Ben Houston writes…
Henley Half Marathon (running – 13.1 miles)
As the lone East Grinstead Cycling Club entrant in this event (well, not surprising as it did not involve any cycling…) Im submitting a brief report, and also letting everyone know that I haven’t dropped off the radar screen entirely!
The event started at a leisurely 10am from Henley Rugby Club, and on the drive there I shouted a few words of encouragement to Paul Winkley as he was riding out to the start of the nearby Hillingdon CC 25 (see report).
The course was a mix of on and off road, and was described as undulating. The first 6 miles passed along the Thames towpath and the famous Regatta course, then crossed Henley bridge and headed along country lanes in the Chiltern Hills. Unfortunately a large hill was located between mile 8 and 10 which reduced many to a walking pace near the summit. Despite loosing some time here, I managed to recover some form and probably ran my quickest miles of the race between miles 10 and 12.
Of the 2000 or so starters I finished 860th, but more importantly had managed to get inside my target of 2 hours with a time of 1:56:56
Not close to a pb this time, but very pleased with the result over that terrain.
The downside of such a large event was a 1 hour 30 minute queue to get out of the car park… Got me thinking that had it been a bike race I would already have been home…
