To-date, I have run 6 half marathon races, and run the distance of 21.1km (and beyond) several times during training. However, this was my first time pacing this distance (and pacing any event for that matter!), and something I was really looking forward to. My current PB for a half is 1:23:39, so I was pleased to be pacing for the 1:40 group at the Richmond Half Marathon.

In typical fashion, Sunday morning trains were a little slow. Despite taking the first train in, my journey to the lovely Richmond Park still took over 90 minutes. I hurried and made my way to the Xempo tent, where other pacers were already getting set-up. My race pack was waiting for me there, as well as a light-weight running vest/back pack, along with an Xempo branded “1:40” blue flag. Set-up was fairly quick, and within a matter of minutes we were all ready to go!

Although I was confident to be able to run the half in under 1hr 40min, I was still under some degree of pressure, as I really wanted to do a good job pacing. Other people were depending on me and I obviously didn’t want to let them down! I queued up in the start pens in what seemed to be a suitable place for 1:40 finishers to be (asking other runners around me their expected time helped to determine this!). After having a chat with a few runners, we were off, promptly at 9am as planned!

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The adidas Silverstone Half Marathon was my first half event in 2015, and my first time running this course. It was also my first non-morning race, beginning at 12pm. So a lot of first occurrences here! I woke up just before 7am, had a light breakfast consisting of a jam-infused porridge, fresh berry smoothie and a banana. Leaving home at around 8:30am for a race also made for a new change, leaving me with plenty of time to be driven up to the Silverstone race circuit in Towcester.

I arrived at the venue just before 10:30am, leaving me plenty of time for pre-race preparations such as a toilet visit, changing into race kit, etc. It was a very (unexpected) cold day for March, and a little disappointing after the slightly sunny/warm weather last weekend. None-the-less, I still decided to race in my running vest. This was also my first race in the adidas Ultra Boosts, which proved their worth (more on that later). With plenty of urinals and a changing room amongst other facilities, the race village was professionally organised.

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The inaugural London Winter Run took place on the 1st of February 2015. I initially came to learn about this event through a Facebook link, and signed up for the run in August 2014. Communication into the lead-up to the event was good, with frequent newsletters and even a free beanie hat I received (as did the first few 1000 runners who signed up). The main attraction for me was yet another opportunity to run through central London on closed roads. There is just something surreal about running through the Capital with no traffic and plenty of opportunity to look at the sights.

I was allocated the first wave with a 9:30am start, but advised to enter the “warm-up zone” (aka, holding pen) 45 minutes before. I was a little nervous about this, as it was a very cold day, with temperatures at 2 degrees Celsius, with the weather stating that it actually feels like -2. They were not wrong. There was a sharp, bitter bite in the frequent winds that repeatedly blew against my bare legs. I tried to keep warm with a space blanket, alas, attempts were thwarted by the breeze. I queued up in time and managed to shuffle to the front near the start line. Although all runners near the front were perhaps assigned the first wave, it was clear that not all were planning to run to maximum effort!

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This was my first time visiting Oxford. I decided to travel here the day before the Half Marathon and spent the night at a Premier Inn, located around 3km from the start line. Arriving on Saturday afternoon, I wanted to briefly look around Oxford, so decided to walk from the railway station to my hotel, around 8km away. The City Centre seemed nice enough and there was pretty much just main roads leading up to the business area in which my hotel was located.

After checking-in, I strolled out for another look about. Nothing much was to be found, apart from a retail park with a few large stores including a Tesco, M&S, Next and Boots. Contemplating what to do for dinner, I ended up in Burger King. I asked the staff if their chicken burgers were fried, to my surprise I found out they were! So that was news to me. I reluctantly ordered whichever burger had the least fat, apparently the chicken royale with orange juice, with no mayo or fries. Not the best dinner in the world, but I had a load of fruit waiting for me back in my room, which I brought along with me!

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The Ealing Half Marathon has a fantastic reputation, being awarded the trophy of the best half in the UK for atmosphere. Living only a one and a half hour train journey away, I had to check it out! This was my second marathon in four weeks. Having achieved a personal best (PB) at the Richmond Running Festival, with 1:27:32, I was not hoping to gain another PB just a week later.

At the start line, I decided to start ahead of the sub 1:30 pacer, seeing if I could dip under 1:30 again. I was still unsure if last weeks result was a fluke or an accurate representation of my improved performance.

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I was slightly apprehensive about the first of four half marathons planned within the next 5 weeks. For the past 3 days I have been struggling with planter fasciitis affecting my left foot. This made me a tad nervous about this event, as it was not entirely healed and I did not want to sustain any further damage.

I arrived at Kew Gardens where the race began, just after 8am, ready for a 9am start. Just before arriving I realised that I had left my timing chip to attach to my shoe at home *slaps forehead*. Damn! I went over to the race information tent, where they kindly reissued me with a new race number with no fuss. I was asked my expected finish time, to which I replied “between 1:30 and 1:35”. With my foot not feeling 100%, this was a stretch! I was even more pleased to receive a new number “23” (replacing my current number, 636). My lowest race number, to-date!

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This was my first experience of the Run to the Beat series of races, and left me with mixed feelings. Previously, this event was a half marathon in Greenwich Park, but has now shifted to Wembley in the form of a 10km road race.

I did not receive my race pack, which was disappointing and I had to arrive early to collect it on race day. It was actually not even posted to me, and I was “missed out by the system”, according to the organisers. Not a great start. The event is showcased as being outside Wembley stadium, and that is exactly what it is. Just outside the stadium, with the race village in a big car park. Hmmmm.

I put sub-40 as my finish time (my previous PB for a 10k being 41:30), so was expecting to run around this time, or if I could push myself and get a clear run, would have been happy with anything around 40-41 minutes. I was in the “pink” wave, and started pretty close to the start line.

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The British 10K London does not have a great reputation, with current Runners World reviewers commonly rating this event with dire scores. Despite this, year on year, the race attracts approximately 20,000 runners. I ran the British 10K London run (hereafter referred to as the B10K) for the first time in 2013, and after a disappointing affair, agreed not to return.

Here we are in 2014, and for reasons I shall not bore you with, decided once again to run the B10K. I decided to run for Help for Heroes, the official charity of the event, which allowed me as a bonus to start in the “first wave”.

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I first found out about the inaugural Hackney Half Marathon on Runners World around 7 weeks ago. Hackney seemed the most unlikely place to find a Half Marathon, but there was already a lot of hype surrounding this new event, so I decided to sign-up.

Up until the event, the team were very interactive, providing information on both Facebook and twitter. I received my race pack well in advance, which included a small race booklet and my race bib (with an attached chip on the revers side, instead of an IPICO shoe chip).

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I absolutely love running events. Getting up early before the dusk of dawn, fuelling your self with optimal nutrition and making your way to the event. The Bupa London 10,000 is one of my all-time favourite events. It is organised by the same team as the London Marathon, staged in London with a fantastic spectator turn-out. Think of this event as the London Marathon, just over 10k!

I arrived in Green Park at ~8:30, well in advance of the 10:00 start. This is my 3rd year running this event, which normally attracts just over 10,000 runners. However this year, there were close to 12,000, perhaps due to it’s surge in popularity, as well as 10k being the most popular road race distance in recent times. This was well reflected in the park, which was busier than previous years.

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