Bath Half Marathon
When: March 1st 2015
Where: Bath, Somerset, UK
Course: on roads on a 2 lap loop around the river Avon.
Other routes touched (walk): Kennet & Avon Canal, River Avon Trail, Cotswold Way, Linear Park
Other routes touched (cycle): NCN 244, 4 / Bristol-Bath Cycle Track
Finish time: 1:57
Bath was a proper test for me as it was the first major run since the Ultramarathon 6 weeks before. I'd taken it easy since then, sticking to my weekly parkruns and keeping an eye on my knee which had been annoying me since the Ultra. Timi and I made a weekend of it and had a nice afternoon and evening in the city the day before. The Sunday was a good arrangement: I would get up early for the run and Timi would do some shopping and meet me at the end.
The start wasn't promising. With such a large crowd, nearly 13,000 runners, we were told to get to the race village early. I got there 2 hours before the start just as it started chucking it down. There weren't many places to hide but luckily I was running for MacMillan Cancer Support and they had their own tent. I hid there as long as possible before getting to the start line. I took a fetching green poncho and went to the start with still another cold hour to go.
The route was great, 2 laps of the roads around a stretch of the River Avon plus some of the town centre. A large field of runners plus a city location meant a large crowd of spectators to support us. There were also several MacMillan cheering spots with volunteers looking out for runners in their t-shirts to give them an extra bit of encouragement.
The final bit of encouragement was Timi waiting for me at the final mile. I always love seeing her there at the end. My finish time was 1:57:21, just under my normal time of 1:56, but a good confirmation that I was fully recovered from the Ultra.
