Undulations?!

This morning I ran in the 36th Dartford Half Marathon.  Not my 36th Dartford Half, you understand.  This was my first.

In all honesty I possibly shouldn't have been running.  Without going into too much detail, the previous day and half, I could have been sponsored by Immodium.  Some will say that it is foolish, that I ran, others irresponsible.  But I did ensure that I hydrated and replenished all of my minerals and salts. If at any point I felt I was putting myself in danger or being an uneccessary burden on the Marshalls, I would have dropped out.  But I felt that I would get round.

I had heard rumours and there had been some discussion on Petts Wood Runner's forums about the 'killer' hill at 10 miles.

Probably 99% of the country had been waiting for a Sunday morning like this; blue skies, bright sunshine.  But I think that 600+ odd individuals congregating in Central Park might have wished for a slight delay in the glorious Sunday morning conditions.

Once I had arrived and sorted our my timing chip, I managed to find a few fellow PWR's and had a quick chat.  I think that there were 19 PWRs all in the race.

Whilst lined up and waiting for the start, a chap wandered around asking if anybody wanted a custard cream?  A first for me, and i'm not sure where that fits in in the simple/complex carb chain?  Nevertheless, I declined.

The first couple of miles were nice and flat and then the 'undulations' began. Now it see that everybody who had mentioned the killer hill had forgot the 'other' hills.  Every corner you turned there was another incline and as always there seemed to be more up than down.  Throw in a couple of subways and a footbridge over a main road and there was plenty of challenges to deal with before the 'killer' hill.

Whilst running along one of the country lanes there was a family in their front garden with a couple of young kids.  They were both there with there hands out, so I gave them the obligatory hand slap.  They both had beaming smiles as a result of this.  Little things like this make runs so much more enjoyable!

The 'killer' hill was a slog, but I managed to keep trundling on without stopping.  The finish was 1 lap of the athletics track which encouraged me to put a bit of a sprint on and manage a sub-2 hour finish - just!  Not my fastest half by any means, but I was happy with a sub 2, taking into consideration, the terrain, the weather, and how I was feeling prior to the race.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/201982805

The race was well organised and the marshalls and volunteers very encouraging. It was good to meet up with the other PWR's post race and also cheer some of the guys and girls in!  I have nice red tan lines on my arms and ankles which proves that Hippo's really do need a mud pack or sun cream when out in the sun!

TJH