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Wycombe Half Marathon 2012
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Lucas, 06 was definitely a hot year...and some of the ones before that were scorching....last few years have been kind though I agree. It hasn't been a hot day since the 10k started, although i vaguely recall a bit of humidity.
That 5k split is terrific...if you're doing the 10k, and an arse if not, as you tuck into another 10miles!!
I remember in 2010 feeling reasonably good and comfortable until about 7miles when I saw a pal marshalling, and did an imaginary smoke a cigar expression. After that it started getting harder...and i did that thing where you just sit behind someone you know you should be overtaking!
Is there any chance this will be called off because of the rain? The start/finish are on grass I think, and I don't know about the car park (haven't read the booklet yet)
It certainly wont be called off because of parking. No parking is allowed on the Rye, where the race starts and finishes. There is plenty of parking in the carparks nearby, so no probs there at all.
Yes, the start and finish are on grass... park grass, prb under a kilmotre out, and in the final bit.
Im not sure about anything else...... there are lots of little stream-y things round the park. And of course the gigantic hill + its downhill bit.... but they are all hard surfaces arent they?
Voley...did you used to post as Water Vole?
If so, (because i met Water Vole one year), I think you're mistaken on most f your bits above!
Parking is ALWAYS allowed on the first section of grass as you drive into the Rye...it takes 100s of cars. The actual carpark would only take about 80cars! I couldn't imagine this would change, as suddenly about 500-700 car spaces would need to be found...and they say don't park in local roads...
The grass at the start of the race is only about 400metres or so!
99% of the race is road...it's literally 400m at start and perhaps slightly more to end on grass.
To answer John...living just near the Rye, I've often seen certain bits of it flood, but never the bit at the start of the race, or where the parking is.
Stevie - I'm very impressed with your ability to recollect the weather conditions of specific years...all of the years have blended into one for me. It's like Groundhog Day every year but I love the race.
The only bits of the Rye that seem to flood are in the corner near the playground (the original one next to the A40 not the newer one) so hopefully there won't be a problem especially since the sun is shining today in Wycombe !
Yes, it is me, Stevie, and yes we did meet, hope to see you perhaps.. Chnged my name to a shorter format, thats all.
I bow to your much better knowledge
, Stevie, I have always parked on the opposite side of the road to the Rye... and being a short sighted vole, have to admit that I have never seen the cars....
. I think we can agree that parking isnt a prob.... (please)...
I will go into the norty corner..
There is a bit of a strem type thing though isnt there, round the park itself?? Assume thats OK...
Lucas....the less fit i was, the hotter i seemed to find the event, but no, seriously some of those years 02-06 were horrendous. It's amazing 08 onwards has been so decent.
Today was shining..early on, but now look at it!!
Voley, don't worry, if you entered from a different bit, it's a big park, so you could miss bits. And it's natural to be knackered by 12miles when you come back to the park..
I'm gonna do the 10k this year...i realise you need to plan a half for a couple of months,rather than what i'd be doing in shoehorning it in at the very last minute! Just ran most of the 10k tonight....that 5k breakway is glorious, at the bottom of that hill you can taste the Rye!
im not so sure about the parking ,we parked on grass last year , and it has been raining here in oxford for the last month!! so could be a problem
,
(Thnak for being nice, Stevie!!.... I am but an old lady.....)
It would have been interesting to see how you did on the shoe-horning angle, Stevie.... better than most, I would imagine.
Dalli.... I do know (yes, quite certain!) that there are car parks in the town. And there is one just across the road from the Rye, that I always use.... it is NOWHERE NEAR where the cars park on the grass (ahem)....... just have a little look on multimap or a similar website, and it will show you where the nearest car parks are.
The car park I use is the one by the windmill, on the opposite side of the road, by the church.("Barrett Place" or thereabouts)
Amazing difference in the forecast for Sunday:
BBC...... 10am..........13 degrees, sunny intervals, not a drop of rain til 7pm in evening
Weather channel..... 9am..... 10 degrees, feels like 9, black clouds and 40% chance of rain
So take your pick......
Voley - my money would be on the Weather Channel based upon the fact I've seen about 2 hours of sunshine so far in July.
According to the local newspaper, there's going to be an Olympian running the HM - Claire Hallissey, who broke 2hr 30mins in the VLM this year to qualify for Team GB. A bit of a difference between running in front of a worldwide audience of billions and dodging puddles on the streets of Wycombe. I bet the goody bag isn't as good in London !
potentially 2 Olympians....Cooray who won it last year is potentially going to feature for Sri Lanka in the marathon too...and I've heard he's coming.
Also, Sam Amend has run for GB at the marathon on the ladies side as well.
So that's 3 internationals....any more?
not me......I'll be plodding in....
