I was asked to act as a pacer for the Poppy Half Marathon, pacing 2hr10m and was delighted to be able to accept. The thought of being able to run a half marathon in a lovely seaside location, help others to reach new goals and to be able to remember and honour our fallen servicemen and women was so appealing to me.This was the 10th anniversary running of the race.
And what a great day it was, despite a little bit of drizzly rain and a slight sea breeze, the whole event was superb, very well organised and set up and one to recommend for future years.
Getting to the location was easy enough, from my location in Swindon it took about 3 hours to drive, there was parking available close to the start in a pay and display car park, but also plenty of free parking roadside if you didn't mind a short walk to the start.
Based on the sea front at the Grade 1 listed Art Deco style De La Warr Pavilion, the event comprised of not only the headline half marathon, but also a 5km, 10km and junior races (500m and 1km) beforehand. All of these set off right on schedule and were well supported and marshalled.
The Half Marathon was due to set off at 12.30pm, approx 500 entrants lined up ready to go on time, but before the off there was a moment to reflect as runners were asked to stand for a few moments in silence to hear the National Anthem sung and the last post to be played and to pay tribute to our heroes.
Bang on 12.30 the race started, a flat course, apart from a short 100m incline, which was made up of an initial 5km section before 2 loops of 8km out and back along the prominade, all on paths with just a short section on a quiet road.
The route was well marshalled and signed, with mile markers throughout and there was a well stocked and supervised water station at the same point on the course, which was passed on each loop. Bottled water was being handed out and I was pleased to see that all discarded bottles were quickly being picked up to stop any finding their way on to the beautiful shingle beach and then swept out to sea.
First aid was available on the route and at the start/finish area, thankfully I did not see anybody require help from them but it was nice to know that they were there if needed.
There was not a lot of local support save from at the Pavilion, some interested onlookers at the regular sea front cafes gave encouragement each time we ran past, but other than a bemused looking postman at one point there were not many others about.
On completion of the race runners were able to get an instant result on the finish time, through the chip timimg on their race bib, and were handed a bottle of Yazoo flavoured milk as soon as you crossed the line. A really top quality medal with a lovely tribute message inscribed upon it was presented to you and then your could immediatly refuel with a well stocked tent with Jaffa Cakes, Haribo's Jelly Babies, bicuits and drinks galore, oh and more Yazoo if required!
Race photos were being taken on the day and were quickly available to purcahse at a very resonable price, with a percentage of the cost being donated to the race charity.
I thouroughly enjoyed the whole event, and rounded off a great day with a nice helping of chips whilst watching the breakers crash in on the beach. I would recommend this race to anybody looking for a smaller event to run in to avoid the crowds, but that is still on a par with bigger events on the organisational side of things.