15 August 2021
Race report – Lydd Half Marathon and 20 mile race
It was a bright, sunny, warm and quite windy day which greeted the runners turning up for the Lydd Half Marathon and 20 mile road races today.
I had opted for the 20 mile race along with Spencer Hoult. Three TRAC runners headed out for the half marathon course; Phil Stevens, Pete Johnson and Pam Philpot.
For those of you who have raced at Lydd before you will know what to expect. Pancake flat country lanes which usually have the additional winter charm of sub zero temperatures and gale force winds. It made quite a change lining up on the start line feeling decidedly warm already with the sun beating down.
Our runners in the half marathon ran really well despite the conditions. Phil Stevens came in 16th place with a PB of 1.29.37 and was the first MV50 too. He was really pleased with the run despite claiming it was one of the hardest half marathons he had run due to the heat. Pete Johnson came in 51st place with a time of 1.46.10 which was good enough for 1st MV65. Pam continued her recent good form with a time of 2.01.54 in 103rd place which was good enough for the FV60 category prize too. Brilliant performances all round and great to see a sweep of age category prizes being claimed.
Spencer and I struggled a little bit more in the 20 mile race. The heat seemed to affect both of us quite badly and I finished in 2.34 in 52nd place despite a decent first 13 miles. Spencer was in 131st place with a time of 3.00.
Well done to all the TRAC runners today. Distance racing in mid-August isn’t the easiest thing to do but it was a well organised event by Nice Work and one that is really popular given how many people were on the start line.
Andy.