Helsby Four Villages Half Marathon, 16 Jan 2022

This was my first attempt at a half marathon and according to the course details it was going to be a testing one!

The weather was perfect and after a good warm up I felt ready and up for the challenge. Due to my lack of experience over this distance I was keen not to go off too fast. However, that went straight out of the window when the gun went off and I found myself caught up in the fast runners.

After the first couple of kilometres, I settled into a steady pace and found myself running in a small group. As the kilometres ticked by, I kept waiting for the pain to kick in but I continued to feel strong. The first half of the course was reasonably flat but as I approached the 13 kilometre mark the hills came thick and fast. I dug in and picked up the pace and before I knew it, I was approaching the last few kilometres. A quick check of the watch informed me I could finish under 1 hour 40 so I pressed on. Cramp made an appearance with about 2 kilometres left so I had to manage trying to finish strong and not falling over as I felt the cramp in my legs.

I finished top ten in my age group with a time of 1hr 39…not a bad first effort!

Alli Coleman