A very muddy Park Run in Reading this morning - set me up nicely for tomorrow morning!!
re parking - this year the council has reseeded a large part of the Rye at the end nearest the town centre, so you won't be able to park at the west end of The Rye from the gate at the end of the road which runs behind the nursery. All cars trying to get on to the Rye via that entrance will instead be redirected to the swimming pool entrance at the east end.
It's not far, and please be nice to the marshalls who are doing the redirecting.
Don't quite understand that JJ....there's only room for about 10 spaces in front of that nursery if that....and cars never park there...
and cars are never allowed to drive onto the Rye from that direction, as the middle of the rye is taken up by the finish....and they aren't gonna let you drive 1/2mile over the rye to the normal parking!!
Some people will always try to get where it's usually clear that they can't.
Anyway, while I'm sure you're right generally, enough people do try to get onto the Rye there, that the organisers have put in place measures to stop them. And to help those people find the right place to go.
they physically can't get onto the rye there though as there's 2 metal steel gates that prevent it...
but yep take your point.
on a different subject this reminds me of either last year or 3 years ago..can't remember which, i was doing the 10k, and just about to finish, when a gang of blokes joined the Rye.
They were doing the half marathon...
I'm not sure if they were late and were just starting the race....or whether they'd taken the wrong turning at the top of the abbey hill...and come down Marlow hill in error! Nightmare.
also remember a marshall pal telling me he clocked a guy coming down Abbey Barn lane....cutting a massive bit off the course..he knew he'd be disqualified...obviously wasn't feeling it on the day!
Stevie - that would be perfect for me tomorrow - up the hill, over the M40, down Abbey Barn Lane and back to The Rye...about 7k do you reckon ? Back home in time for mid-morning breakfast !
Instead I've got about enough stamina at the moment to see me to Wooburn Green then will use all my mental strength to slog it out down Kingsmead Road etc (which, as you point out in an earlier thread is a very steady incline).
I would follow your example of running the 10k but I've set myself a target of running 100 HMs so tomorrow will be another to tick off the list. It's quantity not quality with me !
wow, impressed with that Lucas!
I vaguely had that idea once..but these days settle for 1 or 2 pb targetted halfs....so i'm on 20 at the age of now of 31 and 3 days
If you can stop yourself racing them, and just use them as training runs you could wrack up loads a year..but once that gun goes...
best of luck to all today
just got back, great race very well organised
two things that i like about this race,one is the start line, got to be the widest start line ive ever seen and two the best goody bag .
their was also two female runners who are running the olympic marathon one was british the other i think was form chillie
i knocked of 6 minutes from last years time so pleased am i
Very nice run, first time I've done Wycombe without being cooked alive.
The hill is still horrible but after that I had a very nice 12M, race ran really smoothly for which the credit goes to Handy Cross who have the organisation prefect.
Great tee and goody bag.
i think we had the better t shirt in the10k bizarrely!
happy with 4th in the 10k today..hill didn't seem too bad, weather wasn't too bad..good day
I'm pleased I've completed this event. Also pleased with my pace until towards the end of the incline that seemed to go from 8 miles to 12!!
Amazing the rain stayed away too.
StevieG - grat performance
Lucas R - how many HMs are you up to now? Today was my 85th.
Sorry Stevie - meant to say great - not grat........
85th half marathon! i bow to that Mr Andy!
i've racked up 20...but these days i bottle anything that isn't a lovely fastie...like Wokingham
and the sun was shining.
I really enjoyed the race this morning, the weather was just perfect! I was slightly worried the race may be cancelled bcos the Hughenden 10k was cancelled due to bad weather conditions just a week (or two?) earlier.
I found the "climb" up Marlow hill not as bad as I had expected it to be! I am quite pleased with my result, but boy, did I feel knackered at the end, quite clearly I had not put enough training in! Definitely doing this next year as well.
Fab goody bag!
Good race, first hill not to bad last 4 miles were bad for me.
Marshalls and organisation good.
Will do again next year.
Andy - 85 is tremendous ! Which ones do you do most frequently ?
I'm on 45 now so a long way still to go...11 years based on the average 5 per year I normally do. I'll be 50 years old by then...ouch. My "usuals" are Wycombe, Reading, Bracknell, Wokingham, Stevenage and St Neots (great course for a PB). Most enjoyable one I've ever done was Red Rock Canyon in Las Vegas which made Wycombe look flat !
Well done Stevie - that's seriously fast running over that course. How did you feel at the top of the hill ?
So 3 Olympic runners in a field of c800...that must be the highest percentage in a local race ever !
lucas, bizarrely, i felt good at the top of the hill, at 2km.
was 11 secs quicker than last year, yet ended up 1 sec slower overall.
probably because in an epic head to head with bizarre tactics, i ended with a last 3k of
3.13, 4.21, 3.31...all on the flat! without the head to head im convinced they would have come out more in the 3.30-3.35 terrain