Jennifer Girard ran the Cabo San Lucas Half Marathon and finished with a time of 1:50:14, which was a PR!
This was my first Half Marathon. The weather was a lot warmer than our training weather, and the course was more hilly than expected, plus a few miles of it was on course dirt/sand which was very challenging and something we did not anticipate. I think I didn’t hydrate enough before the race because it was such an early start, 7am, and we had to shuttle there at 5:30am. As such, we didn’t get a jog warm up, just active stretching in line. Overall I placed 6th in my age group (50-59). Interestingly, the age group below me (40-49) had slower times! I think if I’d hydrated properly, completed more very early morning runs, and anticipated running on sand/loose dirt, I might have had a better time. Thanks to RC for all your help!
Greg David ran a 10k race and finished with a time of 50:48, which was a PR by 2 minutes!
This wasn’t a “race” per se. I asked my speedy brother-in-law to pace me. My previous PR was about an 8:35 pace — so better by over 20 seconds a mile. I had enough left in the tank to kick the last .2 miles and I don’t think I left much out there! Thanks to the coaches for all the support!
Luc Berthouze ran the Worthing Half Marathon with a finishing time of 1:34:38. This was a personal record by 7 minutes 38 seconds.
I knew I would improve on my previous because I matched my previous PR during a long run sometimes during training, but the question was by how much. My target of 1:35 meant maintaining 7:15 pace. I was nervous about it for two reasons. First, training rarely involves maintaining that pace for an extended period of time and when it does, it does not feel particularly easy. Second, when I ran my 10k PR in July, I aimed for 7:05 but ended up averaging 7:15! When coach Danny told me a couple of days before the race that I should look at anywhere between 1:32 and 1:35, I used the race calculator and concluded I probably couldn’t. What this race made me realise is that I really need to trust the training (and also find out where the boundary is between running hard and running too hard) and I look forward to taking on some new goals on 5k, 10k and HM.
Christian Messerschmidt ran the Millstone 50 Trail and finished this distance in the time of 4:38.
Tactical race of attrition in unseasonably warm conditions; not the pace or race I wanted but reasonable for my current form. Managed to finish in 3rd Masters but 12 minutes slower than my winning time 2 years ago…
Mark Soo ran the Buriram Marathon and finished this race event in the time of 3:31.11. This was a new personal record by 10 minutes!
I headed into this race with a bit of anxiety given that my tune up race the previous month was a bit of a disaster. Lack of preparation was the cause which was not the case here. I was much better organised. The race is held in Buriram which is in the north east of Thailand.
I had worked on my nutrition plan so had something to eat pre race plus a gel around 30 mins before the start of the race. I had also thought about the race strategy which was to go out a bit easier than goal pace and speed up in the second half. Hopefully that would also give me a negative split which I have not been able to manage in my previous marathons.
At the start I made a conscious effort to keep the pace a bit slower and not get caught up with all the people who were passing me at the start. Everything was feeling good, I was feeling relaxed and I was able to keep this pace ok. Just after the half way point I decided to pick up the pace a bit. I started to reel in a lot of the runners who had passed me earlier too.
By 28-30km I was still feeling strong and relaxed. The faster pace wasn’t affecting me as much as I thought. I took my last gel around 33km and just about managed to get it down. It was around 37km that I started to struggle more, I tried to stay on pace but in the last couple of km’s I started to get some cramp twinges so I backed off the pace a bit. I didn’t want a cramp spasm to hit me at this stage of the race.
I ended up finishing in 3:31.11 (avg pace: 5:00/km) which was a 10 minute PR. My first goal was to finish sub 3:40 and then maybe have a crack at going sub 3:35 if I was feeling good so this time has surpassed my expectations. I also managed to run a negative split with the first half done is 1:50.30 (avg pace 5:16/km) and the second half in 1:40.19 (avg pace 4:45/km).
Overall, I’m very happy with this performance. The training has really paid off and the strategy and nutrition plan worked well. My feeling for this race was that truly starting off slower than goal pace and not getting caught up with all the runners passing me made the difference and was the reason for feeling strong till much later in the race.
Ken Davis ran the Hilton Head Half Marathon and finished in a time of 1:40:23, which was a PR!
I’ve never raced a HM, although I’ve run several with my wife who races them. I’ve run faster HM’s inside my full marathons, but never having raced the half, I didn’t quite know how to execute. Regardless, this was a lesson!! A really tough course too, to include a one mile long steep bridge that had to be crossed twice. Running through the recently hurricane ravaged forest with lots of loose dirt, debris and roots along with the many turns made this race the toughest course for me by FAR. I did manage to place 2nd in my age group out of just over 30 others which was nice. Thanks for all the help RC!!
