Bournemouth Bay Half Marathon
7th April 2013
Bournemouth Pier
13.1 miles
On to the race- despite my best efforts, the organisers found me another number and I lined up for a 10am start. I have been in such a funk with my running recently that my only goal was to finish with a smile on my face. Luckily running in such a big crowd, particularly when many people are running for charity, makes it’s much easier to enjoy a race.
The route takes you in a westerly direction away from the pier, up through the chines and then back down onto the prom. As we headed east toward to Southbourne, there was a reasonable headwind on the prom so I stuck to a really steady pace. I had a gel at about 5 miles. I learnt from my last couple of runs that I need food pretty much every hour I run. The route takes you around some of the houses at Hengistbury Head before heading back towards Bournemouth along Southbourne cliff top and then Boscombe seafront. I sped up a tiny bit for the last two miles and came in through the finish at 1.46.20. This was quite a bit slower than last year, but i finished with a smile on my face- finally!