Robin Hood Half Marathon

First Half Marathon - 1 Hour 53 Mins :):):)
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Comments

  • HillyHilly ✭✭✭
    Well run Vinny!
  • Vinny, Sue W, Gary, Gnasher + everyone else who did the Robin Hood, WELL DONE.

    If you're still feeling masochistic after todays exploits (seems unlikely) you can read my race report!!

    Phew...well after a couple of pints, a bath and a decent kip I feel right good.
    After a dissapointing last couple of races I went into this one with some trepidation and absolutely determined not to go out too fast and ruin the whole race before it got started.

    Got down to Trent Embankment relatively early, parking was easy and well organised and the turnout was huge. About 9000 showed up for the full and half combined and there was a buzz in the air. Weather co-operated and was overcast and cool-ish which was great. Saw a few clubmates before the off and got a place relatively close to the front. Right around 10AM the gun sounded and I managed to get across the line almost immediately (although not a major concern as chip timing was being used). Although the crowd was enormous there seemed to be enough room and the pace was just about right. Turned away from the embankment and headed towards town, (mile 1, 6:29), heading by the train station and then up a short but steep incline into the Lace Market (mile 2, 6:33). I can see a couple of clubmates in the distance but I'm intent on going steady for the first few miles. We then turned down towards the old Market Square and then up round onto Maid Marian Way (mile 3, 6:24). Another incline gets us up past the Castle and then over into the Park (high-end residential area formerly owned by the Duke of Newcastle, I think) before we start heading towards Castle Boulevard and then out to the Queens Medical Center (miles 4+5, 12:34). The next stretch takes us past the Queens Med and then up into Wollaton Park (mile 6, 6:33), which is probably one of the most scenic stretches of the course. We exit the park and another short climb brings into the old village of Wollaton (mile 7, 6:22) before a couple of left turns direct us down Parkside and towards the last uphill of any significance. During the climb up Derby Road (miles 8+9, 12:31) I catch a team mate who provides me with a compelling impersonation of someone on the brink of disaster. However, there's nothing I can do for him so I forge ahead and cresting the hill then gives us a great downhill section back towards the Queens Med (mile 10, 6:03). Reaching 10 miles in 1:03:31, I realise I'm only 11 seconds outside of 6:20 pace and with a sub-1:23 as the final goal I realise it's time to really start to dig deep. The final 5K of the course is basically flat (thank the lord) so apart from a few turns there's not much to focus on. I see another clubmate in the distance and try to work towards catching him. I pass mile 11 in 6:14, this buys me another 6 seconds but then mile 12 takes 6:26 so I've just undone the good work I did in mile 11!! At this point I realise nothing short of an all out effort is going to get me home on the right side of 1:23 so I put the hammer down as hard as I can, pass my clubmate and get through mile 13 in 5:55. A quick final 0.1 miles and I get across the line in 1:22:46 (roughly 1:22:54

    on the clock). So I'm ecstatic, a new PB for me by 5 minutes (I haven't run a half in a while) and a decent benchmark for working towards FLM in April.

    If you got this far through the report you also deserve a couple of pints, a bath and a decent kip

    best
    mm :-)
  • Well done mm what a great time!
    I really enjoyed the day and thanks to some help along the way I managed a new pb of 1.32.11.
    If anyone knows the guys from Scunthorpe who were trying for a three hour marathon,please tell them big thanks from the lady who wanted to get under 1.35. I hope they achieved their goal.
    Well done to all who ran.
  • Well done everyone.

    Still recovering from the full Marathon. I was hoping for sub 4 hours, unfortunately the wheels came off at about 22 mile mark.

    In fact my splits for mile 24, 25 are horrendous - 40 mins for last 2 miles.

    However though disappointed I would like to thank the two marshalls ( lady and male) who caught we when I got serious cramp shortly after passing the Notts forest ground. Without there on the spot attention I would not have been able to finish at all.

    Many thanks to all the marshalls and organisers
  • Well done everyone - esp MM for the PB and the report.
    See if you can wade thru mine!
  • drewdrew ✭✭✭
    Great stuff everyone. MM - that's a great time. Did you do a negative split, 'cause you seemed to go pretty fast towards the end?
  • Stroud + Halo,
    well done. I must admit I was really pleased not to be doing the full 26.2 today so good on you for completing the course Halo.

    Mike s,
    congrats on breaking 37 for 10K that's a great achievement.

