Prestwold Hall Half Marathon, 25 February 2024

The day before I like to be prepared, getting all my kit laid out in the morning, making sure I had all the correct kit and equipment. In the afternoon, I did a short 25 minute shakeout, keeping the legs fresh and loose before the race.  

On race morning, I fuelled with some toast, which is my usual go to breakfast before any big session.  After breakfast, I attached my race number, and got picked up to drive to Prestwold Hall, which is only 10 minutes outside Loughborough. Some other athletes from the triathlon team came to support which gave us some good motivation pre-race on the drive to Prestwold. The weather was looking good: there had been a few windy and rainy days leading up to the event, but we lucked out on race day and had the sun shining. It was cold, but ideal conditions for a race morning.

We arrived nice and early at the event for a thorough warm up. It was cold, so I made sure to warm up properly to ensure I wouldn’t injure anything in the race. The warm up included a 15 minute easy running and some fast strides to get the legs going and blood pumping. Legs were feeling fresh and loose, so this filled me with confidence before the race. After a few quick photos we were off! My race plan was to start off reserved and build into the race based on feel.

I started off feeling reserved, however pace wise I went out quite quick. The plan was to stick with the 1:40 pacer however he went out a bit quick and I decided to carry on the pace he started at. I was worried that I gone out too fast and at 4km in I started to get a small stitch in the stomach. I just kept it steady and carried on as planned. At 10km, I took a gel which gave me that extra bit of energy to keep me going. I picked up water at the aid stations, helping with hydration. The support from the spectators really helped push myself. The last 5km went by in a blur, catching and passing my teammate on the finishing straight. Seeing all the spectators and my friends from University really helped me put a final push to have a sprint finish across the line.

I crossed the line in 1:36:24. This was a huge PB! This was a PB of 8 minutes from my last half marathon race which was only a year ago! I was so pleased with the progress over the past year!

Ceri Davies