On Sunday 7th October I ran in the Windsor Half Marathon. It’s a lovely course, in loops around Windsor Great Park, which gives you the benefit of a flat fast surface, with beautiful surroundings! Having watched my kids take part in the Sprite Sprint first (everyone was a winner!), we were off, starting out up the Long Mile. I can’t tell you what the view was like at this point, as it was still very misty, even though it was a 1pm start. I got stuck in the first half km behind lots of people running a much slower pace than the starting pen they had been in. Once there was some space I managed to bound uphill along the grass to make up some time, and settled into my stride. Lots of supporters all the way helped enormously, and although there were plenty of sharp inclines, they were short, and descents followed immediately to help you recover! By the 11 mile marker I realised I could get a PB if I kept a fast pace going, so resolved not to look at my watch, and just go for it. Was delighted when approaching the line to see the official time, and reckoned then that I’d beaten my best by a few seconds….turned out to actually be about 45 secs better.
Finished in 01:40:46, pos 555 / 4087, category pos 23 / 551, women 50 / 1571.
Alex Portwine