When: February 26th 2017
Where: Thorpe Park, Chertsey, UK
Course: On-road, start and end at Thorpe Park, out to Egham, Virgina Water & Lyne
Other routes touched: None
Finish time: 2:00
When: January 22nd 2017
Where: Farnborough Airport, Hampshire
Course: Mostly airport perimeter roads, plus off-road trails & Basingstoke Canal
Other routes touched (walk): Basingstoke Canal Towpath
Other routes touched (cycle): None
Finish time: 1:53
When: October 2nd 2016
Where: Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, UK
Course: Country roads in and around the Blenheim Estate.
Other routes touched (walk): Wychwood Way
Other routes touched (cycle): None
Finish time: 1:58
When: September 25th 2016
Where: Bristol City Centre and Avon Gorge, UK
Course: Nice flat course leading under the Clifton Suspension Bridge west along the Avon Gorge then the last 5 miles around the city. Had all sorts of weather from bright sunshine to wind and showers. Good start to the Autumn running season.
Other routes touched (walk): River Avon Trail, Bristol Triangular City Walk, Severn Way,
Other routes touched (cycle): NCN 3, 4, 33, 41
Finish time: 1:53
When: July 10th 2016
Where: West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, UK
Course: Mostly cross country and small rural villages
Other routes touched (walk): None
Other routes touched (Cycle): Chilterns Cycleway
Finish time: 2:15 (slow!)
The Wycombe Half has taken me a while to get round to. High Wycombe didn't feel very inspiring as a venue, but mostly because its a Summer race and I'm happier running in the cold. I had a free morning and noticed that entries were still open, so I signed up a week ago. It probably wasn't the best idea as I had a party the night before and did more wine-loading than carb-loading. Despite lack of sleep and a bit of grogginess, if felt relatively fine in the morning. The weather was also helping as it was a chilly July day with enough rain to be cooling but not enough to be a nuisance.
The start and end location, the Wycombe Wanderers football ground only confirmed by feeling that it would be an uninspiring run. The stadium is at the back of a trading estate in the arse end of the town. As it happened, the first and last miles were the only boring bit and the rest was lovely countryside and small villages to the west of the town. After mile 1, the route went into the West Wycombe Estate, with views up to the hill surrounding the Hellfire Caves. The next few miles went off-road through the estate with some steep, muddy hills an grassy sections. This is definitely not a Half to get a PB on. The middle section took a big loop out the the South West passing through small villages like Frieth and Lane End, before returning back to the start via the Estate.
The combination of the previous night's party and taking it slow to avoid pre-Ultra injuries kept my speed very low. My finish time was 2:15 which is 20 minutes slower than my normal effort. I was still pleased with it though as it was a nice way to spend a rainy Summer morning and a final bit of practice before next week's mega-run.
When: March 20th 2016
Where: Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire
Course: Runway and Service Roads around Heyford Airbase.
Other routes touched: None
Finish time: 1:59
Half Marathon #26 of 50 at RAF Heyford near Oxford. A new route around the runways and service roads. Nice run and a bit quirky. Best bit was a brass band play the theme to the Muppet Show in a metal trailer in the middle of the runway as we all ran past.
For more information on Heyford Airbase, see Darmon Richter's blog post
When: March 13th 2016
Where: Woking, Surrey, UK
Course: 2 loops on country roads between Woking and Guildford
Other routes touched (walk): The Fox Way
Other routes touched (cycle): NCN 223
Finish time: 1:55
When: December 6th 2015
Where: Wootton, Bedfordshire, UK
Course: Single anti-clockwise loop on country roads
Other routes touched (walk): Clay Way, John Bunyan Trail
Other routes touched (cycle): NCN 51
Finish time: 2:01
Half Marathons in December are pretty few and far between. By mid November The cold weather puts most people off until the season kicks off again in March. I'd chosen the Bedford Half mostly because I wanted an event in December and it was the only one around. As it turned out it was a well organised event and an interesting countryside route, fairly similar to Basingstoke a couple of months earlier.
I found this one to be really tough. It wasn't so much about the course, more about my general lack of energy. Work was busy and I was very tired though not enough sleep. By the last 3 miles is was clear that I was going to be slower than my usual 1:50 pace. By the end I'd slipped across the 2 hour mark, finishing at 2:01. Annoying. Despite not my best or most memorable half, it was still got me out in December and its 1 race closer to my 50 Halfs target.
A year ago I did a made-up Half Marathon in central London. That time it was a loop, starting in Westminster, heading east and crossing every bridge to Tower Hill, then reversing to Chelsea bridge and looping back to Westminster.