    Drew,
    did do a negative split, which felt much better than the last couple of races. I think the fact that I ran a sub-6 min mile for mile 13 indicates that if anything I might have been a little too conservative in terms of pacing but I wasn't going to take any chances after the last couple of disasters I've had :-)
  • Oh Halo!
    Likewise I did the Full works, & likewise I had a hard time of it towards the end. In fact my troubles appeared around mile 19. From the 21 marker onwards I was walking (which I've not had to do in my previous 4 marathons). I had doubts before the start of the race, so I wasn't too surprised.
    Sorry to hear it was such hard going for you though. I thought the marshalls were marvellous today, particularly in the second half. Great isn't it how the personal touch can make such a difference to an event.
    I must say though I was really surprised to find there was NO GOODY BAG at the end. Second best marathon in the country? - now there's a debate waiting for comment. I relaised later I couldn't remember reading that there would be a goody bag, but see the thread elsewhere re: variety of Goodies on offer at some relatively small events. A good medal & a bottle of water at the end of 26.2 (not to mention a pricey entrance fee) doesn't feel like much.
    Still, it's a local race for me so I may be back next year in the hope of a decent time.
    Any views / comments from other participants?
    Jim
  • Well it was my first half marathon and first race of any kind. All I intend to do was a sub 2 hours from crossing the line. But to my suprise I was in over the line at 1:59:03 and to say it took about 5 - 10 minutes to get across the start line I was very happy. Legs though are not feeling to good at the moment.
    Really happy though and puts me in a good frame of mind for the Sheffield full marathon next year.
    Also I would like to say a big thanks to everyone who turned up around the course, they gave me such a lift, even if none of them were friends or family.
    James
  • Well done all you full and half marathoners.
    Great race report MM, congrats on your PB. That is a phenomenal time. But how on earth do you keep such detailed track of your times? You must have spent half the race doing mental maths!
  • MM, excellent report - seems like I've got some catching up to do - supurb time especially given your four runs a week programme, no wonder you're chuffed.
  • That was the longest last 0.2 of a mile I've ever seen. Either the course is over 26.2 or the 26 mile marker was wrong.
  • Jim, James and Craig,
    well done to you guys.

    Laura,
    Thanks for the congrats. I just use a lap times on my watch to check my mile times as I go past each marker and usually I have a couple of times for key points (5 miles, 10 miles) worked out before I start the race so I can check them against my goal time during the race. However, I find doing a bit of math during the run can sometimes help take your mind off the discomfort ;-)

    MartinH,
    thanks, just for the record I run 3 days a week (Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday) and bike 2 days (Wednesday, Saturday) and rest 2 days (Monday, Friday). Not sure what I'm going to do once the weather is no longer good enough to bike as I want to use a similar training plan to prepare for FLM during the winter. Suggestions for replacing biking with non-running strengthening/aerobic workout please!
  • Well, I did the half yesterday and basically had a terrible time. I went off too fast and ran the first 6 miles too quickly. By mile 8 the wheels had come off and from mile 9 I had to run/walk my way to the finish. Did 2:20 which I was really disappointed with as had hoped to do 2:08 or under. Despite the fact that I live in Nottingham the hills still surprised me and I will go back to doing the Great North Run next year instead!

    Hi to Gnasher who I met around mile 4 when I was still looking quite good! How did you get on?
  • Excellent report MM and well done to you !

    I came in just before James hunter in 1:59:59 but as it took me about 2 mins to get over the start line my chip time is 1:57:30 so I'm really pleased with coming in under 2:00. Especially as it's my first run since recovering from a bulging disc. I was expecting to be about 2 to 2:15.

    Well done to everyone who took part in both the full and half.

    If any of the full runners read this, tell me how does it feel when you split off from the half runners or are you already prepared mentally for it. I always imgaine it must be a bit of a wrench knowing that the finish line is so close ?
  • Road Runner hi! I just looked up my chip time and had the great surprise of getting 2:18:42, considering the lack of training/sore foot I am now officially chuffed.
  • The half was my first ever race, and considering I only took up running 2 months ago it could have been worse!! (i've always done a lot of other sports though so I wasn't totally unfit). probably spent half my time with you road runner as I too started suffering at the 8 mile mark with that hill outside wollaton park and ran/walked the rest of it. I came in at 2.19!! I was hoping for a slightly better time than this as I did a 12 mile run a couple of weeks ago in under 2 hrs, but I really did struggle with yesterdays race!! I give all you full marathon runners huge credit for managing 26.2 miles - i couldn't have walked another mile once I finished nevermind run another 13.1!! I am now suufering with VERY painful thighs and at the minute am not sure I will ever walk again never mind run. I did find that other people were an amazing help, and i would probably have walked a lot more if other runners hadn't kept yelling at me that we only had so many miles to go not far etc etc. The fact that I had to stop and walk at the about 12.5 miles though was quite bad, especially as i could see the finish line, but just couldn't seem to reach it. The last mile semed to last forever! Well done to everyone who ran, and if anyone elses legs feel as bad as mine, I feel for you!
  • Hels

    Well done on your achievement. I hope once the pain has worn off you feel the incentive to do another. With more training you should be able to increase your time. Take it easy for the next few days and your next run should be a light recovery run.
    Good on ya !
  • Hi Gnasher!

