I'm trying to get back into fitness after having my daughter (who's nearly 3!). I ran the Clapham Common 5k back in August and finished, but managed to come in last place. I ran the race last weekend and shaved two minutes off my time and didn't come in last! Bring on the next race!
Title: Well organised before the race but awful route and water stations
The race was well orgainsed and super relaxed which makes a great environment and up until the start it was going well. But the half marathon course was poorly designed and far too twisty and hard to follow, which makes it distracting and hard to pace. I run around the common weekly and feel there are much better 3 mile routes. The marshals were really friendly and supportive so can't thank them enough. Plastic cups at water stations don't work, it's too difficult to drink from cups when running and they were filled to the top which meant on two occasions the cup was handed to me and spilled all down my front or arm and left me no water to drink. On a hot day it's important to make sure runners are hydrated but this was the least I've managed to drink on a half marathon and felt so dehydrated after the run. Strava and Garmin both tracked the route around 0.5 miles longer than it should be so I don't trust the chip time.
Really well organised event, awesome course and a lovely day! The half marathon route was interesting, and my friend was really encouraged as he is currently training for a marathon - so it gave a lot of variation. The marshalls were extremely friendly and encouraging, which was lovely to see and everyone seemed in really good spirits. I particularly wanted to thank the organisers for being so flexible, particularly when it came to delaying the race so half marathoners could use the toilets - it was all the little touches like this that made it an incredible day.
Look forward to competing in more races like this in the future!