Chester Half Marathon race report

Time flies.  It only seemed like yesterday that I got the email telling me I had been selected to run for England Masters in the Half Marathon at Chester and here I was on the start line – a good deal more nervous than usual at the start of a race.

 

 

The forecast rain hadn’t made an appearance and we were left with quite a muggy morning with the sun making brief appearances through the clouds during the race.

 

After meeting many of my England team-mates at the start of the race (a private suite no less at Chester racecourse with our own toilets and refreshments !) we were off bang on 9am.

 

A steep climb right from the start put a big emphasis on pacing followed by a downhill second mile.  The course then heads out into the countryside before returning into Chester city centre.  Definitely not a flat course with pretty constant undulations.  

 

You know you sometimes get those races where you just don’t feel 100% comfortable and at ease all the way round.  This was one of them.  Perhaps it was the pre-race nerves, perhaps the 6 hour drive the day before.  I was feeling like I had to work hard for every mile and decided to adjust my pre-race plan during the race.  I did a quick calculation at mile 10 and was aiming at dipping just below 1.20 at this point.  The final mile was just a killer – two steep hills back into Chester followed by a downhill last 200m to the finish line.  The support at the end was brilliant and I was determined not to get my “finish line photo” with me looking down to stop my Garmin as usual.  My finishing time was 1.19.44 – 7th in my age group in the national champs  

 

 

What a fantastic experience it was.  It felt a little weird racing in a different vest but a day to remember and I had an absolute blast.  Full kudos to England Athletics for giving some of us “oldies” a chance to compete in national colours.   Andy. 

 

PREVIOUS NEXT

We use cookies to give you the best online experience. By agreeing you accept the use of cookies in accordance with our cookie policy.

Privacy Settings saved!
Privacy Settings

When you visit any web site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Control your personal Cookie Services here.

These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources, so we can measure and improve the performance of our site.

We track anonymized user information to improve our website.

  • _ga
  • _gid
  • _gat
  • __utmc
  • __utmb
  • __utmt

Decline all Services
Accept all Services