The slightly emaciated group seemed to be huddled together to keep warm. Their bodies were taut and athletic – springy looking – and their faces showed a mixture of excitement and focus. “I like to be close to the start in races as I can sometimes do quite well in my age group, and chip times don’t count! Because of this I have to be conscious to hold back and let the hoardes of people whizz past me. “Even holding back I ran the first mile in 6:28, but being downhill along Pulteney Street it felt very easy. For miles two and three I slowed to 6:48 and 6:50, and seemed to be overtaken by
thousands of other runners. “Bath really is flat, and that’s official!
The current course straddles both sides of the River Avon and is close to the original course used in the early years of the race. It was re-measured in 2006 by IAAF official course measurer Hugh Jones (ex-British international marathon runner & London Marathon winner) with
a new certificate of accuracy. Hugh described the course as ‘officially flat, with three undulations’. It’s the ideal course for anyone wanting to achieve a personal best, or for beginners who don’t need anything to make running 13.1 miles harder.
“It’s the ideal course for anyone wanting to achieve a PB”
It’s all about the pacing “By mile three I decided my pace was a little bit slow and all but one of the next seven miles I ran at a pace of 6:39 or under. After the first mile the race followed two identical laps, from Churchill Bridge, rising up past Green Park station, round Queen Square,
then down to Charlotte Street and out of the city along the A4. I settled into it and had one of those enjoyable runs where I just felt good. “The race was superbly organised
and was amazingly uncongested. The support along the route was loud and motivating, and as I ran past the smiling Samba Sulis drummers in Queen Square
the buzz and the beat meant my pace quickened! But I calmed myself down again so that I didn’t go too fast. “I wasn’t surprised to find out that the
race was voted third best running event in the Daily Telegraph’s Top 10 Big Runs, and Athletics Weekly voted the event the fastest spring half marathon course in the UK in 2010.
To the finish
“Into the second lap I started to meet slower runners still on their first lap. They seemed to be having more fun than me, and there was lots of whooping and hollering from the crowd as fancy dress runners went by. As my pace started to drop off, it was a nice distraction! “The last three miles were a bit of a
struggle – I’d run a little bit too fast in the middle, but I didn’t mind! As we turned into Great Pulteney Street we were welcomed by a big screen and the party atmosphere peaked. I could see 1:28:something and decided to try to go for a sub 1:29. As it turned out, my gun time was 1:29:04 and chip time 1:28:59! It was almost, but not quite, a PB, and it was a very satisfying day out.
”
RUNNING FREE n 41
RACES
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