Cambridge Half Marathon, 5 Mar 2023

Going into the race, I was a bit uncertain of how I would fare, since the bike has been the main focus over the winter and I've only been running a couple of times a week. I was also feeling a bit fatigued in the week leading up to the race.

After a short warm-up, I made my way to the start line and pushed my way to the front, where I bumped into an old running friend of mine, Joe. We chatted about what time we were aiming for: me 75mins and him 71mins. I set off as I always do (normally to my detriment) of going hard from the off and enjoying the adrenaline buzz. This put me ahead of Joe, knowing that he'd probably catch me back at some point, which he managed after a few miles. From then on we settled into a good pace together at the back of a hard working group. At about 7 miles we looked back to find no one else in sight. Well that was decision made - no choice but to cling onto the fast group and work hard. Gradually though, we worked our way through the group and it eventually fell apart, leaving me and Joe running alone.

Coming back into the centre of Cambridge at mile 11, Joe created a gap that I just couldn't hang on to. But the hard work was done by then and I ran it home in 70mins29secs, complete with a sprint finish versus a St Alban's Strider (I won!). Absolutely gobsmacked by that time, it vastly surpassed what I thought would happen on the day or would ever be feasible for me.

David Shepherd