Rutland Spring Half Marathon, 7 Apr 2024
As I embarked on the Rutland Half Marathon on April 7th, a persistent headwind from storm Kathleen greeted everyone right from the start. The gusts were a real test of my endurance, both physically and mentally, but occasional areas of tree and hedge cover provided much needed respite from the relentless wind.
I had done very limited training prior to this event, having spent the 5 weeks leading up to it trying to recover from a mild, but niggly foot injury whilst trying to maintain some level of acceptable form for this day, and then being struck down by a virus the week before. Luckily on the day the lighter exercise seemed to have paid off as it did not preset itself as an issue on the day.
I did a short warm up, a few goes up and down the large hill next to the start, and before I knew it they were calling for runners to join the start funnel. I managed to start out with a pretty consistent pace, perhaps slightly faster than I had initially planned, having a target of my Cambridge half marathon time as an optimistic finishing time. I started on my gels earlier than normal, with the first being at around 6km (having seen another massive hill in the distance), and spread the others out every 5km after that.
Whilst this was a much smaller event than my first half marathon in Cambridge the previous month, there was still a fantastic atmosphere, with supporters dotted throughout the course, and people lining the final kilometre cheering everyone home. It definitely took much more mental determination to keep going when compared to the bigger events that seem to have crowds that carry you through the miles.
The hardest segment awaited within the final kilometre, where two incredibly challenging hills awaited exhausted runners. Hill training is definitely on my training list after this event as the final one almost beat me, but I did just about manage to continue with a slow jog up to the summit.
I managed to cross the finish line in 1:51:53, only 20 seconds slower than my Cambridge time, which I was very happy with considering the much more undulating course and unfavourable weather conditions. I found out after the event that I had come 2nd in my age category too, which was a lovely surprise!
Overall It was a lovely event and one that I would definitely return to, hopefully with slightly more favourable weather conditions though! My next event will be a multisport debut at the St Neots Sprint Duathlon in May which I am very much looking forward to!
Mica Covell