Conwy Half Marathon
This was my second year of running the Conwy Half Marathon so I knew what to expect but there were many around me at the start who didn’t ………..
We were lucky that the weather stayed dry again , very cold in the morning but the 12 o’clock start means the frost had long gone by the time we got running. I lined up with approx 2750 other club and fun runners ( and 6 Kenyans !! ) all huddled on the quay side in Conwy below the impressive castle ruins, the organisation was better this year with more porto loo’s so there were a few less stressed faces than there were last year !
We set off across the bridge and as I was being passed by quite a few other club runners I thought I must have being going slower than I’d planned but when I looked down at my watch I found I was doing 9min/miles ………. Should I slow down to my normal pace or try and stick with them a little bit …. so I stuck with them for a couple of miles before easing back to 9.40 ( which is still a damn sight quicker than my traditional pace ;-)) the route took us along the estuary parallel to the train line before crossing over the line and on to the coastal path , just before crossing onto the path a voice came up behind me saying well well well another Derbyshire runner ( I was in my club vest ) and it was one of the Heanor girls !! she’d not run the course before and was worried about the Great Orme – I quickly pointed out that the Orme was no different to our Derbyshire hills it just goes on for a lot longer !! but that the immediate next section was the main slowing factor ….. the beach !!
The route runs along the coastal path for about 1.5 miles on the outward route and then on the return so 3+ miles, in places it is a path which has had sand blown across it for decades and other places it is the beach , I’m not sure how many other Half marathons run on the beach but it certainly makes it interesting J
We left the beach and headed into LLandudno where there were some good cheering crowds handing out Haribo and encouragement.
Then onto the Orme I’d had to walk some sections last year but I was determined it wasn’t going to beat me this time round ……. I’d planned to take an energy gel at this stage but quickly realised like a plank that I’d put my belt on upside down L so the minute I opened it , my phone and all the contents were going to fall out which would have slowed me down too much so I carried on with just my water … it was a fab sight, seeing a string of multi-coloured clothed people weaving our way up and round the Orme which has a gentle slope to start then actually goes down then flattens out before hitting you with the gradient again before you hit the top and the “ rest and be thankful” café water station.
A steep descent helped me picked up the pace before retracing the route back along the estuary into Conwy , by this stage I was happily passing people who had pushed too hard or had knackered their legs running down the Orme.
I’d had a time in mind . my time last year was 2.24.34 so was aiming for somewhere between 2.10 and 2.20 , as I crossed the bridge with the line in sight I checked my watch and found some energy from somewhere the sprint the last 600m to get 2.09.10 J so next year ………. Under 2 ???
I’d recommend the race to any of our runners , the views and atmosphere are brilliant and it’s just a little different to the “normal” flat tarmac Halfs J
-Clare.