As Katie Brook took on her first half marathon, read how she got on in her report below;
I’d never raced beyond 10k before and wanted a new challenge—I didn’t want to become grandad doing a new 10k every Sunday. So, I set my sights on a half marathon and picked Manchester because it’s fairly flat and has a great atmosphere. My training wasn’t perfect—partly my own fault thanks to my social life—but I managed to get up to 18k and felt somewhat ready.
Race day came with an early start, and I was up and ready to go. My goal was to run it in under 2 hours, but more than anything, I just wanted to enjoy it. My first 5k was faster than planned and I was worried I’d overdone it, but the crowd and energy in Manchester really kept me going throughout.
I broke the race into four 5k segments, which helped a lot mentally. The route was brilliant, with plenty of water stops and even showers to cool off, which I needed as it got warm in the second half. I finished in 1:51 and was really pleased—definitely something I’d do again and who knows what next
Bev and Colin also ran the race and put in brilliant times too.
Well done all.
