Jon Braund completes the set at his favourite race.
Having
suffered from a bit of a lack of motivation for a couple of months, and
inspired by the New Forest WAC performances, I decided I needed to get
back into it. So the next day I sent my entry off for the Clarendon Half
(the second half of a marathon between Salisbury and Winchester). They
changed the direction of the race a few years back so this would give me
the complete set of full and half marathon, each way.
The
following Sunday saw me on the race bus from Winchester to Broughton,
the start of the half, where we milled around in the nice dry village
hall for a while before the start. At 12.15 we set off along a narrow
lane in the rain and no sooner we started running than we were reduced
to a walk by people at the front trying to avoid puddles. Given what the
rest of it was to be like, that was the least of their worries.
We were soon
into fields, footpaths, farm tracks, paths through woods even the odd
bit of road (but not much). A lot of it was muddy and slippy with tracks
that were, in parts, eroded and uneven so we had to concentrate on
finding a footing rather than looking at the excellent views (the rain
had cleared by now). I didn't fall over but I had a few cases of
windmill arms that Wile E. Coyote would have been proud of!
Although
there is nothing as steep as the Stickler or Beast, it is still pretty
hilly. The last six miles seemed to bring climb after climb. It was
challenging as part of a half marathon and I was glad not to be going
the full distance - that's for next year. The finish was as well
organised as everything else, with bags bussed there from Broughton.
I really
enjoyed it, it was hard work but tremendous fun and the atmosphere is so
friendly. It's not one to get a PB on, but the Runners World
website shows the number of people giving it full marks and going back
again and again. It reminded me why it is my favourite race, and why I
do this running stuff.
WACers
results:
Jon Braund
01:48:01
Terry Simms 02:17:43
Claire Scammell 02:20:56