Chris Carey ran the Hilton Head Marathon and finished with a time of 3:43:17.
I had previously set a PR just two months prior at the Rocket City Marathon in December, but just missed my goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. I figured that I would give it another try at Hilton Head; at the very least, it would give our family a chance to take a mini-vacation.
In the days leading up to the race, I was a bit concerned with the weather forecast, especially the unseasonably high temperatures for this time of the year. Training-wise, I felt good going into this race, using the fitness I had gained training for Rocket City. Still, I was a little nervous as I had never run two marathons within two months of each other.
The race began, and I employed the same race strategy I’d employed at Rocket City, and early, it seemed to be paying off. I hit the halfway mark at 1:40:43 and still felt really good. However, I could sense that the temps were creeping up and I noticed the salt caking on my face and the sweat saturating my shirt. This was not a good sign.
Around mile 15, I noticed that I was struggling to maintain pace, and by 18, I had taken my first walk break. It was discouraging, but I could also see it happening to the other runners on the course. The temperatures were starting to effect everyone. I managed the best that I could, but struggled mightily the last 6 or so miles. I was able to finally collect myself for the final mile, and aided by the distant cheers from my family at the finish line, I was able to finish strong. I was initially disappointed with my finish time — 3:42:15, but then realized that I’d still managed to have my second-best marathon time in the warmest temperatures I’d run one in.
As a coach, I teach my athletes that you can only control the controllables. Weather is not a controllable. But you can control how you respond to it. Even though I didn’t finish with the time I wanted, I choose to stay in the race and give it the best I had. I did that, so I’m happy overall. In hindsight, I probably should have adjusted my goal and race plan to accommodate the weather — some good lessons learned and some experienced gained that will help me down the road in future races.
Even though I didn’t qualify for Boston, I know it’s just a matter of when instead of if. And I know it will be sooner than later. The rest of the day was beautiful. The sting of not PR’ing or BQ’ing was quickly erased with a delicious post-race cheeseburger, some tasty brews, and some awesomely fun time with my family.
Yan Tang ran the Daytona Beach Half Marathon and finished in 2:11:06, which was a PR by 3:15.
I cut over 3 mins off within two months and achieved negative splits for the first time. I took a conservative race strategy by holding the paces because I also need to run a 5K after the HM. For all my past HM races, I walked like a zombie after I crossed the finish line. But this time, to my great surprise, I did not feel any pain in legs after the run and even completed the 5K race in 32 minutes, only 4 minutes slower than my PR. I don’t know whether this can be treated as a great achievement for an amateur runner like me with only 1400 miles logged for one and half a year. I am pretty happy with the result. I enjoy training with RC because I can improve running while stay injury-free and keep learning about running.
Rob Hubertus von Pflug ran the Standard Chartered Marathon and finished this race in the time of 04:25:59.
The positive note, I improved my from 4:36 to 4:25, but that’s about it…. Missed my PB (4:24) by a minute or so. The weather was perfect. Up to HM distance, my game plan went well, but at 22K, the pain in left side glutes /hamstring got very strong and I had to take a walk break and again after 27K it really got to a pinching pain and on the right side as well. From then on, it was all about finishing only.
Jim Paterson ran the Scrub Jay 10K, finishing this distance in the time of 59:36.
This was a last minute decision but glad I did. This was a 90% flat trail run in the forest which was a first for me. Decided to start slow at 10:00-10:30 pace and speed up the last 3 miles. Managed 8:36 on the last mile which was a great surprise. As my first race since the Disney marathon, I was pleased my foot held up and with my performance.
Tony Williams ran the My Better Half 10K and completed this distance in the time of 44:14. This was a personal record by 3 minutes!
Two things made this race special for me today:
1. I hit a big PR which I attribute to my RC speed work training that I am doing right now. Thank you Coach Michael and Coach Claire for a great training plan, and for the support around my decision to take a short break from marathon work so that I could focus on getting faster at my 10K pace.
2. Much to my surprise, I came in FIRST overall. That has NEVER happened to me before. Really excited. I have run four 10K’s in the last 4 months, and have finished 10th, 10th, 7th and 1st. Very cool.
Amanda Haselden ran the Heart Breaker Half Marathon with a finishing time of 1:32:27, which was a PR by 27 seconds!
Although it wasn’t a half marathon PR (1:29:23 on a flat, fast course), it was a PR for this wretched, hilly course. And that is a big victory! I was able to run pretty even splits (relative to the course – mile 4, which has a HUGE hill, was 7:51) and finished strong.
