Leicester Half Marathon

It’s almost perfect conditions for the Leicester Half, if perhaps a little cold but it’ll warm up I'm sure. We again used the 'secret' entrance to the car park actually on Victoria Park where the race start. Please don't tell anyone, let's keep it a secret.

This race has come on a lot since I last ran it two years ago but it does still feel like it’s being organised as a small local race rather than a big city one that it currently pulling 2,500. At least race packs were posted out this year and we don’t get the timing chip fiasco of 2013. There’s nothing really wrong with the race, it could just be ran a lot slicker and I really wish they would do away with the drinks in cups. This cost me at least a minute as I can’t run and drink, so have to slow to a walk.

That said I liked the course back in 2013 and did a good time. It doesn’t appear to have changed, so I like it just as much this time.

I get a good start as we head out along the Melton Road and out of Leicester. The first half is all on main roads then at 6 miles we hit Watermead Country Park where the race splits and the full marathoners are sent off somewhere. I know not where.

Us halfies do a long stint through Watermead and other assorted Leicester Parks before ending up at the National Space Centre at mile 10 and then onto Abbey Park. Mile 12-13 takes us through the pedestrianised shopping centre before the tough last mile up a persistent incline back to Victoria Park.

I cross the line with an official chip time of 1:40:01, very pleased with that. Over two minutes off my time at Derby two weeks ago and a similar amount off my time here in 2013.

Oddly, according to my watch I was actually behind my Derby pace at all the mile markers bar the last one. I was apparently a minute down at times, even at mile 12 I was still 22 seconds behind. Then suddenly at mile 13 I was 70 seconds up and the last .1 took 60 seconds where at Derby it took an alleged 4:36! The vagaries of mile markers....

The medal and long sleeved technical T-shirt aren't great but they did put crisps in the goody bag for the dogs.

Derby City Half Marathon

Apparently it has been 19 years since a half marathon went through the centre of Derby but today they are putting that right. This was something I expected the resurrected Ramathon to deal with in time but they have been beaten to it by the new kid on the block, the Derby City Half. This is a new race from Sporting Futures, the charity who organise the Derby 10K. There is even talk of a full marathon in the future.

With the involvement of Sporting Futures it is perhaps not surprising that huge chucks of the 10k course are used, although in reverse. The race itself starts on Derby University’s Kedleston Road complex and incorporates three city parks into the race.

The field is relatively small with around 600 in it. I’m not sure if this is deliberate for year one but it’s actually not a bad turnout considering the lack of advertising. If it causes traffic chaos then it should achieve sufficient publicity to massively increase its numbers for next year.

First up on the route is Markeaton Park where it’s all twists and turns on gravel paths before we’re heading back past the start and off down Kedleston Road which is straight and slightly downhill. So it’s a fast start and I’m already up on schedule.

Then we are straight through the centre of town, which is nice and with plenty of people out supporting including my nearest and dearest.

The route incorporates the good bits of the 10k course but also the bad bits e.g. it’s a long dull drag across Pride Park to get to Alvaston Park then a long dull drag back alongside the A52.

We then head out to the third and finally park, Darley Park, taking in part of the course of another Derby race, the Colin Potter 10k, before heading back to the city centre and then back to the University.

All the way through I am comfortably up on my pace, I was looking for a 1:44 but should smash that. However throughout the mile markers left something to be desired and the 13 mile marker arrived with around half a mile still to run which they crammed into the alleged last .1 of a mile. Several people reported that even then it was only 12.9 miles but I can’t confirm that.

The finish was seriously uphill but other than that it was pretty flat and I finished in 1:42:49. I'll take that.

Loved the race and I'll be back next year. It’s on a great date as well, midway between the other local city halves at Nottingham and Leicester. So hopefully they won't move it. It throws down the gauntlet to the Ramathon, Derby's other half despite a cheap looking medal and t-shirt. There was also a lack of drinks stations, luckily I had my partner on hand producing extra ones for me.