Race Report: Blackmore Vale Half Marathon
David ArdleyBy Ian Wells
Again perfect conditions for the Blackmore Vale half marathon near Sherborne, no wind and not too cold. The competition in this race was high and mainly dominated by Bournemouth Athletic Club, with most of their team in the top 10, winning time 1;09;22 for this undulating course. The event starts on top of the hill at Bishops Caundle and heads down hill on narrow roads for the first two miles. With over 600 runners it was difficult to get going, then after that the pace became hotter. Normal tactic of getting behind and pacing a faster runner paid off, then I joined a faster overtaking group. Having a good chat with one in this group about long distance triathlons etc. took the mind off the pace we were doing. Again, I joined another overtaking group to the 10 mile point, in a time of 70 minutes. Feeling very good at this point I was able to put more pressure on and legs feeling good and in control. The final mile is hard back up the hill to the village and finishing line. Overall time was 1:33;44 but was still only managed 11th in my age group although with a personal best on this course by over eight minutes from last year. I was on my own, no other STC members raced, so I got 1st place team member!
Reader Comments (1)
I was there too (if I'd known you were going we could have shared a car!). I did a rather less impressive 2 hours although for some freak reason (possible the chip timing - which I was less than impressed with and seemed like total overkill for a running race with 600 people) the results say 1 hour 28 mins - I'm not one to complain though - hahaha - I've had lots of people from my running club congratulating me as if I would ever actually manage that time - very inspirational and has made me want to get some more training in so can't be bad!
Jane