2009 Halstead & Essex Marathon

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Comments

  • You havn't experienced the new race HQ and venue then. Things got even better in 2008. 2009 is going to be a classic.
  • Pete, those photos were taken somewhere between 9 and 9.5 miles so you must have been having a good day (or it was nowhere near as hot as you guys are telling me!!) image

  • Or I saw the camera and broke into a trot.... another step and I might even have managed a smile! I don't mind the heat. I'm not looking forward to the "sea breezes" at Hastings on Sunday

  • TheraThera ✭✭✭

    Well done Peter on all your runs. This is my first marathon, and I am looking forward to it!

    The photos look great!

  • You have chosen well for your first Thera. You will get lots of encouragement and the course is pleasant and not  too testing. Hopefuly, the weather will be kind and there won't be another heatwave next year as there was for this year's run. But I have also run Halstead in the rain and I must say I prefer the sunshine!  Good luck with your training.

  • Came last and wednesday and worst ever 12 miler ever last night - hanging onto the records I keep of my training so I can remind myself that this is not the first time I have had a poor running patch. image
  • RFJRFJ ✭✭✭

    Orion I may well be hanging onto your coat tails then.....

    Accom now booked in a travel lodge near Stanstead.

  • Best marathon I ever did I ran with a friend and we helped each other when we were suffering. Can I recommend our Orion 15 as a great warm up race - a break from road running and the 15 miles XC is equivalent to getting on 20 miles on the road for effort
  • TheraThera ✭✭✭

    Good luck with your training. - Thanks Peter! I am hoping that the sun will be shining, although not too much... The training is slow this week as I twisted my knee last week on my long run. Hopefully I will be able to run again by the weekend. To be fair I think the shoes may be the cause...going shopping soon!

  • Hi all, I'm looking forward to another Halstead in 2009.

    Sun or rain it will still be a fantastic 26.2!

    Good luck with your training everyone.

  • Stet - Great to see you here. You fully fit?
  • RFJRFJ ✭✭✭
    ORB - where and when is the Orion 15, as the RW site doest seem to be able to find it?
  • I will be there next year. It's a really friendly, well organised marathon. Last year all the competitors were battling against the heat and there was a real spirit of togetherness in trying to get round. I still don't know how I managed it!

  • Last year's Halstead marathon was my first ever marathon and completing it saw me achieve a goal I set myself in January 2006 (when I gave up smoking) of running a full marathon before I reached fifty in Janury 2009. Talk about a baptism of fire though - literally! I did the Southend Half a couple of years ago when the temperature hit the mid 80's but that was nothing compared to my first tilt at the full 26.2 distance last year at Halstead. Thank goodness for the kind hearted locals who left hosepipes running for us and so many of the other competitors and volunteers manning the water stations who offered much needed support, encouragement and jelly babies!

    When I finished this event last year I didn't really think I would consider doing another marathon but, after achieving a PB at last June's Southend Half stopping just wasn't an option. I've just entered Halstead again and hope to achieve my new target of running a marathon in 'normal' conditions to see what sort of time I can achieve (hoping for 4.15 - 4.30 at Halstead next May). I started training seriously again at the end of September and am now up to 3 or 4 runs a week with a longest LSR of 12 miles. I will start using the 16 week 'SMART' marathon training schedule again from 16th Januray (tweaked slightly to increase the distance of some of the shorter runs, which worked quite well for me last year). 

    Good luck to everyone else that has or is going to enter this event. From my experience last year (heatwave aside) I can confirm that it definitely deserves its very high rating.

  • Pammie, hope you're ok. I'm still training, just unable to get to the club runs at the mo!

    Fingers crossed injury free and ready to go next may! So far so good!

  • Hi Stet, hope you've had a good Chrimbo. image
  • Evening
    Stet - so far so good. and hope your christmas was good
  • Must get my entry done
  • Hiya Kaz, had a great xmas thanks, hope you had a good 'un too! You running this one?

    I had a terrible run here in 2008, my knee gave out just before the 8 mile marker but being self destructive (and stupid) I hobbled to the finish line in a personal worse time (just had to finish and pick up another fantastic Halsted marathon medal)! Put me out of any racing for the rest of the year and no running at all for two months! Climbing the walls I was! All is well now and I'm training with this 26.2 as my main focus for 2009. By far my favourite running event.

    How is everyone doing after the excess of xmas?

  • Pammie, hope you had a great xmas too! Looking forward to NYE!

    My new year resolution is to get down the running club for every training session in 2009 so see you there!

  • Hi Stet, I'll be there.  All things being equal Halstead will be my fifth mara of '09.

    Remember you having probs at last year's race but hadn't realised just how bad an effect the race had on you.  Good to hear you're back on track now.

    I've had assorted injury niggles (some ongoing) so thanks to lack of training, and a lot of weight gain, I'm as slow as a tortoise.  But, like said tortoise, I still get there.  Seven marathons this year and hope to double that next year image

  • Jeez Stet! You don't do things by halves do you?

    My focus has shifted away from marathons. I shall only run one or two next year. I'm going longer now. Last race I did was a 30 mile off-road over the South Downs, next one is 32.75 miles at night. Goal by the end of the year is to get close to 40 miles if possible and improve my map reading skills.

  • Flynn, my first two maras next year are Draycote 35 and Wye 30.  Then there'll be Kent 50 in July and JW Ultra in September.
  • Oh, you mean that one. That's on the same route as my 32.75 mile run. I'm doing the Moonlight Challenge.

    Very tempted by the 50 mile challenge though.

  • Not sure I'm up to a Moonlight one yet!

  • Kaz - you need to learn to ride that bike of yours then you could become a pirate.
  • I have had a few weeks off running with flu and started again 3 days ago with 8 miles each day. I'm pretty well recovered about am hour after I finish but I have never run so slow.I thought I was quite an experienced runner but having absolutely no speed is new to me - even when my legs are like lead I can usually muster a few bursts but at the moment none.Anyone experienced this before and do I just plug away?I was thinking about hitting the treadmill to force myself to do some sprints but I'm not sure
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