This was the second running of the Swansea Half Marathon and the second time we had run it. Following the inaugural event last year, the field had more than doubled from 2000 up to 5000. The start had shifted from the large green outside the waterfront museum to the city centre, giving the whole race more of a big city marathon feel to it (yes, Swansea is the second largest city in Wales). With bigger numbers come bigger issues, a lack of toilets at the start for one. Not really an issue for the males where the walk in urinals were provided but the girls you had to feel for as they took a sharp intake of breath before venturing inside! This year pacers were provided. I decided to tag along with the 1:30 chap and see how things went. 9:15am the gun went and off we went at a leisurely less than 1:30 pace to get me in to it as per the article I had read the previous night about pacing a half marathon. I have always had the fear of not starting quick enough and then struggling to find the pace at the end of the race to get in on target. So I kept the pacer just about in sight before gradually catching him up at around two miles to settle in to goal pace. |
The race route doubles back on itself before heading out of the city centre and on to the closed road along the sea front towards the picturesque Mumbles. Things were going really well in the pace group, despite one chap almost taking him out as he took a glance down at his Garmin, we were on target as we got to the turn around, the famous Verdi’s Ice Cream Parlour. At this point, a potential disaster struck, the pacer clutched his left buttock and called out: “I’m slowing, I’ve got cramp!” “It’s OK,” I announced, “We’ve got this”. A cursory glance down at the watch showed that the pace had slipped by ten seconds, so it was time to bid farewell to our first half guide and press on. At this point I pretended to be Mo Farah as Galen Rupp stepped aside but then realised it was inappropriate to do the mo-bot before the end of the race and that it was a bit controversial at the moment anyway…. The early settling in pace paid off. The run back down towards the city centre along the prom was actually enjoyable and I was able to not only maintain the pace but speed up as well. In to the final mile, we climbed the only slight incline of the course up to the Kingsway, no need to dodge the kebab wrappers or questionable puddles at this time of day. Turning the corner, the finish line was in site, that moment of doubt that you can’t possibly cover 100 metres in 1 minute flashed across my brain but soon subsided as I crossed with a negative split! |
Kathryn appeared shortly afterwards, the traditional cries of never again soon converted in to, I’m definitely going to train more for next year… A nice medal, a decent “technical” Hi-Viz T-Shirt and some popcorn amongst the flyers in the goody bag. And then, the most painful part of the event. The post race massage……my f****** ******* *********, my hamstrings! Must stretch more often! I bumped in to the pacer afterwards and thanked him for keeping us on the leash for the first part of the race, he asked how the rest of us got on…I didn’t have the heart to tell him that they had been disqualified for taking banned substance for associating with him. If you happen to be down that way at all next time it’s on, I highly recommend the Swansea Half, we’ll be back there again next year! |