‘Weekend Round Up

It was a busy race weekend for our members this week. Many running half marathons with some excellent results.

Here are some of our members experiences from those races. We will start with the Wrexham Half in which nearly 3000 runners took part in a course that consisted of 1 small lap and 1 large lap.

Joe Rainsford – 68.42 PB and came 2nd

‘After training weeks on end for Wrexham and the chance to have another go at a half marathon distance for the first time in over a year and a half. ” hour long runs were a constant throughout the training as well as longer tempo runs along the renamed “Denby Pottery Way.” The week leading up to the race is always difficult, relaxing the body in terms of miles but still getting the right amount of effort in the legs so you are not sluggish come race day.  Race Day – The horn went and after a mile I could see there was a group of around 6/7 runners trying to use me as a windbreak heading up past the first spectating point, which a was aware of. After the first mile point I was stuck in a position to either press on with breakaway 2nd place, who was 20/30m in front or sit at the front of the pack who were quite happy to use me as a shield, so I pressed on. Miles 2/3 were again consistent, but mile 4 I lost the company and found myself working up a slight drag towards the end of the small lap and again into the wind. Stuck in two minds again, I thought I would push on as I didn’t want the pace to suffer.  Passing through to start the large lap I took a drink from my own drinks station (Dad (Rob) and Paige) and tossed the bottle underneath a tree. Next few miles were again consistent but a lot quicker than I had planned.  I got to mile 8 and was wondering when the legs would start to feel the pace, as my tempo runs were around 8miles.  Knowing this I subconsciously pus for the next 2 miles and ran my quickest of the day, 5.00/5.04. Feeling good and confident. Mile 10 (the turning point…literally). As mile 10 beeped I thought I was on for something close to 68mins (maybe under) but the turn, the wind, the drag from here to mile 12 was too much to maintain the pace I had set. I ran the next two at my target pace and the last was again windy (a little slower) but all in all, I am absolutely delighted with the run.

The event has grown since we did it in 2016 and is well organised with PB potential as proved by a lot of members. I would highly recommend it.’

Ryan Ball – 89.48

‘The first couple of miles of the race went by quite comfortably, I stuck with the 1.30 pacer. I felt strong so managed to drop the pacer and the runners around him, clocking splits of 6.49, 6.42, 6.41, 6.52 and 6.47. Starting the larger second lap we encountered rural country lanes with gentle slopes, farm tracks with some mud covering the roads and a few turns made this part of the course quite energy sapping.  However I still managed some good mile splits. I remember thinking “wow some great splits there”, averaging 6.42 and shaving 30seconds off my PB of 88.12. This is were things started to go wrong. The next mile was like a wind tunnel. I started to get tired quickly and seeing the next mile come up as 7.08 didn’t help things. Staring to clock watch, miles 12 and 13 were torturous 7.16 and 7.06 and the lack of endurance in my training started to show.  Seeing the finish line and hearing my team mates spurred me on and I dipped under 90mins with the time of 89.48.  After the race it was great to see so many PBs from other Heanor members it made the 2hour trip worthwhile. For me, I can take plenty of positives away from the race, hitting some pleasing splits mid way through the race and I am sure I can hit a shiny new PB with abit more training.’

Next we move onto Holme Pierrepont Half Marathon.

Jamie Fletcher – 1.21.43

‘In preparation for the Manchester Marathon on April 7th I ran this race. I came 2nd out of 87 in gale force wind conditions. This was my first half marathon since 2016.’

Leicester Half Marathon

Carl Hughes (1.21.25) and Rachael Shelbourn (1.30.28)

‘Rachael and I turned up at Prestworld Hall off the back of some hard work in the first half of our marathon training. Both feeling slightly heavy legged and unsure if PBs were on.  Once we got started though, that training had paid off, as we both ran impressive races and overcome some string head winds between miles 9-12.  Both of us achieved PBs. I ran (Carl) 1.21.25 finishing 3rd V40 and Rachael ran 1.30.28 finishing 2nd FV45.’

Rachael also adds ‘The event is well organised with ample parking, loos and friendly marshals. Pretty flat, mainly on road with the odd gravelly path in the hall grounds. Nice medal and T-shirt at the finish which had massage available along with muffins and bacon cobs :)’

All round an excellent weekend from Heanor Running Club – If you have a race planned and have the time please send your race reports to the email address on here under the ‘contact us’ tab or email me at samcrowe_1@hotmail.com. I will try my best to get them added every week. Its always good to read someone else’s opinion of a race, good or bad.