Hereford (St Michael’s Hospice) Half Marathon -Rachel

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What an experience! Croft Ambrey sent a large contingent of runners to this event, on an increasingly warm, dry day. Record numbers turned out – almost 800 – and we were encouraged by spectators all the way round! Jonathan Pugh won in 1:14:51and first lady was Claire Conway in 1:29:21

Dave Rouse jnr. led Croft in at 1:25:01 (very dramatic finish-line photos, Dave!). Simon had a rough time but crossed the line at 1:27:59 just behind Gary Pearson at 1:27:52.

Ian Price made 1:32:19, Dave George 1:34:11 and Jon Utley was pleased with 1:41:49. Neil Taylor, hiding in the results list, made 1:53:05 after Dave Rouse snr. with 1:51:43.

Frank still has some of that London magic and was delighted with 1:42:06. It was great to see Karen Preston again, running the race for only the second time, coming in at 2:05:10.

When you have never run a distance before, the final sections – especially your likely finish time – are a total mystery, I’ve found. Martin Williams’ 1:38:38 debut result was a total shock to him – fantastic result! For myself, I’d thought a debut 2:20, maybe 2:10 on race day, but saw that clock on the finish line and somehow found enough to sprint in under the two hours at 1:57:54!

Thank you everyone for your help, kind advice, encouragement and patience as I built up to my biggest race ever (particularly when everything started to seize up on me in the days before the race!) I’ve learnt a huge amount, increasing from a 15/20 mile week to a 25/30 mile week, since March. I can only marvel at the dedication, commitment and knowledge of all in the club who do so many challenging runs of all kinds. Thankyou.

Rachel

Dave, Dave, Rachel, Martin, Gary, Jon, Simon and Frank

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