So last week didn’t go to plan. Picking up a bit of a knee injury half way through Winchester Half Marathon meant a few days of rest followed by some very cautious miles later in the week. I’ve had to be sensible and went into this race not even considering a sub 1:30 or anything too fast, this was certainly one to tick off in one piece, making sure I’m fit for the next one.
As race day approached I was still holding some aches and pains (secondary niggles) from limping for so long the week before. The right side of my body in particular, was very tight, causing some mid back and calf issues. I was hoping that by the time this race came around, I would be niggle free and ready to go. Unfortunately I wasn’t 100% so all preparation and the race itself was very much aimed at getting round. A 5.15am rise on Sunday to get ready and head down to Lammas Park in Ealing, and I could hear the rain coming down outside. The weather forecast wasn’t looking good, so I was prepared for another wet race. I suppose I can’t complain, it was only the 3rd half out of the 42 done so far, where it has rained…….not bad for UK weather! After some breakfast and usual preparations, I was in the car heading down the M40 for race #39 (half #42) of the challenge.
All parked up near the race village, I walked to Lammas Park and did the final preparations, portaloos, bag drop and warm up. A little apprehensive about this race due to the niggles so I had my sensible head on. Get round, complete the race in one piece and get home! After my warm up, I stood around 20 yards back from the start line as it filled up around me. The 1:30 pacer a few rows in front and a 1:35 pacer just behind. A sensible start position I thought, with a lot of runners in front of me. With 10 minutes to go it started to rain, just like it did at Winchester the previous week. Luckily it wasn’t as heavy and actually quite warm, around 16 degrees. The rain had little bursts, stopping then starting again for the first mile or so, enough to make the roads wet and a few small puddles but nothing major. With a countdown from 10 and an air horn to start the race, everyone bolted off down the road under the start gantry. It was an incredibly fast start and I actually felt like I was in the way, travelling at a 6:40 min/mile as runners flew past me. It did finally slow down slightly as everyone found their pace and positions. The road was packed with a sea of runners as we made our way away from Lammas Park and weaved through the streets towards Ealing town centre.
The first 1.75 miles were all gradually uphill, not really noticeable to the eye though. There were a couple of small declines too, but on the whole it went up just over 20 metres in gradient, nothing too bad yet. At around 0.5 miles we turned right onto the Uxbridge Road towards the town centre where the road was wide and allowed everyone to filter nicely into position. All the roads were closed for the race, so were traffic free but lined with supporters. Before we made it to the town centre we turned left and ran over a railway bridge, which gave us our first small decline on the other side, as mile 1 beeped (6:47). As I passed, a guy in front in a pair of speedos, some arm bands and swimming cap pulled to the side to take a selfie with the mile 1 marker. He was going for a world record of the fastest half marathon dressed as a swimmer. I ran past him but that wasn’t the last I was going to see of him. After the short decline off the bridge, the road continued to go slightly uphill again as swimming guy bolted back past me up to the 1:30 pacer ahead. After looking at the map, I knew the course was very intricate with lots of twists and turns, and even a few roads where we doubled back on ourselves. It started just after the first mile with a few quick turns before a longer stretch up a more noticeable incline. This one gave me a chance to overtake a few people whilst maintaining my speed nicely. My knee was feeling good and I was comfortable at this stage. At the top of the incline, the road turned right before another right turn, as we then went back down a steeper decline through mile 2 (6:45).
We continued downhill past Ealing Cricket Club until roughly 2.4 miles before a left turn and a long, straight drag uphill for just over 400m. This one was steeper and longer than any other incline so far, and it certainly slowed everyone down. I used it to overtake a lot of people, including the swimmer man and the 1:30 pacers. It took my breath away a bit but as I hit the top and we took a left turn, the course flattened slightly to mile 3 (6:55). The next mile was a lot kinder, pretty much all downhill which was nice on the legs and lungs. I wasn’t trying to go fast as we weaved through the streets, but the downhill meant everyone got faster around me. It’s easy to let the legs go and make up some time on the declines. A couple more left and right turns, followed by a longer road and mile 4 (6:30) beeped with a much more speedy split. Just after mile 4 we took a couple of right turns to go round the block, before a left turn into Pitshanger Park. It was still downhill until we reached the park when it flattened off. We turned left into the park and the path through the park was narrower, still with a lot of runners around me. Unlike other races where I’d have one or two people to focus on, there were lots in this race and positions were forever changing. At the end of the path we turned left up an incline again, out of the park. We continued uphill turning to the right, then as mile 5 (6:37) beeped we took a left. The incline was enough to raise the heart rate and breathing, and stretch the field out a little. I’d overtaken a few and there were new faces around me now.
