I booked Canterbury Half last minute, as I wanted to get a race in the calendar for the August Bank Holiday. It's certainly not a flat course (there seemed to be more up sections than downs) but the views across the Kentish countryside were stunning, taking in the apple and pear orchards and views across the fields. It was a bit too hot so a few extra water stations would have been ideal, although I was thankful for more shade than I was expecting on parts of the course. I was also thankful for the supporters along the course, who came out of their houses and showered us with the garden hose so we could cool down. The volunteers/marshals were very supportive along the course, which I was very grateful for when it was getting tough.

The race start/finish area was a little chaotic before and after the race with cars trying to find parking and leaving. Luckily, I arrived with enough time to find parking near the rugby club a couple minutes walk away. This was my only real negative point about the organisation. The medal is a lovely design depicting Canterbury Cathedral and the iconic Kentish oast houses. 

I was oo-ing and aah-ing about whether to take part in this race on the Bank Holiday Monday. It through my training schedule out of sync slightly and it was meant to be rather warm, but with only a couple of weeks until the New Forest Marathon, I thought it was a good idea to get a bit of practice in...

The Avery Fan Club and I arrived at the Race HQ and although it was a friendly atmosphere with a few first time half marathon runners, I have to be honest and say it was slightly unorganised.  There were two queues for race number collections, one for surnames A-L and the other line was for surnames M-Z.  The one issue here was, as you got nearer the front, the two queues seemed to merge together and nobody seemed to know if they were pushing in front or were in the wrong line.  Another slight issue was the fact that the start and end of the race were on the same road and although this section was busy with people walking backwards and forwards and getting themselves ready for the race, there were still cars driving up and down it trying to look for parking.  Seperate area for parking next year may be a good idea.  Slight issues here, but those aside, the atmosphere was good, the marshals and gentleman on the tannoy were brilliant and just after 10:00 we were ready to go.  I met up with Carmen To prior to the start of the race and we had a nice chat before it kicked off.  The racecheck visors seem to be a bit of a rarity at the moment, so it's always lovely to meet one of the #visorclub family at these small events.

I was told before the race that this was a hilly one, but flipping heck this was tough.  We started well and I hit my first mile semi comfortably in around six minutes, but from mile two onwards it was like a half mararthon helter skelter. The up's and down's were very tough and although I hit the three mile mark just over twenty minutes, it was impossible for me personally to maintain the pace due to the climbs and also the heat, but I kept going and tried as much as I could to get a good time.  The climb between four to five miles seemed to go on forever and once we were at the top, we were in the middle of the mid-morning heat with no cloud cover or shading from bushes or trees.  The sweat was pouring off of us at this point and a lot of the local residents were amazing and kept coming out of their houses with garden hoses to help us cool down, this was a huge help to us and for a few minutes we managed to not feel like we were melting in the August heat.

As this was a kind of 'out and back race', I did think that the treat for running up all those hills was to run back down them on the way towards the finish.  However, this was not the case and the slight change of course only seemed to add more hills and climbs.  The race enjoyable and although I wasn't going to get my usual sub-90 target, I did like the challenge of the climbs.  The heat on another hand was a completely different story.  Looping back now towards the finish line, I overtook the lead female runner and two other gentleman, but due to the sun I could not muster a real attacking end.  My legs were like jelly, I was hot and just wanted the race to end.  I crossed the finish line in 1:34:55 and although slightly disappointing I wasn't in the 1:2X:XX category, with hindsight I will take that.

The views on the course were lovely and although not unique (quite similar to Maidstone, Paddock Wood and Headcorn halves) it was certainly nice to be on the country roads and not in a major city.  The medal is lovely and as I finished in joint 12th (with the lead female) I got a nice little shout out on the PA system which was a lovely touch.

Thank you Canterbury for a great race.  Will I be back next year?  Let's see how the weather is....

This is my local race, and one that I always enjoy. The views are spectacular as they wind around the Kent countryside out of Canterbury, through Petham and Waltham vefore looping back.

This course isn't for the feint hearted though, note the long climb into Waltham around the 4 mile mark, and make sure you save something for the hill on mile 10/11!!

Spectators are fantastic, they always come out of their houses to cheer you on. Not a race to get your PB, but definitely one to enjoy.

This half-marathon is not for the faint-hearted.......literally!  It's pretty uppy-downy so you're being worked hard pretty much the whole way round.

There is an abundant supply of marshals and locals come out to cheer you on as well.

The only suggested improvements I have is regarding the water stations.  Water was provided in plastic cups - I find it extremely hard to drink from cups while running and generally have to stop, consume the water from the cup, then restart.  I did see some squeezy bottle energy drinks at the final station but they did not appear to be readily available/visible at the other stations.

I also think the final water station should be positioned nearer the top of the hill.  I really felt rather faint by the time I got to the top of the hill and then I had to run a good 400m before reaching the water station.

Having finally completed the race there was water available but it was only when I specifically requested an energy drink that a marshal rummaged into a box and pulled out a 2l bottle of coke.  

The course is hard going so the energy drinks should be readily available.

Having said all that I had a great run yesterday and I'm sure I'll be back again in 2019.  Thank you!

If you've ever fancied running through orchards of apples and pears together with the waft of gently drying hops, the Canterbury Half Marathon could be the one for you.  But you'll need to be breathing in deeply - very deeply; 'cos those hills are gonna hurt.

Its described as a lolipop route with a shared 4 mile section : upward gradient followed by steep downhill on the way out and reversed on the way back.  In between you'll find picturesque Kentish villages, wooded roads and hills.

My first fault is with myself for underestimating the terrain and my speed going out.  Too much too soon.  My second is with the water stations - too many loose plastic cups strewn across the lane for 100 yards.  Please consider an alternative means of delivery or consider bins after the feed station.  My third is with fellow runners dropping cups, bottles and gel wrappers in out beautiful countryside.  I know you're racing but that's no excuse to litter.

Otherwise, this is a thoroughlly enjoyable half marathon.  I was glad to see it held on a Bank Holiday Monday (rhather than a Sunday) and gave me the ideal opportunity to pop over from Hampshire to see my parents.

This was my first time doing the Canterbury Half Marathon. I really should check out courses before signing up! This was much hillier than I expected. Not sure how they managed it, but pretty sure there were more up hills than down hills!

Fantastic marshals, plenty of water stations, great local support, beautiful country side, could've done without the lovely farm smells. Really found it to be a well organised and challenging race. Great views and plenty of walking up hills opportunities to take photos. Loved the medal and snacks at th end. Thanks!