Race Report: Congleton Half-marathon 05/10/2014

The starting point for the race was Congleton High School, when I arrived it was a hive of activity with a great atmosphere. 

Fran and Craig make upping the pace at mile 12

Despite the number of people it was really well organised and the process of collecting race numbers and timing chips didn't take more than a few minutes. The location was also great as the school playing fields were perfect for a pre-race warm up. As always, there was a fantastic turn-out of Sandbach Striders and there were plenty of friendly faces to have a chat with prior to the race starting. 

Fran and Craig at the end of the first mile

As usual, I got a bit carried away at the start and completed the first mile in 7mins 5sec. I wasn't expecting the steep incline between 1.5 and 2 miles and around this point I realised that I wasn't going to be able to keep up with Craig who I had run the first few miles with. I therefore slowed to a slightly more realistic pace of 7min 45sec per mile and watched Craig disappear in to the distance. Once we were out of the town the course wound around some really picturesque country lanes. Although the roads weren't closed the race was really well marshalled the whole way round and the passing traffic never felt like a problem. 

During the first half of the race there seemed to be number of cruel temptations. The first came at around 4 miles when those running the quarter marathon went left and those doing the half went right. Due to my rather enthusiastic starting pace and the early climb, the temptation to bear left was great but I stayed strong. I was even more tempted to stop at the The Black Swan which we passed at 7 miles but the pint of Mucky Duck and the Braised Lamb Shank pie (which I can highly recommend) will have to wait for another day. 

Team Striders

Despite the temptations I kept my pace steady and up to mile 11 all my splits were below 8 mins. The "sting in the tail" is Radnor Bank which comes at 11.5 miles, although it was as steep as I expected it was thankfully brief and I managed to keep running all the way up. Just before this I had caught up Craig who had been having Achilles problems, he was a fantastic support to help me get up the bank and keep it going through the last mile. Thanks to Craig's help I was delighted to get home in a new PB of 1hr 42min 24sec. 

For more information visit the Congleton Half-marathon website.

Fran