I had set my clothes out the evening before and as it was forecast to be a sunny day I opted to wear shorts and a vest top.
My alarm went off at 7.15am, and I got up and looked out the window. I was very pleased to see bright blue skies even at such an early hour, so shorts and vest it was!
I had my usual pre-race breakfast of porridge, a banana and coffee before leaving at 8am for the 50 mile journey from our home town of Kendal to Carlisle.
Unfortunately by the time we got about half way the weather had changed drastically and we found ourselves driving through thick fog and the temperature in the car dropped dramatically. I was starting to regret my "shorts" decision but there was no going back!
We arrived in Carlisle, shrouded in fog at just before 9am and got parked easily close to the Castle where the race Head Quarters and start line were situated.
I collected my race number from inside the castle walls and visited the porto-loo's whilst they were relatively quiet. I also got my finishers T Shirt at registration (before we had even started let alone finished!) and I was a little peeved that although I had ordered a "small" T Shirt they only had "Medium" left! This was too big on me unless I want to wear it as a night shirt! What is the point in ordering a size if they don't take any notice of the sizes people have ordered!
By the time I had collected my race number it was about 9.15am so we headed back to the car to try and keep warm before the 10am race start! Once in the car I pinned my number on my vest and yet again worried about my race clothes choice!
At around 9.40am we headed back to the Castle just in time for me to de-robe and join in with the aerobic style warm-up! Once the warm-up had finished we still had a substantial length of time to wait before the race started rendering the warm-up as being a waste of time, I even had time for a nervous wee stop!
They called the fast sub 1 hour 20 minute runners first then the rest was left as a free for all! Not a very satisfactory way to start a run especially when slower runners don't have the courtesy to start at the back!
Now in it's 34th year, the half marathon started from Carlisle Castle, crossing Castle Way and heading through Carlisle City Centre before heading out into the country and through Cumwhinton, Wetheral and Scotby.
Although I have done this race a couple of times before, this year it seemed much busier and more congested. It was difficult to keep a constant pace due to swerving around slower runners and walkers.
It wasn't until around the 3 mile mark that the field started to spread out and I could settle into the run at a comfortable pace!
Thankfully at around this point the fog lifted suddenly and the sun made an appearance making me pleased with my attire choice after all!
There was a water station at around the 4 mile mark so I took the opportunity to take an energy gel to make sure my energy stores were kept topped up! Thankfully I did as no sooner as I had finished it and I was soon greeted by a hill!
There was wonderful support going through all the villages and there was a great atmosphere!
There was another water station at around the 8 mile mark so I had another gel to keep me going. I was still feeling fairly good at this point.
At around the 9 mile mark we started heading back towards the city and through the suburbs again before turning into Rickerby Park for a very enjoyable run through the park, in the sun.
After leaving Rickerby Park, and after struggling up a short sharp hill, where my legs complained loudly, there was a great downhill road section before we entered Bitts Park for the final mile and then we headed towards the Sheep mount Athletics Stadium.
On entering the stadium, which was full of spectators, we had to run half way round the athletics track to the finish line which seemed an insurmountable distance at the time and my legs felt like that had weights attached! I was trying to look like a "proper runner" to the crowds cheering us on but I felt like a sloth!
On crossing the finish line I stopped my watch and was delighted to see that I had actually got a course PB by a couple of minutes finishing in 1:55:38 and was 4th in my category!
On finishing I was presented with my medal, a bottle of water, banana, and a Mars Bar.
I really enjoyed this race and would definitely do it again. I just wish they would sort the start out better so people were actually put into proper timed starting zones to stop all the unnecessary congestion.
You can view the route and my split times here!
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