This year I tried an alternative and more straightforward version. Starting at Tower Bridge I headed west, again crossing every bridge once until 13.1 miles just after Fulham Football Stadium. It's a more interesting route as there's twice as much to see without having to go back over the same ground. The only disadvantage is starting and ending at different points. I solved this by walking a mile and a half from the finish to Hammersmith, which, like Tower Hill, is also on the District Line.
Best time to do it is early Sunday morning when the Thames Path is quiet before the hordes of tourists take over. Here's the full route plan...
Start at Tower Hill Underground Station.
Cross Tower Bridge (S), now start heading west back towards Westminster
Cross London Bridge (N), head west
Cross Southwark Bridge (S), head west
Cross the Millenium Footbridge (N), head west
Cross Blackfriars Bridge (S), head west
Cross Waterloo Bridge (N), head west
Cross Hungerford Footbridge (S), head west
Cross Westminster Bridge (N), head west
Cross Lambeth Bridge (S), head west
Cross Vauxhall Bridge (N), head west
Cross Chelsea Bridge (S), head west
Cross Albert Bridge (N), head west
Cross Battersea Bridge (S), head west
Cross Wandsworth Bridge (N), head west
Cross Fulham Railway Bridge Footpath, (S), head west
Cross Putney Bridge (N), head west
(N) and (S) represent direction of travel across the bridge (North) / (South)
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Thames Path, Jubilee Walkway, Jubilee Greenway
Other routes touched (cycle): NCN 4, CS3, CS8
Maps:
- OS Explorer Map (161) London South, Westminster, Greenwich, Croydon, Esher & Twickenham
- OS Explorer Map (173) London North, The City, West End, Enfield, Ealing, Harrow & Watford
See also: London Bridges Half Marathon 1 (Alternative Route)
When: October 11th 2015
Where: Oxford, UK
Course: City Centre roads
Other routes touched (walk): None
Other routes touched (cycle): NCN 51
Finish Time: 1:46 (PB)
The Oxford Half marathon was the finishing line of my Growlerthon challenge: a year of fund raising events book-ended by 2 big city Halfs. A year ago was the Royal Parks Half in London, which at the time was my personal best (PB). I managed 5 minutes faster than my average mostly due to the combination of a flat course, good running weather and generally feeling awesome.
Getting a new PB at Oxford hadn't occurred to me until mile 8. Until then I'd been running ahead of the 1 hour 45 minute pacer but then he'd overtaken me. It was getting warm and I was feeling the pressure of keeping up a faster than normal pace. I stayed with the pacer til mile 10 when he shouted out "only a parkrun to go". I looked at my watch and saw that I could get a PB if I ran my normal parkrun average of 25 mins. By mile 12 I was slowing a bit and the pacer was now ahead but still in sight. 400 meters to go and I'd lost the pacer in the crowds as the course wiggled in and out of the old city. One final push and I'd crossed the finish line at 1:46, less than a minute faster than a year ago but still a PB.
Sometimes when I finish a big or important race I get a sudden wave of emotion immediately after crossing the finish line. I got it on all of my full Marathons and occasionally on Halfs where I really push myself. Normal it lasts 3 seconds then I'm back to normal and then I'm concentrating on getting my medal and getting out. Today it lasted significantly longer. I'd not started the Oxford Half with any particular sense of significance, but it all came back to me at once at the finish line.
It was two years on from the day we lost my dad to lung cancer and one year from the start of Growlerthon. In the last year I'd ran 5 half marathons, one Ultra Marathon, cycled from Land's End to John O'Groats plus a collection of other cycling trips. I'd beaten my £2,500 fundraising goal by a £1,000 and, together with the other LEJOG team mates, jointly raised £15,000 for 5 charities. It was an amazing year full of new memories. Whereas a PB in a half marathon is not normally something I get excited about, today it was the final special thing that put a nice closure on the year.
Reading back over my original blog about my Dad's death (One Year On), it's interesting to reflect on how things are different now. The sharpness of the memories of his last 2 weeks has drifted away and I'm left with the happy memories of when he was here. A lot of who I am come from what I learnt from him and that will stay with me forever. I wrote a year ago about funerals not working for me as a means of closure or a focus for grieving. Growlerthon did that for me. It was my way of doing something very positive in his memory and it really worked.
Thank you to everyone who supported me along the way, from My wife Timea, my Mum, the LEJOG team to all of my sponsors who were very generous throughout. Not only couldn't I have done it without you, but most importantly it's my friends and family that made it such an amazing year.
When: October 4th 2015
Where: Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK
Course: Country Roads to the South of the town.
Other routes touched (walk): Three Castles Path
Other routes touched (cycle): NCN 23
Finish Time: 1:53
My first Half in 6 months and the start of the Autumn running season. Nice countryside single loop course through cute villages to the South of the town. Very hilly but reasonably pleased with my finish time. 1 week to go til the Oxford Half.