Moving away from the 5 mile marker, we were still on a slight incline for at least another 400m, before it turned into a decline. We weaved our way through the housing estates, turning left and right before passing a church where there was a water station, at approximately 5.5 miles. Passing the church the decline continued all the way past mile 6. It wasn’t steep, more of a gradual downslope but it definitely helped get some speed back up after the climb. We soon came to a junction where supporters lined both sides of the street, clapping and cheering. It was a great atmosphere hearing runners names shouted out, including mine. Up ahead was the 10 mile marker, straight down the road, but we veered to the right away from it. The road was split with cones, so it was obvious we’d be heading back this way in a few miles time. As we turned to the right, mile 6 (6:45) beeped shortly after as we continued downhill. A minute or so later we were crossing a railway bridge as the decline got a little steeper and enabled us to open our legs a little. We took a right turn as the decline continued to around 6.5 miles before another incline started. On the other side of the road, the lead bike and first few runners went past in the opposite direction. We took a right and a left as the incline got steeper into the middle of an estate. As mile 7 (6:49) beeped we turned left onto a nice decline for a couple of minutes with houses on the right, a long stretch of green to our left which separated the two sides of the road. On the other side, runners were coming back up the hill the other way, so I knew a ‘U’ turn was up ahead. After approximately 400m we veered to the left to the other side of the green and started the incline, parallel with the runners behind us on the other side. Near the top of the green we took a right, still gradually climbing past a church where people were handing out water and oranges. At the end of the street we took a left back onto Greenford Avenue where the incline got steeper for a few hundred yards. It was more of a lungbuster and thigh burner now up towards mile 8 (6:57) which really hit my legs.
As we reached mile 8, runners from further back were coming towards us on the other side of the road. A nice decline started which took us pretty much all the way to mile 9. We took a right turn and veered to the right around the edge of Brent Cross Park before turning left and entering the park at the far end. The decline turned into an incline along the path through the park as my legs started to feel heavier. I was in a bit of a gap now between runners as I turned to the left out of the park and passed the mile 9 (6:47) marker. We followed the road which again joined the same road as we’d travelled down previously, with runners coming the other way, meaning we’d looped the park. We ran across the heavily supported cross roads at Greenford Avenue again, where there was a 3 way flow of runners, after having two loops in this section of the route. We were on a slight incline up to and over the railway bridge, which we’d previously crossed in the other direction, before a short decline on the other side. The course started to rise again slightly, past the mile 6 marker on the other side of the road, before reaching a heavily supported junction where we turned right. Mile 10 (6:51) beeped and I was hanging in there, but suffering a little. The next mile was pretty much all, very slightly, downhill as we turned left then right back towards Ealing town centre. Further down the road we rejoined the same route from earlier in the race, as we passed the mile 1 marker again on the opposite side of the road. We turned right and crossed the railway bridge at mile 11 (6:49).
I was somehow maintaining a pretty good speed even though my legs felt like lead. We took a right turn onto the Uxbridge Road towards West Ealing, where runners were now starting to go past me in their push to the finish. It was slightly downhill but I didn’t care, I just wanted to maintain my pace enough for a sub 1:30 now, as it was within reach, despite not being 100%. We took a left off the main road and a right shortly after, working our way around the block back towards Lammas Park as mile 12 (6:49) beeped. I was still hanging in there with just over a mile to go. Soon we were running alongside the park before taking a right along the road where the start gantry stood at the beginning. It was now gone and we turned into Lammas Park further along, to follow the path through the middle, then around the edge at the far end of the park. More runners were flying past, pushing to the line, including the ‘swimmer’ runner. I was fading as we rounded the far end of the park and turned left for the last slight incline through mile 13 (6:56) and round the last bend to the finish. I was watching the time on my garmin and I knew I was creeping in under 1:30, so I didn’t need one last sprint, I was just happy to finish and take some time to rest.
It wasn’t as flat as I thought it would be, or as simple, with lots of twists, turns and loops around the local estates, it was more of a challenge to get that sub 1:30 finish time. That’s another one completed and onto the next. I walked through, claimed my medal, took the usual treats before heading back to the car. Job done!
So how did I get on?
Here’s the stats…
Splits (miles) –
1 – 6:47
2 – 6:45
3 – 6:55
4 – 6:30
5 – 6:37
6 – 6:45
7 – 6:49
8 – 6:57
9 – 6:47
10 – 6:51
11 – 6:49
12 – 6:49
13 – 6:56
0.17 – 1:13
Time – 1:29:27
Chip Time – 1:29:24
Position – 191/4072
Now it’s done, what did I think about the event?
(I can only comment on my experience, so others may have a very different view.)
