Leicester Half-Marathon, 23 Feb 2025

I originally had planned to sign up for a bike 10-mile TT that day, but I missed the deadline. Still eager to do something semi-competitive, I found a local half to take part in instead. As I only signed up a few days before, preparation was limited so I just took a few days easy and went in with a relaxed mindset just to enjoy myself.

From the gun I felt so good and was looking at my pace, surprised how easy it felt. As the km’s passed my pace was staying consistent with the tempo efforts I’ve been set by Tim recently, which filled me with confidence. As the course progressed so did the hills but as I was slowly moving past other runners it filled me with confidence and almost gave me more energy. At 16km my legs were feeling pretty tired, but I had some gels and told myself that the faster I go, the quicker it will end. It was encouraging to also be seeing, chatting, and then passing some of my teammates toward the end of the race.

In the last 2km, I looked to see the time, and this was when I realised it was possible for me to finish within (1:30-39) which was a goal someone told me before the race, I thought was impossible as my PB was 1:45:00. I gave it everything I had, and despite the rolling hills and aggressive incline before the finish I achieved my goal!

My chip time was 1:37:41. This put me in 3rd place for under 20 women's and gave me a new PB. I was very happy with this result, but back to focusing on the 5km for summer triathlon races. (Although I am tempted to find a few flatter local halves to keep me entertained before then).

Zoe Palmer