Monday 15 July 2013

Surrey Badger Half Marathon - a race recap... of sorts

Wowsers.
If I had've known that the hilly half marathon we were scheduled to run on July 14 would be on the hottest day of the year, I definitely would have thought twice (maybe even thrice) about registering us for it...
But actually, in all honesty I'm so pleased I did.
It was a tough challenge, but an incredibly rewarding one!

And it was the first race I have run with my sister (her first ever race) - so it was an honour to be running with her. I'm so proud of her!

The Surrey Badger Half Marathon was described as a multi-terrain hilly race and though there was lots of bush and shade, there was also lots of open spaces in the exposed sun. The air in the bush/forrest sections was close and humid and only a tiny bit cooler than out in the open heat of the sun. I'm sure I drank about 30 litres of water (no kidding) and didn't need to go to the toilet until 2 hours after I'd finished running... CRAZY!

The race didn't start until 10am and it was already one million degrees by then, sweating while waiting at the start line... not cool man.

I wouldn't call myself a 'seasoned' half-marathon runner or anything - I don't even think I've reached double-digits yet, but this was definitely the hardest race I've done! And I don't think it helps that I'm still carrying an extra UNWANTED 8 post-pregnancy kilos...
Darn that heavenly taste of an ice-cold post-run berry cider...

But although there was lots of complaining about the heat and the hills {and I'm not even going to mention about my sister needing to duck into the bushes twice because of 'digestion issues' from the gel shots we were using...}, this was also one of the most beautiful races I've done. Because there was lots of climbing up hills, the views at the top were stunning!

And that's what I'm all about - running for the purpose of getting outdoors and exercising in beautiful natural environments with great scenery. 'Discovering' this beautiful country of Great Britain we live in.

Mile 4

The seven water stations along the way that also provided jelly babies and sponges with ice cold water were from the Lord! Ice cold water on the face and down the back were seriously sooooo gooooood.

Mile 11

(Mum and Dad - I thought you'd appreciate some photos of your beautifully sweaty daughters running together...)

About 3 seconds away from crossing the finish line!

It was great to do an organised race during our marathon training - the atmosphere, friendly runners, encouraging marshals along the way and the water hose at the end offering an ice cold hose-down made it very much worth while.

But the thought of having to do that all again in order to run a FULL marathon almost brings me to tears... here's hoping Lochness at the end of September won't be experiencing a freak heat-wave!....



3 comments:

  1. So proud of you both! Well done! Love the photos of you both running together xxxxx

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  2. Yay yay yay yay yay yay yaaaaayyyyyyy!! Awesome pictures, made me smile (and get a little bit teary as well!!!) So proud of you both! Go the sisters!!! :) xxxx

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  3. Awesome work both of you!!! Be very proud of yourselves!! xxx

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