Organisation/Facilities: 4.5/5 – If there is ever a category to get high marks, this is it I think. If an event gives out nice medals but the organisation is a shambles, it puts you off doing it again no matter how good the medals are. Luckily Ealing was superbly organised and it needed to be with over 4000 runners. Before race day there was plenty of information sent out via email and on social media, so no question was left unanswered. Race numbers were sent out in advance with pre race information in a small pamphlet, very small, foldable, neat and easy to put in a pocket for runners or supporters on the day. The route was in the pamphlet too, and a diagram of the race village and surrounding area. All of the information was also visible on their thorough website. Also, when signing up they asked for the name you would like to appear on your race number, so they could personalise it for each runner. It was a nice touch to have ‘Dobbo 52 in 52’ printed on mine. On arrival there was no official parking but there are residential streets which have parking if you get there early enough to claim a space. It is a short walk to the race village and due to road closures, is a little complicated to get out of the area if you are a fast finisher, but it was easy enough for me to park and get away after, as I’d picked a road near the start of the route which would be cleared by the time I left. When entering the race village, I’ve never see so many portaloos at an event. There were tonnes of them and urinals too, so I never really noticed any big queues like other events, even as it got closer to the start. Obviously there was some queuing, but with 4000 runners that’s inevitable unless you arrive as early as me and get to use them before most people get there. In the race village there were plenty of charity stalls, some food/drinks tents and of course the registration and baggage tent. The baggage was quick and easy, all in number order and set out neatly for a quick pick up at the end, so no problem there. They had a small stage for someone to give a warm up, music playing throughout and someone giving lots of race day information and encouragement over the microphone for all to hear. It created a nice atmosphere across the main field too. The start wasn’t overly narrow, but with 4000+ runners squashing in, it felt it. There were no official time zones but pacers were dotted around, so you hope runners will place themselves according to predicted finish time. On this occasion, that seemed to happen nicely at the front, with the front runners bolting off and the pace starting fast as soon as I crossed the line. In fact, although I was behind the 1:30 pacer by quite a bit, runners were flooding past me, suggesting another fast race. Once out on the course there were mile/km markers and arrows all over the place. If you missed them, their were tonnes of marshals too, directing the runners through the streets of Ealing across the closed roads. They were encouraging and cheerful, considering it was another slightly wet, miserable morning. If I remember correctly, there were 5 official water stations too, around 2 miles, 4, 5.5, 8 and 11.5, but there seemed to be some unofficial water stations outside churches and Gurdwaras, which was a nice touch from a caring community. All in all, it was an extremely smooth event and no real issues that I can think of.
Route: 3.5/5 – I was left a little surprised with the route. After growing up not far from Ealing, I didn’t think it would be hilly at all. Although they weren’t exactly huge hills, it had quite a few inclines, some long enough to really slow everyone down. As it was on a fully closed road course in West London, there was no traffic but the majority of the route was amongst houses and a built up area. There was a bit through a local park, but not enough to really say the route was scenic. It also had a lot of twists and turns, doubling back to do the same roads again, making it quite intricate and slower at times. I struggled to get into a rhythm and the miles passed slowly…..a good indication that it wasn’t my favourite route of the year! It certainly wasn’t the hardest course but definitely not the fastest either.
Medal, t-shirt & goody bag: 3/5 – Recently I’ve had an array of nice medals, good quality t-shirts and some great treats in the goody bags. Unfortunately Ealing didn’t offer the same quality! There was a reasonably nice medal which was an average size but nothing amazing. There was no finishers t-shirt at all and no goody bag as such, just a few treats handed out, including the usual water bottle and banana, as well as a packet of mini cheddars and some kind of healthy snack bar. Hardly a huge reward for finishing the race. Seen a lot more at cheaper races.
Price: 2/5 – For £40 (£38 affiliated) as an early bird price, it’s worth getting in as early as possible for this one, as the price rises closer to £50 by race day. It’s the most expensive race I’ve entered so far this year and I’m not sure I’d pay that amount to do it in the future. I understand it’s a fully closed road event and it’s very well organised, so will cost a bit more, but with no t-shirt or not much in the way of treats, just a reasonable medal, I’m not sure it’s worth that much.
Overall, in my personal opinion I’d give it a 3/5. It was a well organised and very big event, but it lacked anything that really excited me and makes me want to sign up again. The route isn’t particularly thrilling and the rewards minimal. Probably not one to appear in next year’s race list.
Next on my list is the Bournemouth Half Marathon at the Bournemouth Marathon Festival. This is another of my favourite races and I enjoy the whole weekend. My kids always run the shorter races on the Saturday, followed by me running the half on the Sunday. Two years ago I even used this event as my challenge for the year, running all 4 races (10k, 5k, Half and full marathon) in the weekend. It was a gruelling challenge but at least it was done in one weekend…..unlike this one!!! Looking forward to having a weekend in Bournemouth again and hoping for some Indian Summer weather again.
Remember, if my challenge or the effort I’m putting in has inspired you and you’d like to donate, I’m very grateful for anything you can spare. You can donate through my justgiving page here.
Run 'til you Drop! 