The race was well organised and functional as opposed to flash, with stewards, runners and all, respectful of the conditions in which it took place – I suspect numbers were down. The weather was typical for this winter – atrocious but this didn’t really dampen the energy and enthusiasm of those running and those cheering them on and backing things up.
The course is a good one for those preparing for a marathon as the main purpose it serves at this time of year; a couple of slightly slower rises getting on for around 700ft in total over the three lap circuit but otherwise fairly flat. Despite not getting in any longer runs (I only managed one run of 16 miles in the run up) by way of preparation and fully expecting to fade badly at the end I was very pleased to maintain a fairly steady pace across my split times and came in on 2:34:22 chip time with which I was very pleased – any real speed endurance is a thing of the past for me now, so its all about expectation management in my mind these days. I would definitely recommend the event, small enough to be easily navigated but serious enough to be well worthwhile!
