Bristol Half 2013

Bristol Half Marathon

I completed the Bristol Half and managed a BP with a time of 1 hr 31 mins and 49 secs. I had a bad ankle the week before and didn't run at all and although the ankle was good it did not feel right. My legs still felt bad after the RAT and I guess I still need more rest on them.

It was a well run event and YTRRC organised a coach to Bristol. It was due to pour down with rain and while waiting on the start line it did start to spit. However it held off for the whole race. Matt Driver and I were together at the start and as we crossed the start line we managed to get some good pacing in even though it was very crowded. Matt was just in front of me but I went pass in the first mile and then didn't really see Matt again until the turn around on the A4. As I ran back towards Bristol City Centre passing the other runners and looking out for the other Green and Whites. As we passed each other there were shouts of encouragement and that was a really good point about the race.

As we headed back to the City the crowds got bigger and cheered us on. My legs were hanging out and although I was doing under 7 min pacing it felt much slower. I had one Gel at about the 7-8 mile point just before a water point so I could get rid of the sticky hands. The Bristol ACF Cadets managed all the water stations and did a sterling job.

There were only a small couple of inclines in the race and my legs felt them and a glance at the watch showed I was slowing down and then I thought Matt would over take as I was not sure how far in front I was. With one mile to go I thought I might get under 1 hr 30 mins and tried to speed up but that went by and I crossed the line in a time of 1 hr 31 min and 49 secs. I walked along the street and decided to stop and go back to see any other Green and Whites and Matt was there. He said he had tried to catch me but his legs would no let him as mine would not let me get under 1 hr 30. The results showed he was 10 secs behind me so it was very close. http://www.runbristol.com/SearchResults.aspx 

   


We plan to run this again next year with hopefully more Green and Whites.

By Guy Williams