13.1 miles, more than your average jog around the block but not quite your elite long distance runner’s distance. On Sunday, Anthony and I ran the Great Scottish Run, otherwise known as the Glasgow Half Marathon. We ran it in 2 hours and 45 seconds. This wasn’t our first half marathon and it probably won’t be our last. Going into the morning of the race I had almost done everything right(ish), having built up our distance, rested in the week leading up to the race, carb loaded the day before, got a nice early night and then a decent breakfast and lots of hydration in the morning before the race. I donned my dual branded BTRS-Leeds Girls Can running t-shirt and was set to go. I think that even if you’ve prepared well you will always be a little nervous on a race day, there are so many factors that are out of your control and there is always a chance that something could go wrong.
After the run Anthony and I were talking about some of the things that we hadn’t really properly thought about before, things that seasoned distance racers know, but novices like ourselves might forget or not realise. So, what’s it really like to run a half marathon?
Often, many of the people on hand to hep you are volunteers and by nature, they do not have the answers to everything. When we arrived at George Square in central Glasgow before the race it wasn’t immediately obvious where we needed to put our bags. They actually had quite a snazzy system going on where you put your bag on a bus and then the bus drove over to the finish line. But we hadn’t realised that! So give yourself enough time pre-race to do all that sort of admin so you’re not stressing out (like I was, as per usual). It seems so obvious but when you think you’ve got time you end up running out.
The race start line is always a bit of a hectic one! Lots of people, sometimes not quite in the position that they want to be, often aiming for different times. Almost everyone starts off too quickly so you need to be aware of your own pace. It’s just like being on the motorway and almost everyone is speeding, it’s sometimes difficult not to get swept along.
You could try and stick to a pacer but I do not trust the pacers to keep to their set time. I think that they are good as a rough guide but if you can see your own time splits then use that instead. I say this because I know for a fact that one of the pacers at Glasgow was running their first ever half marathon. This was an individual I follow on social media, a You Tube personality. I think that it’s great that she ran a half marathon and she did get her time spot on in the end, but it is alarming to me that people aiming for that time might have been following her and she had never run a full half marathon before.
If you are aiming for a specific time, you need to actually be a few minutes faster than you think. This is because there are lots of instances where you will get held up and there is nothing that you can do about it. There will always be points where the path narrows and you are forced into a bottle neck and so you cannot get past runners slightly slower than yourself. Water stations, a notorious point at which you will slow down, be unable to grab a bottle, get shoved (whether on purpose or by accident by another runner), and get generally held up! This is all part of the race but you need to be aware of that and factor in a few spare minutes into your running pace, depending on how serious you are about reaching your time.
We aimed for sub 2 hours but didn’t quite get it but that is sort of the nature of race running. I would say unless you are a serious athlete (and if you are then I doubt that you’re reading this post!), then you have to be a little bit patient with yourself and others. Don’t be one of those minority rude runners who are unpleasant towards other runners because they might have slowed them by 1 second. It’s a huge event with thousands of people taking part, just enjoy it!
Most people do and that makes for a great atmosphere. People who are fundraising have a natural affinity with certain causes and you hear people praising each other’s efforts which is really encouraging to hear. Most people are very pleasant, including the spectators. We saw all sorts of amazing homemade signs, spurring on family and friends but also “keep going random strangers!” Some people were holding boxes of sweets for runners, I got a cheeky jelly baby. All of the cheering and encouragement makes it into a fun event. Along the course we saw bag pipers which was great! We saw a rock choir, junior cheerleading squad and some belly dancers. Things like that make you forget the pain of running somewhat!
By the time we reached the finish my left hip was significantly sore and I was very tired but we’d done it! Then of course, you get your medal and finishers’ t-shirt along with a load of yummy goodies, knowing that you’ve run 13.1 miles and that is a great thing to have achieved! Whether you want to run a 5km race or an ultra-marathon the sense of achievement is great and if you want some motivation for your fitness then a running event is the perfect way to give yourself a boot up the behind.
So there you have it, some things to expect from a half marathon. Following the weekend in Glasgow, Anthony and I have come over to Loch Tay for a few nights. We have been staying in a ‘glamping’ dome with a wood burner, how cool! We’re enjoying the peace before we return home to commence our final preparations for our big travelling adventure. I will still be writing some fitness type blog posts but there will be some travel type ones too coming up. Let’s call it Active Em on tour! Watch this space...
Em x
02/10/2018
Facebook: Emily Ankers - Leeds Girls Can Ambassador
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