Bath Half, 2019

I've done this race a few times in the past, but I'm struggling to remember when, and with what result. I know I ran it in 2006, a few weeks before the London marathon, and I think I did about 1:23 (for some reason I don't appear in the results, although my sister Lizzy does). I think I ran it once or twice in the 1990s, but really my record-keeping from that era is hopeless.  Suffice to say that this was my first road half marathon for a while, and the flattest one for quite a while, so I was intrigued to see what I could do.

The lovely Mrs S and I set off early and parked in Bath with my cousins Rob and Sally in good time.  Rob kindly drove us towards the centre, and we jumped out and joined the great river of people heading to the runners' village.  The 15,000 runners swamped the place.  I was on tenterhooks as I was desperate to swap my number, which said Pen H, for something more respectable. Like an eejit I had omitted to provide a time estimate, so by default I was put for the back of the pack, and I was aghast at the prospect of juggling around the slower runners for much, if not all, of the route,

But once we'd found the right queue, the super-efficient staff gave me a new number marked Pen E, a distinct improvement. It was a chilly morning; about 6 degrees, with a fresh west wind, but with spells of sunshine. Mrs S and I put on unwanted t-shirts and bin bags, dropped the bag off, and after some chilly waiting the crowd was ushered towards the start line.

Bath chic

I moved to the front of Pen E, and after a minute or two ducked under a piece of tape to Pen D, which was where I wanted to be (A, B and C were tiny elite pens, right on the start line). I was thrilled and relieved.  There were plenty of club runners here, running circuits or standing in the sunshine.  I met Peat and we jogged around together.  We were called to the start, and off we went.

It took me 15 seconds to get to the start line and from there the pace was good, although inevitably a bit tricky going in a dense pack.  After a couple of km I had found my rhythm and was thoroughly enjoying the support and the music.  The course was essentially two out-and-back loops heading out west on the north side of the Avon, and returning on the south side. This meant two sets of running into the wind followed by a tailwind home - nice!  On the first turn, I was struck by the sudden calm as the wind followed us.  I was doing a respectable pace (3:45/km or so) and felt good.


Back into the centre with all the crowds, and back out into the wind.  I was feeling fine as I kept the pressure up and felt myself move gradually up the field. It was great to see Rob, Sally and the girls waving their support. Into the final leg, and by now the road was crammed with first-lappers on the left side. Push, push... I tried to figure out what time I was going to do, and reckoned it could turn out interesting.

Caught by Rob on the second lap

The final mile is uphill and veers back into the wind.  By now I was panting, closing down the distance.  I pegged it into Great Pulteney Street and crossed the line in 1:20:33.  Oh My Goodness.  I was amazed - way better than I had expected or hoped for. Back in the day (1996) I ran the Cricklade half in 1:18:45, and I think this might just be my best half marathon result in 23 years.  And there at the finish line was my mate Craig from Corsham Runners, with whom I'd battled at the 2017 Avebury 8/9. Craig was thrilled with his own PB of 1:19.

Mrs S came storming home in 1:53 PB, despite having to battle with runner traffic for most of the way. And Rob and Sally's youngest, Marcus, ran his first ever half in 2:01 with a negative split. What a tremendous outing all round. Here are my stats.

The wonderful sign that Emily and Rosy made for us

Check out this image from Strava Flyby. I'm the black line in the middle, and Craig is the blue line on top.  What interests me is how most of my rivals faded after about 7 miles - as a 10k, this would have been a very different race.