The thing that made me most proud was the fact that I went into this race without a normal taper. I ran 62 miles last week and 33+ this week BEFORE the race. And yet I STILL finished with a faster time than my previous 3 times running this race. A young man caught up to me around mile 4 and hung with me, shoulder to shoulder, until mile 10, when he took off. Unfortunately, his leg cramped and I passed him to finish about 30 seconds ahead, but I was so grateful for him hanging with me and pushing me to run a pace I was slightly uncomfortable with, and that I might not have pushed myself to run otherwise. I just love the running community!
Dean Morley ran the Worthing Half Marathon and finished in a time of 1:22:31.
Aiming for around 1.24 and to pace at 6.20, and very pleased that it worked out this way as a coastal half so can be a bit windy. On the day, headwind was against you on loops back to the start/ finish line, but thankfully course route only meant last stretch was just for 3-4 miles – and someone who was drafting behind me early on for 6-7 miles came alongside and took over in the last couple. Overall this was also my second fastest half ever and I’m running Brighton again in 2 weeks so will be an interesting comparison!…
Melinda DeCosta ran the Ed Sherlock 10k, finishing this distance in the time of 57:44. This was a PR by 2:10.
I went out too fast which I’m normally really good about not doing and it was pretty hilly. I struggled a little in the middle from going out too fast but still finished with a personal best by 2 mins. 10 secs. Who hoo
Danielle Schroder ran the Groet uit Schoorl 30k and finished this race in the time of 2:46:54, which was a PR!
Coach Michael gave me the advice to start conservative and to practise a fast finish. I started faster than I had in mind, that’s always funny when joining an event. But it felt easy! I was indeed able to go faster the last 9 km’s. The difference was not huge but I’m very happy with my fast finish.
The weather conditions made it special today. The last two days it was snowing in the Netherlands but the organization was posting on Facebook that they were even going to work at night to keep the route snow free. It was really cold and windy today. Since we were also running in the dunes, the course was not flat. It was 0 degrees but felt as -6.
Happy with the result, gained confidence that I can reach my goal in the London marathon!
Jamie-Lee Wright ran the Ed Sherlock 10km and finished with a time of 49.55, which was a PR!
I haven’t raced many 10kms. Today I went out with the intention to just run, treat it as a training run and not get caught up in it. I like to go out and run my own race… I have just moved up to a very competitive age category and there is generally no chance of placing so it helps keep the focus on your race however with today’s field being small and I felt decent, (particularly after running 18 miles yesterday) I pushed a little harder than I had planned. I came in 6th overall women and 4th in my age category. There were a huge number of great athletes missing today but it is nice when you manage to get in the top 10! Its a boost!
This is only the second time I have gone under 50 minutes and it felt like a hilly course (the previous time was a completely flat route) so with all that I am pleased 🙂 Oh, one confession the last hill I felt awful… one of Bermudas top runners in the over 60 age category came bounding up behind me and called my name, shouted for me to keep up, keep going, nearly there – she is fab – it kept me going but it was tough… one day I’ll manage such a strong finish!
Karen Scobie ran the Giuliette&Romeo Half Marathon and finished this distance in the time of 2:07:57. This was a new personal record by 2:09.
A surprise PR today, and 3:03 faster than the HM 2 weeks ago. This had been my goal race for a while, but the past couple of months have been difficult with injury and travel and work stressors, all to the detriment of my training, so my plan was to run this for the experience. For the first time I had nothing left at the end of this run, and really felt the lack of training.
Kendall Golovkin ran the Cupid’s Love Dash 5k and completed this distance in the time of 25:15. This was a personal record by 2.5 minutes!
I believe this race is a turning point for me. I went in shooting for 25 minutes, but totally didn’t think it’d be possible. I went in from the start completely doubting myself and I believe that lack of motivation cost me that 15 seconds and then some – but now that I know how close I was to hitting 25 minutes, I am so excited to sign up for another 5K to prove to myself I had nothing to worry about.
Vincent Hardy ran the Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Half Marathon and finished in 1:27:18, which was a PR by 40 seconds!
I ran with both my wife and daughter, which is always a pleasure. The weather was perfect too. I have been working on strength training a lot more this past year and really felt the benefits in the second half of the race.
Ericka Binkley ran the New Orleans Rock N Roll Half Marathon and finished with a time of 1:51:50. This was a PR by 3 minutes 10 seconds!
This was the best race I’ve had in a long time! It was the New Orleans RnR Half, and I absolutely loved it. I went into this race with no expectations or specific time goals, since I haven’t been running as much as I’d like to these last few weeks. But somehow, everything just came together in this race. When my first mile clocked in at 8:30, I was shocked, because it felt easy. (During my last few half race, 8:45 – 9:00 was feeling really tough for me.) I decided to just keep going at the 8:30ish pace as long as it felt good. I ended up running a negative split race for the first time in my life – something I never thought I could do! – and clocked a PR by over 3 minutes. Incredibly proud of this race, and still on cloud 9! 🙂
