From Emma Sheppard…
Tour of Wilmslow (Wilmslow half marathon)
Having succumbed to the annual kamikaze entry into a road half, I was starting to regret it with a traffic jam, questionable parking, a toilet stop in a holly bush and huge queue to collect numbers which led to a very brisk trot to get to the start on time (and inadvertent setting of watch to lap times!). Relieved to get going, it was a lovely sunny day – lots of plane spotting and crowds to keep you going along the route with choirs, primary schools and a few house parties with some techno tunes (and beer…at 10am!). The first half whizzed by but I’d conveniently forgotten how brutal the second half is – it’s a really undulating course and whilst the uphills and downhills cancel themselves out, somebody forgot to tell the legs and brain that!
Anyway, I was delighted to pick up my huge medal to celebrate 40 years of the Wilmslow running festival (just nipping under 1:40). And a huge well done to Ed Hobbs -the only other Harrier who did the race – who completed it in an absolutely eye watering 1:09:20 and was 12th.