From Hilda Coulsey…
This is a series of events over the weekend from 1 mile to a marathon with the start inside Kew Gardens and with additional entry for partner and children making it popular and enjoyable.
18-20 months ago England Athletics ran its usual qualifying races for Age group / masters international events which I qualified for in the 10k and together with Sally Malir in the half marathon. These internationals were to be held in the summer of 2020 at Bristol and Fleet respectively. With the disruption EA decided a good option would be to run these races at Kew alongside this Runfest as they had a 10k on Saturday and half marathon on Sunday, great from an EA organisation viewpoint but less so for a few of us who had qualified for both! But as they say, ‘in for a penny, in for a pound’.
10k – Sat 11th Sept
This was run entirely through Kew Gardens. It was a tortuous route, lots of corners and switchbacks but flat. It was early morning, 8.20, but warm and humid. It was lovely having supporters and although not my best time I was pleased to give it a blast.
My category winner was Dorothy Kesterton, Sheffield Steel City, who I’ve met many times previously always as the winner, in another great time of 47:34.
To follow then a 3-4 hour walk with coffee stops through the gardens making the most of the opportunity, and why not?!
1 James Bellward 32:30
519 Hilda Coulsey 51:41
2102 ran
Half marathon – Sun 12th Sept
It was lovely to meet up and warm up with Sally and again at the finish. Weather was the same, warm and muggy, the start was the same although a little later to accommodate the marathon start.
A different course, but similar with switchbacks and corners in the Gardens then after 6k we joined the Thames path for a very lengthy stretch westerly to km15, then through a housing estate and back onto the Thames path for another few ks and into Old Deer Park for the finish. The Thames path is narrow, unmade mostly (bearing in mind this is a replacement for a road half marathon) and on a Sunday morning as might be imagined is very busy with walkers, runners, toddlers on bikes, speedy cyclists and even an e-scooter. This is not a PB course. My legs had had enough by 10k but I kept going to enjoy the experience and the challenge. Slightly annoyed with many others we weren’t allowed back into Kew for the pleasant coffee and changing facilities (the lesson-read the small print). Not at all sure of the course length 21.29k recorded not just by me, but to be fair that was probably the extra dodging of pedestrians etc.
Again reflecting on some outstanding age grade / masters times in UK, the winner of Sally’s category was Jackie Murdy 1:31:42 and for mine Lynda Hembury in 1:42:08.
1 Craig Ruddy 1:08:54
430 Sally Malir 1:42:56
944 Hilda Coulsey 1:58:40
2140 ran