From Rumana Chowdury…
I ran the Leeds half marathon and enjoyed it! The new route, which is on the same day as the marathon and follows part of the same route, suited me much more than the previous years’ fairly tedious amble through the less scenic parts of Leeds. This time, the atmosphere was electric, the crowds were huge and full of support and the out and back approach worked well, with a mostly uphill first half towards Golden Acre Park then a mostly downhill return. Finishing in Headingley stadium was brilliant, I even managed a fist pump which got me a little cheer out of the crowd – my one and only stadium rock moment!
It was a hot day and there were a fair few runners looking in a bad state on the side of the roads, I had to stop twice to let ambulances through. So when I realised my electrolytes had fallen out of my pocket, I did have a mild panic. Thankfully, there were plenty of disgusting sweets being handed out by the crowd which just about did the trick, although please note – don’t stuff haribos in your pockets on a hot day and then forgot about them as I did, only to later discover them congealed around my car keys…
I was happy with my time, my 2nd fastest half marathon time, with no specific training. I will return to chasing the elusive sub-2 hour goal another day! Until then I’m enjoying running off-plan, trying new routes and events and rediscovering the joy. And this event definitely helped with that.
I suspect there will be grumblings from some marathon runners about the point where the half and full runners merged and having to weave around slower runners etc. But coming at it from the other side, I absolutely loved that point, running for a short bit with the 3.15 marathon pacer (I was swiftly dropped, obvs) was just brilliant, seeing the pain and determination on fellow runners faces was so moving and being able to run alongside and give them a ‘come on, you’ve got this!’ was just everything that I love about running and the running community.
Now, don’t get me started on trying to exit the stadium and walk back through Leeds to the car. Those pesky marathon runners blocking the roads, can’t they just hurry up?!
Chip times (go ladies!)
Heidi Hoad 1:48:35
Charlotte Smithson 2:00:51
Lucy Lowe 2:02:19
Rumana Chowdhury 2:08:07