    Well done!! That's really good considering injuries. Are you doing either Bestwood Country Park or Clumber Park 10Ks in a couple of weeks'?

    RR
  • Just got my chip time and did better than originally thought 1:56: and some seconds

    James
  • HillyHilly ✭✭✭
    Well done everyone! Some very good times here.

    MM, great report and great time!

    RR, sorry you had a yuk time, better luck next time!
  • Halo (+ others)

    I did the full M, and like you I was dying between 20 and 23M. My theory is that there should have been a water point between 19.9M and 22.6M, after all there had been 3 at 18, 19 and 19.9. I had to walk at 23M and I put this down to lack of water when I needed it...quite ironic when you are plodding up and down next to the stuff. Still, all in all I really enjoyed the day. Its only my secondmarathon, and quite a contrast to London !
  • RR - no more races for me until New York. I am more or less back on track with my running schedule, I restart training today (Tuesday).
  • Well Done All,

    Please can I have some advice/opinion: RH was my first marathon and all was going well till 22 miles - 2 hrs 56 mins (i was hoping to break 3h 30m for the race itself). However, after mile 22 i got cramp in my quads only and had to fast walk/gentle jog, as advised by an excellent marshall, for the last 4.25 miles which took 44 mins. I came in in 3-39-57. I had taken on fluids at every point, felt fine for the whole race i.e the wall etc never arrived, but just cramped. My longest runs in training were 21 miles. Any advice or thoughts please ? ? ?

    P.S. Hats off to the medics and support near the end, absolutely fantastic.
  • absolute disaster!! (imagine the comic book guy from the simpsons saying this)"worst half-marathon time ... ever!" i cursed everything from the course to the inventer of tarmac. after getting quite exquisitely painful stomach cramps from mile 5 i vowed to take up bird watching. everything and everyone annoyed me intensely; death to the world. on more quiet and mature reflection, perhaps i should have done some more long runs.

    i remain undaunted! i'm going to enter the turkey trot in december and train like buggery for it, work or no work!

    road runner - i hope you take solace from my nose dive into obscurity. you have a partner in adversity in me.

    well done to all those who did well i.e. anyone who actually finished!
  • My third half marathon and my worst time to date - I finished in 1hr 56mins & 30 seconds (chip time).

    It all went wrong at 11 miles when I HAD to stop for a wee at an unofficial toilet (ie a bush!) and wee'd for England !

    I then found that I could not run again as my right knee decided it was not happy ! So it took a lot of effort getting back into a running pace with all of you lot running past me ... I fell back 100's of positions in a matter of minutes !

    Anyway, I managed a sprint in the home straight and enjoyed the race (great course I thought) but was disappointed with the time I managed.

    Oh well, next year !!!

    Next stop: Clumber park 10k !
  • First RH really enjoyed it

    Hats off to the girls standing on a bench near the Trent Bridge cheering everyone as if they were famous (they must have sore throats)they were there on the way out and still cheering as I came back.

    What happened to the Energy gels did anyone get one cause I never even saw an empty packet.

    On my entry I seem to remember ticking the box for a tee shirt and ended up with a medal not to worry the race tee shirt i bought was good quality and value for £10 and raised money for the charities.

    Still a good run and I will be back next year. well done to the organisers and the marshalls.
  • Agree with all the comments about the organisation of this years race - it was the best I have been to this year and has encoouraged me to put it in my diary for next year - the fact I did my PB has nothing to do with this of course !!
  • Well done to everyone who took part especially to those who did the full - must have been tough after such a hilly start. I too thought the organisation and crowds were excellent although some of the mile markers were rather inconspicious - several people were looking around after 2 and 3 having missed them. I think one may have been right in the middle of a drink station. I started running 3 months ago with the long term goal of running aa marathon. This was my first race and I was reasonably happy with 1.29.32 although my pacing was all over the place from 6.25 for mile 1 to 7.05 around mile 8. However this has given me the confidence to move on up and I will be investing in a lap split watch to avoid the mental arithmatic.
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