The Big Half Review

The Big Half Review: I wasn’t sure what to expect going in to this race. I’ve run the London Marathon twice and this covers much of the same route though in reverse.

The biggest question in the days leading up was indeed will it still go ahead? Snow and ice had brought much of the UK to a standstill. Through the country, races were being cancelled or postponed due to the weather. And so it was, 2pm the day before the Big Race, a confirmation email – it was on!

I hadn’t run for close to a week due to rather chilly and dangerous running conditions. Up to this point, my training runs had gone well, managing a nice relaxed 10 miler at a 10:20 pace the week before. I was hoping to get close to my PB, or at least do a few minutes faster than the Watford Half.  This was not to be…

 

Route

This is how it went…

 

The before….

Kit sorted the night before.

Two alarms set for 6.10 am though got up at 6. I drank a couple of coffees, ate a couple of pieces of toast with honey, got my kit on, checked I had everything (a few times) and headed out the door.

I got the train to London Bridge with some running buddies. Most headed off to the Orange start, south of the river, I headed off with Heather to the Green start, north of the river. It was cold but there was a bright blue sky and the sun had a little warmth in it.

We arrived at the Green start just outside the Tower of London. There were lots of folks around – at the baggage trucks, at the portaloos, and just generally hanging about. It was crowded by manageable.

Heading off for the all important pre-race pee, the general expectation was we’d have to wait for a good few minutes. Not the case this time. I’ve never seen such short queues compared to the numbers of toilets pre-race. I expected this much have been the case due to some many folks not being able to make it to London due to impossible and potentially risky travel conditions.

Off to our start pen. The pens lined with more portaloos. While there was some hanging about to get to the start, this was to be expected.

 

 

The race itself

And off we went. The race began running down the Old Highway, part of the London marathon route. I was feeling comfortable and relaxed at just under 10 min miles and was watching my pace. It’s so easy to push too hard in the first part of a race and then have every fall apart.

I passed quite a few people. There was enough distance between us to do that comfortably without risking tripping or wasting too much energy with mini-detours.

Then we entered the Limehouse Link Tunnel. This was part of the route not covered by the London Marathon. It was just over a mile and a strange experience to be running for so long through a tunnel. I’ve heard since that lots of folks hated the tunnel but there’s something about running in areas that are generally closed to pedestrians – it’s a different way to feel and experience London. I loved it.

And then down to the heart of London’s financial district and Canary Wharf via a few cobbled streets. This made me appreciate why we’d been set off in waves rather then a mass start. Some of the cobbled streets were fairly narrow. While I’m not a fan of running on cobbles, these bits didn’t last for too long and I was seeing parts of London I’d not seen before.

I was starting to slow despite putting in more effort, and my mood was dipping. I was hoping things would pick up again. Usually this happens about mile 7 or so.

Passing Canary Wharf, we headed back up to the Old Highway, and then eventually onto the Tower of London. There is something special about running across this bridge. I’ve done it twice with the London Marathon, and also run across via the footpath many many times on training runs. Each time it’s a great experience.

One thing that I did think a bit odd was folks running along taking selfies on the Bridge. No, not at the side of the road as that would make sense. I almost slammed into about three people broadly grinning into their smartphones. OK, a bit of a plea – if you’re going to take selfies in a race, and yes it’s something I’ve done, please make sure you’re not in the way of other runners!

Then onto Southwark and Bermondsey, past a few choirs, and through some old parts of London. My lower back and hips felt tight, the running was not going well. I did appreciate the DJ truck at we entered Lewisham – nothing like a good bass to get those legs moving. A few hellos from marshals and spectators I knew.

I smiled for a few moments but otherwise spent quite a few miles feeling very grumpy. I won’t repeat here how my nasty little thought loop went…

This for me is when things got really tough. I stopped a couple of times to stretch my back but onwards I went. At about mile 12, a woman came up behind and said ‘Right, you’re running with me.’ We’d chatted earlier in the race. Another half a mile or so, she told me to push on as she needed to slow down. She also said something about feeling ‘lazy’ by mile 12! A huge thank you to this woman, whoever you are!

 

The finish line

And then onto Greenwich and the finish line. Photos taken, medal collected, foil sheet wrapped around, and then a walk to collect the goodie bag and my bag from the truck.

Final chip time: 2:16:05  

This is 21 seconds faster than the Watford Half done in February. But the Watford Half had serious hills, this one didn’t! 

 

 

 

 

Would I do this race again?

Yes and yes.

• Easy to get to

 

• Loved running through the tunnel. Didn’t like the cobbles quite so much but I did get to see parts of London just off the London Marathon route. And running through the financial district is spectacular. The most special moment though has to go to the Tower of London.

 

• Logistics – Good instructions prior to the race. Bag drop-off and collection well organised. So many portaloos – no queues!!! I think this is a first out of all the races I’ve done!

 

• Well thought out with handing out foil blankets at the end. While there was a little bit of a walk from the finish to collect bags and the event village, this was all clearly marked and a lovely way to see some of the fantastic buildings and grounds.

 

• Marshals were really supportive and well briefed. Lovely to hear DJs and choirs on the route.

 

• For those unable to make the race, The Big Half have said that people can earn their medal via a virtual run – a nifty solution given the impossible logistics involved in postponing.

 

And finally, a huge thank you to all the marshals and spectators for being there is somewhat chilly conditions.

 

To note, there weren’t a huge number of spectators which I’m fine with but I think was a disappointment to some. It was so cold so here’s hoping more will come along to this race in the future (assuming this isn’t just a one-off).

 

Lessons Learned

• To be honest, I don’t know why this run went so badly. I know I could’ve done more miles in the lead up but I had done enough, and it certainly doesn’t explain why in many respects it felt harder than the Watford Half. Need to explore further…

 

• When things are going well, nasty little thought loops really don’t help. This is particularly the case when it involves considering quitting – not the race, but running! Perhaps next time I’ll swear instead – I read somewhere that this can help.

 

• Antihistamine works brilliantly in stopping my histamine reaction to the cold after I’ve stopped running. No head to toe itchy rash.

 

Onwards and upwards. I’ve got Reading Half in a few weeks – here’s hoping it does better!