My Running Diary

Stratford-upon-Avon Marathon and Half-Marathon is organised by the Rotary club of Stratford-upon-Avon and is usually run around the same time as the London Marathon, for that reason it’s a great alternative to those who either didn’t get in to London or just can’t be bothered with all the hassle and expense involved. This year it happened to coincide with London.

For me this race was an opportunity to improve on my previous half-marathon times, I’ve known I could better for sometime and here was the day to prove it.

I’d really like to say that this race was well organised and operated with the same military precision as the Kilomathon I ran in March but sadly that simply wasn’t true. Pre-race instructions are provided in a rambling newsletter format that does little to encourage the busy runner to read the important stuff…

Important stuff like where you should park your car… I recommend the Leisure Centre car-park off the A439. I appreciate that the instructions contain a map showing where the car parks are but it makes it easier on everyone if you just tell participants exactly what to do! They are focused on their race and their performance and just a little bit stressed, make getting to the start line dead easy for them and they’ll thank you for it… if you don’t they’ll complain… (what? me? complain?!).

Other little matters like making it very clear that the baggage store is NOWHERE NEAR the start would be good too, yet again it’s there in the instructions on the printed map but nowhere does the given advice suggest that you make your way to the finish line once you’ve parked your car because that’s where the bag store is… Personally I’d go for the usual big race tactic of collecting all the runners luggage on an open-sided truck at the START and then driving it to the finish for collection, an extra expense I’m sure but well worth it to avoid confusion.

Talking of getting from the car-park to the start… or the finish for that matter… a few signs would’ve been good. In fact ANY signs at all would have been good. Otherwise you find that all the runners have followed each other to the start and have now discovered that the baggage store for their ‘keep warm before the start’ gear is half-a-mile away!

Ok… just one last gripe… There’s no segregation at the start to put the faster runners at the front and the slower people at the back. It’s a harsh thing but it just makes so much sense… The slower runners really don’t need faster people shoving them out of the way to get up to their pace. the fast people really don’t need the risk of falling over slower runners as they make their way through the crowd. The start left from the main street through the town, it would have been quite feasible to herd groups of runners (fast, medium, slow) up the side streets off the main road so that they could then be organised into ability groups at the start. Well worth thinking about for any race organiser surely?

The race itself was really well marshalled, loads of drinks stations for those that use them and an unusual feature of handing out wet sponges, absolutely brilliant!! The wet sponge is so much better than grabbing a cup of water to throw over your head on a warm day, the sponge is much more effective… and it prevents you grabbing a cup of sports drink and tipping it over yourself… (thanks to the Birmingham Half for that fabulous experience!).

The route is largely flat with a few moderate hills and one long climb with a rapid descent. The route along the abandoned railway line is a bit odd, a very white chalky surface that reflects light like mad, like running on snow! The route is far from traffic free but all the danger points are adequately marshalled and reasonably safe unless you’re being really dim about it.

Every mile is clearly marked out allowing you to work out your pace and keep to your plan if you have one.

The Champion Chip timing system ensures that you get the most accurate race time measurement possible between start and finish, marshalls were on hand to remove the timing chips at the finish. Thanks to them for doing that, it’s a perfect way to get cramp if you try and do it yourself when you’ve just finished your race.

From a personal point of view this race was brilliant for me, once I’d chilled out after the hassle of the start I settled into a good even pace and had a bit left to up the pace after the 12 mile mark. A sprint finish for 1h 42m 14s set a new personal best for me, chuffed, couldn’t be happier with that result!

Well done to everyone from Stourbridge RC that took part in the half or the full marathon (and London!) looks like we had a good day out for all of us.