On Sunday 12 October I headed through thick fog to Peterborough to run the Great Eastern Run – better known informally as the Peterborough Half, which was to be my first half marathon. The whole idea originally was inspired by Angie and Teresa’s 60 for 60 and I decided that one of my “things to do I’ve never done” for that milestone would be to run a half marathon. Then I broke my toe and so Cambridge last year was out. Then I was meant to do Peterborough last year but was hating running at the time, so Will suggested I defer. Will, you are a genius! That turned out to be a brilliant suggestion. This year I was loving running again so I embarked on BUPA’s free off the internet “run your first half” training plan with a bit more confidence.
This was by far the most people I’ve ever run with – around 6,500, and I didn’t really know what to expect on the day but it certainly wasn’t the weather we got – who expected that fog! The forecast said it would burn off but it didn’t really and it was chilly. Turned out to be perfect running weather though – still and cool. As suggested by a few people I bought a hoodie in a charity shop and left it at the start line to be collected and given away to local charities and I certainly needed it because it was quite a long wait for the start. We arrived early (in order not to be late!) and I managed to meet up with Seb, Hayley and Bob ahead of the race which was lovely. Then somehow one of my sisters and one of my nieces managed to spot me in the race village and came to wish me luck, and then we were off.
One of the great things about this race is that it is totally on closed roads and that it is also very flat. I tucked myself in behind the 2 hours 30 pacers and set out to enjoy myself. They were two of the nicest guys (Chas and Bob), and were running with a group of their friends from Werrington Joggers. This turned out to be important as when we ran through Werrington they knew everybody and we got amazing support! Their pace was perfect – I was with them most of the way, ahead of them towards the end, and had great people to chat to all the way round the route. I also had some lovely banter and support from a few people from Ryston Runners and some Norfolk Road Runners and Seb and I were in the same group for the first half of the race, so excellent company.
I absolutely felt ready for this race so I ran the race plan that I’d set out beforehand, aiming to enjoy it and make sure I saw family in Peterborough on the way, but got a totally unexpected and very lovely bonus at mile 2 when as I ran up a slight incline I thought I was hallucinating when I saw RntS bobble hats. It turned out to be Mark, Vikki and Tracy who’d all driven through freezing fog to support us! What a lovely suprise which gave me a real boost.
The route takes you out of Peterborough, over the A47 and into Werrington, and then back through Dogsthorpe (where I spotted family) to finish by the cathedral (worth a visit if you’ve never been), and it genuinely was flat. I managed to spot Kev heading back into the city on his way to a PB as I was on my way out, so was able to shout some support for him. It was lovely to see Mark and Vikki again at mile 11 – the thought of friendly faces was keeping me going because by then I was feeling it – the last two miles were tough but I knew I could do it so I just concentrated on my breathing and putting one foot in front of another. Then when I got closer to the finish I went for a sprint because frankly I wanted it to be over, managing to see my sister and niece and Andrew just by the cathedral. In fact my sister was hard to miss because she brought a hunting horn with her to encourage the runners…. don’t ask me.
I really enjoyed my first half, and massive thanks to everyone who has supported me, particularly Kirsty Lack, Marie P, Paula Bazley and most of all Deb Moore. In fact Deb and I have so enjoyed training together that we now plan to run the Norwich half together and I’ll have to up my pace as she’s speedier than me at the moment! I would never, NEVER, have thought I would run a half marathon which is mostly down to the wonderful RntS community and to all the coaches. Thank you. I finished in 2:27:31 which I was very happy with as my aim had been 2:30.
There is no question about the real stars of the day though. The people of Peterborough are amazing! It was terrible weather and yet they were out in force along every part of the route – people sat in their deckchairs by the side of the road with bowls of sweets, people had music machines rigged up, there was a guy playing the guitar, a kid playing the drums – so many people, so much support and encouragement. And their signs were funny: my two favourites were the one right at the start which said “you thought they said RUM didn’t you?” which made me laugh a lot, and the one that said “this isn’t as bad as Tinder”. They didn’t stop encouraging us from start to finish. It’s a big day for the city in terms of support for local charities, all of which had stalls in the race village, and many of which get a lot of funds raised by local runners and the city really enters into the spirit of it. If you’re thinking of a first half marathon it’s a great one to do. And if you’re looking for a PB, it would be good for that too!
Results:
Alex Walpole – 1:23:25 PB
Kevin Heyhoe – 1:24:53 PB
Bob Humphries – 1:46:05 PB
Zoe Smith – 2:01:56
Rob Jackman – 2:01:56
Lori Brackley – 2:04:04
Hayley Eyre – 2:09:13
Jenny Watson – 2:27:31 PB
Seb Moore – 2:32:16