The inaugural Big Half was upon us this weekend. The first half distance on closed roads by London Marathon Events. Mo Farah headlined and put in a stellar performance smashing the distance out in 61 minutes. If only….

With the week of weather we had due to the Beast from the East, I thought it could be an interesting run. It was actually perfect weather for the running – not too cold and the rain held off which was nice.

I arrived at around 8:00am and was set up to run in orange wave. I put the bag in the drop area which was slightly chaotic – too many people in a space which was far too small. I think this did depend on when you did this though. I probably left it a little late! I suppose with all new events there will be slight teething issues and you improve them year on year. This probably needs a little consideration.

The crowds were great in places, particularly around Canary Wharf, Tower Bridge and running into Greenwich. It thinned out in other places and running through the Limehouse tunnel was strange for me. The course was fairly straight forward and a little congested at the start. We were running on the pavement to begin with but this also thinned out with a lot more space after 4 or so miles. By mile 10, the realisation that a lack of running over the last two weeks was starting to show. It meant digging in a little. I would have actually loved to have felt as good as I did as at Hampton Court although that wasn’t to be today.

I must say I love the medal. Really different from either the round or square metal bling you usually get.

You can read my full report including my race at:

https://tritobeiron.wordpress.com