Graham’s Blog – The Worcester City Half Marathon (16.09.2018)

I suspected that any half marathon following the infamous Great North Run would feel like an anti-climax. With this in mind, and to combat that possibility, I decided to run the Worcester Half Marathon based on an excellent web vlog from the Running Guru who ran it in 2017 and posted it on his Twitter account. Based on his recommendations, my mind-set felt good and I was already visioning how I would get round the next 13.1 miles and complete the 3rd of 3 marathons in 3 weeks, and number 19 of the 20.

THE ONE BEFORE THE LAST ONE

In contrast to many of the other courses a significant amount of the course was situated in the City before it set off into the countryside for about 7 miles, before heading back and in to the finish area. As much as I enjoy running in the countryside it can feel a bit lonely out there sometimes (between the villages where the local residents always seem to turn out in their throngs). There was an added bonus of finishing alongside the 10K run which increased the amount of supporters in the last mile or so. A course with a lot of twists and turns through the streets followed by some beautiful and undulating country lanes.

Brilliant marshalling accompanied by the ‘Baby Shark Song’, along with the usual water stations and even isotonic drinks at two of them. As for the goody bag, best one I’ve seen in a long time including a fridge magnet – some traditions are made to last. Loved the bright lime green T-shirt with the words ‘May The Course Be With You’ in the style of Star Wars. Good to be different.

Best Moment – Getting a text message from Ellie our Business Development Manager after I finished, saying that she had completed her first ever 10 mile training run that same morning, in preparation for the Robin Hood Half Marathon. What an amazing achievement and inspiration to get on and finish the 20th alongside our 25 other runners.

Funniest Moment – I did suffer from my usual nerves and shared this with a fellow runner – she responded by asking me to take deep breath and then shout “I am excited!”. It certainly worked – but also drew a certain amount of attention from onlookers and fellow runners!

Inspirational Words – “Wishing you all the very best” (from supermodel Nell McAndrew after commenting on one of her Tweets).

THE ROBIN HOOD HALF MARATHON – THE LAST ONE

With only the last one of the 20 to go which takes place at our home town of Nottingham, my thoughts are starting to turn to the other 25 runners who will join me then. These brave (or crazy) individuals have signed up to take on the 13.1 mile challenge alongside me and over 7,000 others. They are made up of a mixture of people connected with our charity, ranging from staff and service users to businesses such as The Treat Kitchen and Buckles Solicitors, not forgetting our own Café Sobar. I take my hat off to each and every one of them for taking on this challenge. It’s not just the 13.1 miles on the day – it’s the months of sacrifice and hundreds of miles leading up to the day that’s the hardest part. My personal thanks to each and every one of you and best of luck on the 30th of September!

On the day our team of intrepid runners will be supported by our Double Impact army of volunteer marshals, with additional vocal encouragement coming from our very own “Cheer Squad” around the Nottingham Railway Station at between miles 1 and 2 and then again between miles 11 and 12.

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS

We would love to hear from anyone wanting to help us on the day or at one of our other fundraising campaigns. If you are interested please get in touch with us.