When: March 22nd 2015
Where: Mercedes World at Brooklands, Surrey, UK
Course: Loops of the Mercedes World race track and out onto residential roads around Weybridge
Other routes touched (walk): Locks and Levels SCC, River Wey Navigation, Thames Path
Other routes touched (cycle): NCN 4
Finish time: 1:54
Brooklands, just inside the M25 in Surrey, was the worlds first purpose built motor racing circuit and has a long aviation history. It was was one of Britain’s first airfields and was a major aircraft manufacturing site before WW2. The race track and airfield have been closed for many years, but the recent redevelopment has been kind to it and you can still see parts of the old track and airfield.
Mercedes-Benz World, now in the centre of the site, has its own visitor centre and race track. This was the base for the Brooklands Half with the first and last 2.5 miles around its track. The middle 8 miles took us out of Brooklands and into a pleasant circuit of neighbouring Weybridge. This was definitely the most interesting of this month’s 3 Halves and one of the best of my 21 Halves so far.
My finish time for this one was 1:54:22, nearly another minute off and well within my target. I was especially pleased as this time as I had been working in the US the previous week and was coping with lack of sleep and jet lag too.
When: March 17th 2015
Where: North London, UK
Course: North London roads between Allianz Stadium Barnet & Wembley Stadium. Flat
Other routes touched (walk): Capital Ring
Other routes touched (cycle): None
Finish time: 1:55
North London was a new event for 2015, an out-and-back route between Barnet and Wembley. What could have been a rather uninteresting location was livened up by the start and middle points in large stadiums. The start and end was at Allianz Park, home to the Saracens rugby team. Mo Farah, the 2012 Olympic gold medal winner, was at the start line. I had expected him to be running rather than waving everyone off though.
Wembley Stadium at the halfway point was a big boost. I’ve been there many times for concerts, and running through the middle, via the players’ tunnel was a great experience. The MacMillan cheering spot was also in the stadium, another highlight of that section.
At the finish I came in at at 1:55:41, about a minute and a half faster than Bath.
Elevation spike due to my GPS thinking I was on the roof of Wembley Stadium rather than on the pitch :-)
When: March 1st 2015
Where: Bath, Somerset, UK
Course: on roads on a 2 lap loop around the river Avon.
Other routes touched (walk): Kennet & Avon Canal, River Avon Trail, Cotswold Way, Linear Park
Other routes touched (cycle): NCN 244, 4 / Bristol-Bath Cycle Track
Finish time: 1:57
Bath was a proper test for me as it was the first major run since the Ultramarathon 6 weeks before. I'd taken it easy since then, sticking to my weekly parkruns and keeping an eye on my knee which had been annoying me since the Ultra. Timi and I made a weekend of it and had a nice afternoon and evening in the city the day before. The Sunday was a good arrangement: I would get up early for the run and Timi would do some shopping and meet me at the end.
The start wasn't promising. With such a large crowd, nearly 13,000 runners, we were told to get to the race village early. I got there 2 hours before the start just as it started chucking it down. There weren't many places to hide but luckily I was running for MacMillan Cancer Support and they had their own tent. I hid there as long as possible before getting to the start line. I took a fetching green poncho and went to the start with still another cold hour to go.
The route was great, 2 laps of the roads around a stretch of the River Avon plus some of the town centre. A large field of runners plus a city location meant a large crowd of spectators to support us. There were also several MacMillan cheering spots with volunteers looking out for runners in their t-shirts to give them an extra bit of encouragement.
The final bit of encouragement was Timi waiting for me at the final mile. I always love seeing her there at the end. My finish time was 1:57:21, just under my normal time of 1:56, but a good confirmation that I was fully recovered from the Ultra.
When: December 14th 2014
Where: Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, UK
Course: 1 big loop of Milton Keynes & surrounding villages including Grand Union Canal towpath.
Other routes touched (walk): Grand Union Canal Towpath
Other routes touched (cycle): Hanslope Circular Ride, NCN 6, 51
Finish time: 1:57
When I signed up for the Milton Keynes Half I wasn't expecting much. The town has a reputation for not being very interesting and I assumed that its Half may be similar. I usually go for more local events and I signed up for this one mainly because there was nothing else interesting happening in December. October and November is peak running event season with a winter break before it picks up again in March and April.
The MK Winter Half turned out to be a really interesting route through the countryside surrounding the town. Its a relatively flat, single anticlockwise loop made up of mostly cycle paths and parks. It starts and ends next to the Grand Union canal in a small and (at the time) muddy field. I loved the route, especially the canal tow-paths and disused railway tracks. The Grand Union will be a familiar sight in my Growlerthon year as I'll be returing to it in January for the Ultra-Marathon then again in April to cycle the length of it.
