Grand Union Canal Half Marathon

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Comments

  • Hi Rug 19 - there are a couple of seats on the bus left.  Please could you send your £5 to 23 York Road, Marlow, SL7 2QB (with email address) and I will email your ticket to you as the post probably won't get it to you in time.

    Glad you're looking forward to it - hope you have a good run,

    Claire

  • Claire, for info, I'm not using my bus ticket now.  Not bothered about a refund, just so you know you have my place to use too!
  • Hi Claire-thanks for that info!

  • Well it seems as if the weather forecast is quite unanimous - a possible mixture of mild and cold temperatures, sun, cloud and rain with the possibility of some gusty wind or gentle breeze...

    I just hope the surge today doesn't work it's way down the canal as swimming isn't my forte.

  • I will pack my wellies, just in case !       image

  • Good luck everyone - see you at the finish, the start or the finish again!
  • Hi - my husband and I have entered this but now can't make it......I'm not sure whether anyone wants to/can take our places? Not sure how you sort out numbers etc?
  • Claire Mac-sorry i've not been able to post the bus fee of you-can i pay on the day or use Rachel Reynold's placeimage  (i can send you the money if you like Rachel?)

    Are bus places transferable is basically what i'm askingimage

    Have abandoned the cycle-to-start idea as i have to get home soon after and help my girlfriend pack some boxes as we move house on mondayimage

    Thanks! 

  • Hi Rug 19,

    Sorry, I was a bit slow there - of course there is no problem at all with using Rachaels bus ticket - I will amend the list to show your name, so please just turn up on the day.

    For anyone else taking the bus, we will be sending the first bus off as soon as it is full.  It is the last bus that will leave at 08:45, so I would suggest you guys get there a bit earlier and beat the queues!  The buses will be in situ from approx 08:00am.

    Hope you've all got your race packs - I know some haven't, due to, I think, the backlog of the postal strike.  But we will handle that and all will be fine.  If you haven't, and it doesn't come on Saturday, please could you call me so that I can prepare you another number to pick up before the start.

    The weather could be anything judging by the forecast, so enjoy whatever it brings image!!

    Claire

  • Glad to be of some use Rug!  Don't worry about the money!
  • Thank you Claire & thank you Rachel.

    Big hugs to you bothimage

    Much appreciated.

  • i'm very excited about this run. it's my first half-marathon.

    i had planned to take the bus to the starting line, but tlf has screwed up my travel plans. i'm now going to take a train from paddington to west drayton. so if anyone needs a spot on the bus, do feel free to take mine. there's not a number on the bus voucher, but you can probably just use my name - reen polonsky. 

    reen

    p.s. are there going to be any other slow runners in this race? i usually only do the 10k, where i tend to be in the top half. i dread being the last one here.

  • Snowchick
    I am looking for a number for this race
    can you call me please 07765 863896
    thanks
  • I'm convinced it's me booked the Last Place, Reen!
  • Hi everyone,

    Please can I ask you not to make any more swaps now - the data has been sent off and we can't make any more changes. 

    If it stays like today you are going to have such a nice run! 

    Claire

  • TCPTCP ✭✭✭

    Hi hope everyone enjoyed the race as much as I did.

    Freezing, wet start but it cleared up nicely.  Very interesting run which I really enjoyed.  A little tough under foot but I'm a wimpy road running, not used to "off roading".

    Really could do with some toilets at the start and one more water station but other than that, a really well organised run especially as its the first one.

    Thanks to Claire and all the other organisers.

  • That was excellent. Great course and great running surface. I got off to a good pace and managed to hold it until about the last three miles, when I faded somewhat. Those little step-ups by the locks broke up what could have been a monotonous run, and that last climb to the finish just about did for me. 1:40:30 (ish) is pretty good by my standards. I wonder if it's enough for a top 100 ...

    Some of those canal boats are a bit smoky ... and that turd farm between miles 7 and 8 chucked up a bit ... that was definitely my fastest split.

