Potters Arf 2012

This is our local half marathon and it is a toughie! the headlines speak for themselves, in race speak it is known as undulating! ha, if you have never run it is it undulating, if you have run it you will know that it is bloody hilly!!

I ran this for the 1st time last year; when it was unseasonably cold and wet (in previous years it had recorded record temperatures and was always known as a sunny race ), it was tough and despite the cold and rain there were still a number of spectators out on the course, but numbers where understandably down.It was only my 4th half marathon and I had never run the course, it was all new!

This year was significantly different, since I had re-invigorated my running and started more regularly I had run parts and the full course on a number of occasions. I ran it with Phil 6 Towns Runner as part of his 12 half marathons in 12 days, on my own as a training run, and the Tuesday before the Sunday with Sharon and Laura, in an attempt to get the last long run in before the race. The only expectation I had of myself was to beat last year’s time, as I knew there was no way I could beat my Half Marathon PB from Edinburgh but I would have been happy with a course best.

The weather had promised to be dry, not sunny, no warm, but dry is the best we can hope for in the UK anything else is a bonus, the weather in the days prior where horrible, pure evil .  However the morning of the race and the sky was looking rather favourable, a few fluffy white clouds, but that was about it and there was even a hint of blue!!  the running gods were looking down and smiling on us! 

The race itself was great, tough in places and easy in others, I knew the course and knew what was coming. However because of the nice weather the crowds where really out in force! Every step of the route there where people out cheering us on, giving out jelly babies, ice pops, water, juice and even hosing down the runners (after all the rain we had no one can say there wasn’t some to give away to hot runners).  I do hope that the spectators realise that it is there support on the route that really spurs the runners on, it gives us the motivation to carry on when we think we are about to give up and help push us that extra mile or two!

Potters Arf’, has a notorious hill at 11:50 miles in, they re-name the road “Heartbreak Hill”   I have heard that some cars struggle to get up there!  however the crowds along the way and right at the top give you such a cheer you think that you were winning the race!

So did I achieve my aim, yes I beat last years time and came in at 1:54:24, which is a big improvement on last year and I got a Bronze medal for my efforts. 

Jazz hands