Wrexham Half

I was meant run the Essar Four Villages half in January but sadly it get cancelled because of the weather.  I didn't have another half marathon planned before Brighton so when my friend Ali asked me if I wanted to run Wrexham half with her I didn't take much convincing.  I've already done and loved one Run Wales race this year, Rhyl 10, and Runfest Wales was one of my favourite races last year so I thought it would be good. I've never been to Wrexham before but for some reason I thought it was flat.  I'm glad I checked the race route the day before because I realised that there was going to be quite a few hills and an uphill finish.  

Ali picked me up at 8:30 and we were there within an hour.  The race started in the center of Wrexham and parking was pretty straight forward, we even found fellow club member Dan.  We got to use the toilets in the Waterworld swimming pool and it was nice and warm in there so we stayed in the seating area until the start of the race.  We'd drove through quite a bit of rain on the way there but Wrexham was relatively dry... well it was.. until we went to the start line. The rain started around about the same time as the start count down, I think I was soaked before I even crossed the mat, but the crowds were cheering us on and it was very strange to be starting in the middle of shops.  I tried to convince Ali to go to New Look instead but she was having none of it.

Wrexham Half route

The first mile and a half is down, then up a bit, then more down and then up some more.  At this point I was wishing I'd never looked at the route because every long down we took was going to be a long uphill on the way back to the finish.  I tried to memorise them all, especially the evil one that went round a corner, because i always do better when I know what's coming.  I'm not sure why but I find it much more of a mental struggle if I don't know where I'm going to.  It's like the first time you go somewhere new, it always seems ten times longer than the next time you do it.

Just before mile 2 we went onto a country lane for a mile and then joined the marathon runners who had set off an hour and a half before us.  We joined them around their mile 16 so their pace was considerably faster than ours but there was so few of them going past that it wasn't an issue.  It did mean that the Lucozade was at our first water station around 3.5 miles in though which would have been much more appreciated further into the course.  There were also toliets at each water station too which is useful to know but I spent the whole time convincing myself that I didn't need it.  I stopped for the toilet at Liverpool RnR half (my current pb course) and I think I would have got a much better time if i hadn't.

Wrexham Half elevation

At mile 4 there was a seriously massive hill.  Wait there, let me correct that.... the mile was just a seriously massive hill.  We were warned about it by the locals behind us at the start but it seriously seemed to go on forever along country roads.  It was our slowest mile during the race but we didn't give up and walk which is important to me (I haven't walked during a race for a while now).  After that there was still quite a few up and downs but we got to go back to civilisation again (I don't like the countryside) with parks and houses.  I've only really ran with Ali after she's been injured so usually by the second half of the race the pace slows down a bit and I was expecting this to happen at Wrexham too.  We got through miles 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 but Ali was still a machine and all I could do was try to keep up.  I spent the whole race struggling with breathing, my top was soaking wet within the first half a mile of the race and I think it stopped me from being able to get any deep breaths so had Ali not been there I probably would have given up quite early on.  Instead I learnt an important lesson of mind over matter.  

Thanks to Ali by the time we got back to first road that would take us to the finish we had less than two miles to go and we were at 1 hour 50.  My pb from Liverpool RnR Half was 2:10:48 so I was on track for a new pb.  The only problem was that the hills that we'd enjoyed running down at the start of the race were now in reverse.  Thankfully I'd made my self remember where the hills were and how long they lasted.  Ali started to struggle so I took over keeping us going for the last stretch up a very long and evil hill.  The last mile and a half are the only bit of the race that I actually enjoyed running and ran well so I have no idea how we did it but we crossed the line in 2:06:44.  A pb by over 4 minutes.

After the race we met Ali's lovely friends Janet and Gaynor and went for a feast at Janet's house.  Was just glad to get changed and get a hot drink, the delicious food and cake was a very lovely bonus and it was very nice to meet them both, very interesting ladies! (Also thank you Gaynor for the great photos, I hope you don't mind me stealing them).

I think if I hadn't got a pb I would have hated the race.  There was nothing wrong with it, I like Run Wales races, great organisation (a marshall at a couple of the road crossings would have been a bit better), amazing volunteers and a route that I think is quite fast because the downhills balance out the uphill and the route was quite interesting.  Not to steal the best break up line ever but it wasn't the race it was me, just wasn't feeling it.  I might have to go back next year and give it a second chance.