Kent coastal half marathon, 5th September

With its scenic coastal route – the course is an out and back from just outside Margate to Broadstairs – and billed as “mildly undulating”, this race seemed like a good option for my first half marathon. I got a lift down on the morning and met up with a group of runners from the club.

The first few miles were quite enjoyable as we took in some beautiful coastal scenery but after four or five miles, the seemingly constant undulations, hot sun and strong winds began to take their toll. An incline of several miles took us to the half way point where we turned around and started the real hard work.

I think it would be fair to say that we all found the second half much tougher! Although we took a slightly different route for a mile or so of the way back, which provided us with some relief from the coastal winds, the stretch through a residential area was rather tedious. The last few miles were really tough – mile 12 in particular seemed to go on forever - and I cursed myself for not eating a more substantial breakfast as I fought the urge to walk the last few inclines.

Eventually, the end appeared along with a goody bag stuffed with some unusual looking non-branded snacks and drinks, and while waiting for Claire and Matt to finish the full marathon we had chance to enjoy some sunshine, compare blisters and chafing etc., and reflect on how pleased we were not to be doing the full. I was quite pleased with my time for my first half and on a trickier course than I’d expected (although being told to be back in two hours if I wanted a lift back to London was a bit of a motivator!). And it was excellent to discover that we had got the prize for the 1st ladies team while one of our number also picked up a delightful “silver” plate for being 2nd SW.

There was lots of support en-route from the very encouraging marshals, supporters and the many locals out enjoying the sunshine. The Morris dancers running the full marathon were a bit of a novelty – they stopped halfway round for a dance - but I felt pretty sorry for anyone unfortunate to be running anywhere near them. The only slight issue of contention was the possible inaccuracy of the course distance - we all measured it as 13.25 miles and that extra 0.15 mile was most unwelcome!

An enjoyable experience for my first half and, according to some guides, a 1:50 half woul put me on track for a 4hr marathon - here's hoping!