The Surrey Badger Half Marathon - 13.1 miles / 21.1 km, 1 hr 57'39''

After a couple of days of warm, sunny weather, this morning dawned grey and overcast, with slightly cooler temperatures than on previous days. As we arrived at Denbies Vineyard for the start of the race I felt relieved about this, as I hadn't particularly wanted to run in 25+ degree heat.

This was to be a smaller race than the others that I had taken part in previously, but it felt much more collegial and good-natured right from the start, with lots of friendly stewards and racers talking to one another. At the start we were warned about hills, and having not really studied the route in great detail I felt a slight sense of foreboding - had I bitten off more than I could chew by picking a very hilly course?

I ran the first two miles very conservatively, averaging 9.5 minutes per mile. Mile three was flat and alongside a busy road.  I ran it in 7 minutes which was very quick for me, and I reined myself in a bit after that, especially as mile four was mostly uphill. There were lots of water stations around the course, with people giving out jelly babies too (which were very much appreciated!) and I passed one of these just before mile five.

The middle of the race was steady and provided lots of beautiful views of the Surrey countryside and woods.  I really enjoyed the atmosphere and all of the marshals were very encouraging and friendly. Towards the end, at about mile ten, I realised that I might be able to get home in under two hours, so I ran a very fast mile ten (about 7 minutes). I immediately realised that this was something of a tactical error, as mile eleven was a slow and steady uphill stretch rather like mile four.  My right knee began to ache a bit at this point and I did find the last 3.1 miles quite challenging. I did manage to run down the last of the hills, back along the road and into Denbies, crossing the finishing line with a time of 1 hour 57 minutes 39 seconds.

I thought it was a very scenic race and I loved running through all the woods and countryside. It was also good to take part in a smaller race, as it felt like a more personal experience. At the end there was fresh melon, pineapple and oranges to eat and lots of water, before we were given our shirts and bottle of Badger beer. It was a great experience and I definitely want to run it again next year.