    Nice medal too. One small point - 'twould be nice to have the year on the ribbon, but that's a trifle.

    Organization was like clockwork.

    Big thumbs up from me for PP Running. They've brought two great events to the race calendar, both of which are accessible to non-motorists like me. I hope they're as happy with the outcome as I am. I'll be back next year for this one and the Up Tow Down Flow (or is it Down Tow Up Flow?).

  • Ah yes, toilets ... definitely could have done with a few at start and finish. Only complaint, really.
  • Well, that was exactly what it said on the tin! 13.1 miles along the Grand Union Canal! image

    Enjoyed the run though it is a bit ankle wrenching in places - especially where you can't see what is under the leaves.  Gorgeous when the sun came out.  Amusing to see the slightly hungover bemused expressions on some of the boat owners faces!

    Nice chunky medal, slightly ....errr... unusual mug!  No loos at the start my only complaint too, though it was nice to see the blokes having to queue up too in Tesco for once!

    Well done PP! 

  • TCPTCP ✭✭✭
    Mug.  I never got a mug.
  •  My first race and I really enjoyed it.  Hurrah! to all the organisers for their hard-work.  Boo! to the scoudrels who stole the 3rd mile water station.  Will the 'official' times be posted on the web somewhere then?

  • Oh it was just something the guys in the baggage van were handing out - just advertising their business. 
  • I missed a freebie. Damn!

    Still got a medal though. I like medals image

  • Thanks to Claire and all the organisers!   This was such a lovely run - I had hoped for a pb but am not disappointed that I didn't quite make it because I just really enjoyed myself ... until the hill at the end.  I'm already looking forward to starting at the top next year!  The trip around the field at the start was a great way to get us all in roughly the right places, but people were good at moving over if you needed to pass.   It was such a success - but will this make it difficult for the organisers to keep the event small next year?
  • Oh, and I forgot to thank Claire for organising that good weather.    If you still have the power, please could we have sun and clear skies for our holiday, 7-14 June ...
  • Fantastic event guys! I've trained up and down the Grand Union for years. It was great to finally have an event on it. Keep up the good work Purple People!
  • beautiful run! i couldn't believe the weather. this was the nicest morning in a very long time. and for someone who lives in central london, the scenery was a icing on the cake.

    really, it was the perfect run for me. until the 6th mile, that is, when something happened to my hip. for the remainder of the run, every step sent a wave of pain through all of the joints in that leg. it was as if someone had removed all of the cartilidge. but that's the thing with point-to-point runs. you have to keep going. i would've stopped by mile 7, but i didn't know how else i would get to my bag. so i ran part of the way and walked part of the way. it was very frustrating. i haven't had to stop and walk in the middle of a run in over a decade. i finally made it to the finish line at around 2:20, a full half an hour later than i had planned. and i wasn't out of breath, or even sweaty at that point.

    but i'm glad that i did finish it. and i'll be back next year. how cool would it be to improve by a whole half hour?! i'm looking forward to it.

  • What a lovely run-thank you Claire Mac (& Rachel reynolds for the bus seat).

    Unique route,lovely weather and atmosphere an organisation.

    Hope the guy who fell and banged his head at mile 9 who required an ambulance is ok. 

    Minor criticisms... need more toilets,water and maybe a t-shirt (Stroud half did nice ones-just copy them) or an energy bar/soup.

    See you all next year!

    image

  • TCPTCP ✭✭✭

    Just a comment about the minutes silence.  Someone commented on the reviews section that some people didn't observe the minutes silence because they were wearing ipods.  Whilst there were a couple of people wearing them, a lot of people on the far side nearest the canal could not hear the loud speakers so did not know it was going on. 

    They were not being rude by talking, they just didn't know it was happening.  I only realised it was going one because of the filthy looks some poeple were giving a group of girls who were chatting away.

    Might I suggest moving the car closer next year or if its still a small group, someone standing on a box on the start line would be more effective.

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