Hampton Court Half Marathon, 26 Mar 2023

An early start on Sunday to head to South London for the Hampton Court Palace Half Marathon. I was using this race as a training run in the lead up to London Marathon and had a few friends running too. Waking up to pouring rain wasn’t the best start but a wet winter training cycle has definitely prepared me for weather like this (and who knows what it will be like on the big day so always good to have practiced when it’s like this!). I dropped my bag and headed off for a 2 mile warm up around the kitchen garden at Hampton Court. Then it was time to head off (started by Henry VIII himself!).

The route goes along the river path to Kingston, crosses the river and heads back along the other side before crossing back over for a final few miles around the grounds of Hampton Court. The rain continued all through the race, making for a very muddy course (even on the road parts). Pretty soon we were all covered in mud and embracing it. I was glad I hadn’t worn my white carbon shoes though! The first 10 miles I kept to a consistent pace, fuelled regularly and took water at the stations. The final 2 miles were on grass which, by the time I had got there, had turned into deep mud. This was the point where the pace was dropped and the focus was on staying on two feet which I somehow managed! The last 200m to the finish line had incredible support and it was definitely a winner of a medal. I was very pleased to cross the line in 1hr46 despite the mud - I definitely thought I was going to come in a bit slower. Run Through races are always well organised and free photos are definitely a bonus - especially when there is a finish line battle. Despite the conditions it was a great morning and a solid training run (but fingers crossed I’m not running in weather like this on London Marathon day!).

Millie Rhead