Weekend Warrioring Part 2

The First EDF Birmingham Half-Marathon

At last, a half-marathon in Birmingham!

When we sent off our entries, the plan was that Leon would race it, aiming for sub-1:25, and I would amble round with Catriona, my 17-year-old daughter. When Catriona's race plans were sabotaged by failure to train compounded by a nasty viral throat infection, I briefly considered racing, then the Snowdonia plan was formed and I offered to run with my friend Kim and try to support her to a PB in the 2:20s. We persuaded Beth to join us. Beth is a relatively new runner and had run her first half-marathon in 2:42 at Cardiff the week before. I was confident that she was capable of taking a chunk off that time.

The extra hour's sleep meant that getting up at 6am wasn't too much of a struggle. We'd decided to park the car at the finish and get the shuttle-bus back to the start, which proved to be a good strategy, even though the traffic in Perry Barr was heavier than the organisers had anticipated and we were given the opportunity to get off the bus early and walk to the Alexander Stadium. It was raining lightly. I kept my OMM Kamleika jacket on. By the time we finished, it was dry and sunny and I must have looked rather silly wearing a raincoat.

A quick pre-race loo-stop (plenty of Portaloos, shortish queues), then we went to the start to meet a group of Fetchies at the front of the "orange" section.. Don't you just hate slow runners who don't start at the back? "Everyone will overtake us," I warned Kim and Beth. "Just let them go." Leon went off to try to hook up with Neil, who was aiming for sub-1:40.

The start was delayed by about 15 minutes, and a couple of girls got up on the stage and tried to initiate one of those aerobics-class-type warm-ups to "Girls on Film". Given how tightly we were packed, I think that encouraging people to leap around and punch the air was irresponsible and would like this particular feature edited out of future events. Please. This is supposed to be a credible race, not a fun-run.

It took us about a minute to cross the start-line. The first few miles, across the overpasses along the A34, were more undulating than I'd expected, then we had a steady, shallow updulate into the city centre. The support in the city centre was fantastic. Lots of people, lots of cheering, no whistles. FLM take note!

Just before 6 miles, Beth had a loo-stop, I waited for her, and Kim, who was clearly having a Bad Patch, went on. We pelted down the next couple of hills and caught up with her, but she fell back again on the next gentle updulate and I had to make an executive decision. Kim's PB wasn't going to happen today, and I'd said I'd stay with her ... but Beth was running very well indeed, and if I stayed with Kim she'd hang back too and compromise her own excellent prospect of a PB. Besides, I know that Kim likes to be left to stomp out her Bad Patches by herself, and she would hate to hold anyone back.So Beth and I went on, feeling slightly guilty.

Beth really was running well, despite repeatedly predicting the imminent demise of various parts of her body in a totally matter-of-fact way. From 8 miles, I knew her PB was in the bag even if she slowed to 13.30mm pace - but she wasn't slowing. On the way, she notched up a 10-mile PB by 5 minutes (1:53:43). By 11 miles, sub-2:30 was looking like a very real prospect. Beth was clearly in a little more discomfort than she was at the start, but she was still giving it everything. Or so I thought ...

"So where's the finish?" she asked, as we ran down Broad Street bantering with the supporters.

"There," I replied, pointing to the flag. And she took off as if she'd been fired from a gun, leaving me chewing on a mouthful of dust. I pelted after her, but still finished a full 5 seconds behind.

2:27:58 for Beth, 2:28:03 for me. AND the first time I've ever run a negative split in a half-marathon!

We'd seen Kim coming up Hagley Road as we ran back towards town. She'd come through her Bad Patch and picked up her pace again. I'd shouted that I'd go back for her, intending to drop Beth off just before the finish, loop back and run in with Kim, but the way the route was fenced off made that impossible. She finished in a creditable 2:40:29 - not a PB, but a good display of mental toughness.

The finish was reasonably well-organised, with plenty of water and Powerade, a nice cotton goody-bag, a big blingy Brummie medal, decent t-shirts (they even had them in "XS", which is almost not too big for me) and sundry bits of tat. Traidcraft dried kiwi-fruit? [Rolls eyes] This is Birmingham. The Home of Chocolate.

Apart from a few teething-troubles, our inaugural half-marathon was a fabulous event and made me proud of my adopted city. The first few miles are unscenic, but the Edgbaston section is as attractive as you'll find in any big city race. There were pockets of support all around the course, which had obviously been carefully planned to allow for road closures to take place without disrupting the main shopping areas, bus routes and through traffic. Only a Brummie or a map-geek would have spotted just how convoluted miles 5-12 were!

The course is one that would suit me well for racing, and now I've done a recce, I can aim for sub-1:36 here next year :o)