Despite the flat course and run-friendly temprature, I was 10 minutes off my PB at the London Royal Parks 2 months earlier. The sleigh-ful of wine and a late night at the office Christmas Party 2 days before probably didn't help.
For a few years I imagined a half marathon that follows the Thames Path in London crossing every bridge along the way. On a chilly day in November, with only minor route planning on Google Maps, I gave it a go.
The route starts at Westminster Bridge, heading east towards Tower Bridge. The rules are that every accessible bridge must be crossed and each side of the river covered. This means a zig-zagging route up to Tower Bridge, then the opposite zig-zag back to Westminster and onwards to Chelsea Bridge. This marks the final turn back eastwards, finishing at County Hall on the South side of Westminster Bridge.
My Garmin read 14.1 miles at the end, 1 mile over a true half. Staying tighter to the river would have carved off most of that extra mile. I made this first attempt on a busy Saturday afternoon, and the crowds around Tower Hill and County Hall meant that a diversion was needed at times. My run took nearly 3 hours, mostly due to lack of carbs the day before and a very crowded route that became a slow walk in some parts. An early-morning crowdless route would be do-able in under 2hrs.
Its a great route for views of London and never boring. Its unlikely to be practical to be run as a large organised event due to the many road crossings and narrow alleys, but it works well for small groups.
Here's the details... (N) and (S) indicate North or South direction of travel across the bridge.
Section 1
Start at Westminster Bridge North side by the Houses of Parliament
Head east along the Embankment towards Tower Bridge
Cross Hungerford Footbridge (S), head east
Cross Waterloo Bridge (N), head east
Cross Blackfriars Bridge (S), head east
Cross the Millennium Footbridge (N), head east
Cross Southwark Bridge (S), head east
Cross London Bridge (N), head east
Cross Tower Bridge (S), now start heading back towards Westminster
Section 2
Cross London Bridge (N), head west
Cross Southwark Bridge (S), head west
Cross the Millennium Footbridge (N), head west
Cross Blackfriars Bridge (S), head west
Cross Waterloo Bridge (N), head west
Cross Hungerford Footbridge (S), head west
Cross Westminster Bridge (N), head west
Cross Lambeth Bridge (S), head west
Cross Vauxhall Bridge (N), head west
Cross Chelsea Bridge (S), now start heading east back towards Westminster
Section 3
Cross Vauxhall Bridge (N), head east
Cross Lambeth Bridge (S), head east
Finish at Westminster Bridge, south side by County Hall
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Thames Path, Jubilee Walkway, Jubilee Greenway
Other routes touched (cycle): NCN 4, CS3, CS8
Maps:
- OS Explorer Map (161) London South, Westminster, Greenwich, Croydon, Esher & Twickenham
- OS Explorer Map (173) London North, The City, West End, Enfield, Ealing, Harrow & Watford
See also: London Bridges Half Marathon 2 (Alternative Route)
When: October 12th 2014
Where: London, UK
Course: Start and end in Hyde Park via Green Park, St James', Westminster Bridge and The Embankment
Other routes touched (walk): Thames Path, Jubilee Walkway, Jubilee Greenway, Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Walk
Other routes touched (cycle): None
Finish time: 1:47
The London Royal Parks may have been my 17th Half Marathon, but it was by far my most important. This year I was running for Cancer Research UK as the first event in Growlerthon2015, my year of fundraising. I’d been trying to get into this race for years but always missed out via the public ballot. Running for a charity is great way to guarantee a place, and it comes with the responsibility of raising enough money for them.
The race is hugely popular as goes through some great London scenery. There’s 3 of the Royal Parks: Hyde, Green and St James, plus Buckingham Palace, Parliament Square, Westminster Bridge, the Embankment and Admiralty Arch.
October 12th was a beautiful Autumn day with excellent running conditions. I’m not fond of running in the heat and that day was nicely chilly. The flat course, the buzz of the crowds and Timi and her parents there to support all contributed to a great race and a Personal Best of 1:47.
A very large glass of wine helped to finish the day and was the decider to return in 2015 for the 42 mile Royal Parks Ultra.
When: March 23rd 2014
Where: Hillingdon, Middlesex, UK
Course: All-road loop around Hillingdon and Brunel University.
Other routes touched: Celandine Route
Finish time: 1:53
When: March 2nd 2014
Where: Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, UK
Course: Country roads north of Berkhamsted including the Ashridge Estate
Other routes touched (walk): Grand Union Canal, Ashridge Boundary Trail
Other routes touched (cycle): Chilterns Cycleway, Berkhamsted Route 6
Finish time: 1:56
When: February 2nd 2014
Where: Watford, Hertfordshire, UK
Course: Mostly country roads on a north-west loop outside Watford town centre
Other routes touched: Grand Union Canal
Finish time: 1:56
