On a warm spring day in May 2018, the day after the Royal wedding, I completed my first half marathon by finishing the Hackney Half with a respectable time of 2hr 9mins. Some five months later, on a cold and frosty September morning in Ealing, I was about to embark on my second half marathon of the year by running the Ealing Half.
This time I had set myself a target to finish the run in under 2 hours. The training build up suggested that I was on track to achieve this but there were a couple of factors against me. Some of the reviews I read about this run reported that it's a difficult route for those that want to beat their personal best times. This is due to the hills and the sometimes twisty circuit. The second factor, which almost made me quit the event, is I had a very heavy cold/flu the week leading up to the race. I missed work on Monday, Tuesday and Friday. I managed to go to work on the Wednesday and Thursday but it was a struggle and my cough was getting worse. Then on Saturday morning I was on my knees coughing in the lounge and it felt that the cough was never going to stop. When the coughing managed to subside, my chest and lungs felt so raw and sore. Oddly by the afternoon, I was feeling better, maybe the meds were starting to kick-in or maybe the body was in denial.
Sunday morning I woke up after managing to sleep through the whole night without coughing. I did have a mini coughing fit before heading to the shower but it managed to calm down quickly. After the shower I felt fit to run, although privately I felt only 75% fit but I headed off to the event area.
Home Turf
This running event was on 'home turf' with the Start line in Lamas Park, this is a short walk from my flat in Ealing. I reached the park just after 8am, there was a chill in the air, as well as the smell of Deep Heat. After I reluctantly took off my sweater I checked my bag into the baggage area…it was too cold to be in shorts and a t-shirt. Quite a contrast to my runs in the warmer months of May and June.
I wasn't feeling the chill for too much longer, as the pre-race warm-up session was about to start. The routines were fast paced and fun.
After the warm-up it was then time to walk towards the starting pens. Unlike my previous races, you weren't already designated, you could choose the pen for the time you think it would take you to finish the event. I went for the 2hrs pen. As I was edging to the front, there was a non-runner that had accidently got into the pen after seeing off his son. He asked if there is a way out…I joked there was no way out now and he would have to run!!
Ready…Set….
Whilst I was waiting, a couple of guys jumped over the gate to be with their friend. The friend asked how they were feeling…one of the guys replied "I've been for a shit three times this morning, so I'm feeling very light". Thanks for that image!
Go…
The race started on time at 9am, unlike my other races there wasn't a staggered start, everyone could just go. Most people were actually running towards the start line that was about 250 metres away, I chose to save my legs and just walked fast, then I launched into my stride as I approached the start line.
There was a lot of people traffic so I wasn't able to sprint away but this was probably for the best anyway as this helped to preserve my energy. Most of the race was like this. So I ended up running with the pack until I found a gap, then I would run into the gap and speed up until I caught up with another pack, this seemed to work quite well.
Community spirit
Every church around the route was giving out mini bottles of water for the runners. There was also a Gurdwara London Sikh Centre and a Fullers pub The Duke of Kent giving out bottles of water. This pub was the last one on the tea towel challenge, which I completed exactly a year ago with my Cousin Neal….but that's another story.
I overheard an elderly pedestrian ask one of the volunteers if they had any spare water. The girl said that she has about 200 bottles in that box and the guy was welcomed to help himself. So there was a great community spirit all around and this gesture warmed my heart...although it was pretty warm by this point anyway.
Haribo and Jelly babies
I've never seen so many…every street in the residential areas seemed to have kids eagerly holding out bowls of sweets for the runners.
Cow bells
There were a lot of cow bells at this event…made me think of the winter Olympics.
Greenford Avenue hike
I read that it was highly recommended to include this road as part of the preparation for this event. The road has a long steep climb to the top. As part of my training, I would approach this road around the 3rd mile mark of a 6 mile run. For the Ealing Half, I knew I would be hitting it on the 8th mile. However, I knew this was the last of the three hills that the route would cover so I was eager to get it out of the way.
As I approached Greenford Avenue from Bordars Road…it looked a lot steeper than what I remembered. A few people stopped to walk up the hill without even trying to run up it…my legs were sore but I told myself to keep going…as I got to the half way point I imagined pulling myself with two hands up the hill with some rope.
I made it to the summit of what felt like Everest…then thankfully it was downhill to a road called Cuckoo Lane.
Thatched Cottage
Did you know there's a thatched cottage in Ealing? Neither did I. I marvelled at the cottage as I ran past it and thought I must tell Ananya about it. I still haven't.
12th mile
Friends and family asked me where it would be best to cheer me on from. I suggested around the 12th mile mark to give me that extra boost for the last mile and I expected to be there around 11am. I don't wear a watch when I run so I had no clue of the time. Every cluster of people I saw I was looking out for some familiar faces. I didn't see any, so I then thought they might be waiting for me at the finishing line inside Lamas Park.
Lammas Park
When I entered Lamas Park I knew the finishing line must be close….but it wasn't. Every corner I approached, I thought it must be around this next corner…but it wasn't. Then I saw a sign that said "500 metres to go"…so I stepped up my pace…but I could only manage this for another 50 metres or so. The legs were tiring…I almost tripped over a couple of times…then I went around the next corner and to my relief I could see the finish line so I started to push again…my legs were screaming at me to slow down but I kept on pushing regardless and finally I made it past the finishing line.
After I collected my medal and a bottle of water, I went off to find some space. I checked my phone and was surprised to see that I completed the Half Marathon in 1hr 48mins. I beat my previous time by 20mins. The time of day was only 10:50am so no wonder my cheerleaders weren't around…I was too quick for them!!
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