, their cheers of encouragement were so welcome and they seemed to be on most corners. They even offered out ice pop’s, jelly babies and water in addition to the organised water stops, some even had their hosepipes out given a fine mist shower which was very refreshing on such a warm day.

Tom nearing the finish. There aren't any photos of Karen, she must have been running too fast for the camera!

Cheered in by a massive crowd that the end, I came in just short of 6 minutes quicker than last time I ran it, but it wasn't a Half Marathon PB, thanks to the hills. Nice to see Mik, Tom and Steve at the end after collecting my medal, t-shirt and commemorative plate. I was expecting it to be hard going but I really enjoyed it and will definitely be doing it again.

For more information, visit the website.

Karen