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Gosport Half-Marathon
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That`s what I`m thinking Kelburn.
When this is sorted...don`t forget to enjoy your run
Really excited and nervous about tomorrow now. In a good way though!
We're currently on the train from Waterloo : looking forward to a decent meal and good rest before tomorrow.
Good luck to all - it looks promising!
Just got home from this and got a new pb today with 1.21.32 so very happy. Wasn't expecting that at all and would have been happy with 1.23.
A well organised race, great support from the marshalls and whilst not the most picturesque courses it was certainly pancake flat as promoted.
Well done race organisers, great job.
another PB for me to.
.......but on a very dull course. The marshalls encouraged as all the way but there was hardly any spectators as the majority of the race was run around the disused HMS Daedalus Naval base that is falling apart in the main. I saw 6 or so noses pressed up against the chain link fence, other than that a dozen or so shoppers in the high street.
I don't like to criticise but it wasn't very inspiring.
Glad I didn't want a fast time as I would have been very disappointed. I can live with the lack of crowd and dull course but it still has to be good to run on.
Probably won't bother with this one again.
The marshalling though was excellent as were the drink stations :¬)
I found this course fascinating. Previous year's have been criticised for too much traffic. I remember a big bust up between a runner and driver a few year's ago. The organisers have maintained a super quick course away from the traffic, and they've done this in one of the most densely populatec areas in the country.
I really enjoyed the Daedalus bits, flat open roads and some history to look at too. The hovercrafts were also a bonus. I suppose it's not everyone's cup of tea but they've managed to make the course even quicker and safer. Horses for courses - I wanted a PB and got that by 9 mins.
The marsalls were the friendliest I've ever known and were hugely encouraging.
Thanks GRR it was a great day.
Mat
Did my best time for 3.5 years - around about 76:48 so as good as a pb and that was over a minute quicker than thought might do so very pleased.
Thought they did a good job finding a course that was flat, on tarmac and yet largely traffic free. Only minor gripe was perhaps the start which quickly got very tight. I can well imagine that could have been a bigger problem further back.
In some ways the switchbacks helped as you never had to run too far into the wind, especially in the old naval base (now I know what it is).
OK the course was not wonderfully scenic but so what, I go to a race to try and do a good performance not admire the surroundings, can do that every other Sunday on a long run. For a fairly low key race thought the support was fine, the marshalls actually were cheering you on which does not always happen.
I'm glad that most of you enjoyed it. We'd be grateful for any comments, both positive and negative via email (addresses on our website).
We didn't have any choice with the route change as we weren't allowed to do the old route and many hours have been spent trying to find one that would work.
Hi All
I agree with Gobi - the route was very tight at times, especially the start. But - a new pb (1:29:43) so cant be bad!
Impeccable race marshaling though.
I think they were hours well spent. I dont see how else you could get such a quick course in such a busy traffic area. Great job. Very different and special race.
Mat
My report on the Gosport Half - my 2nd HM ever.....
Set alarm @ 6.15 for an estimate leave time of 7.15 - well 1st & hopefully last target missed - left @ 7.35..despite this late start I got there early, which I later found out was a cracking move as most of the car parking areas were full very early on.
The start was bizarre but did open up after a while. Have to say the course was not the most inspiration - most of it was around & through an old airport but it was flat & no real long straights. The support out today was great. My wheels felt like they fell off about 11.6 miles but I just dug in to finish with a time of 1.48.22. - PB. Was a hard race on head & body despite the PB. Only real disappointed that I missed out on the Jelly Babies @ the water stations...twice...doh!
Well done & many thanks to GRR for all your hard work.
Yes, there was some congestion at the start, but it maybe stopped me going off too fast. I was lucky to run with a friend, and did quite like seeing other club mates coming the other way, so scenery didn't matter too much. I'd agree that the marshalls were outstanding, and I also managed a PB by about 4 minutes.
I know that we've had to decide not to put on our 10k again on the road (Totton) due to the difficulty & expense of organising it, so this was a good compromise of a lot of traffic free running but on a road-type surface.
D'oh, I seem to be the only one who didn't get the PB I was after! I woke up feeling pants, with the start of a cold, no sleep due to kids up during the night. I was aware that it wasn't going to happen before I reached the start line! Still I managed a season's best so not all was lost...
Just been reading a lot of the comments in the reviews. Really sad to see so many people slate this race. I get the feeling that the team behind this put their heart and soul into making it special and I loved it.You can't move on here for PBs, runners can't be that dejected. I loved it's unique feel and super flat, traffic-free roads. This is the first time the new route has been attempted. There was a bit of congestion at the start but otherwise I moved freely and saw no issues for the rest of the race. The organisers have said throughout that they want feedback and I believe will use it to improve next year's race wherever they can.
If parking was such a problem why drive? I came from the IOW and caught a ferry, rode my bike and walked. It's not that hard. Gosport has park and ride facilities and there is always another way to using the car. For goodness sake we're runners! Give these guys a chance, and some support, they have done an awesome job in difficult circumstances and we need to support that.
Mat
We are all at the post race marshalls party.
Thanks for getting the race results up so quick - very impressive!
Great to see so many PBs today. I got one too but missed my target time by a couple of minutes - I'm putting it down to a combination of the wind and the congestion (at the start and also at about mile 6 - the occasional narrow pavements made life tricky. Excuses make me feel better...
Thanks to the organisers - it was clear that you'd spent such a lot of your time trying to produce the best course you could in difficult circumstances. Thanks also to the marshalls for being so very supportive.
One comment on the pancake flat - yes it was, but the hill in mile 11 was a bit of a surprise!
Lovely running along the seafront which is truly spectacular.
A nice PB for me by 102 secs to 1:27:09, rather happy was nicely paced throughout which was great.
The route was a bit of a sod and tight in places, but that comes with restrictions that I can understand, but on the airfiled not so sure why there were so many tight turns, esp the 2 switchbacks, one of which had to be navigated twice. So a few tweaks and Im sure it will make it better.
Great marshals by the way, ever so encouraging, thanks and well done to all. (Racers and supporters)
Thanks to all those who personally cheered me on (think I was the only one with my name on my back - Becky-?), it was great support and encouragement for my first HM.
Ive now got my very own PB to beat so see you all next year!
Becky x