Running a half marathon

It sounds easy, put on your shoes, run for 13.1 miles and you are done.

Anyone who has done any running will tell you that they wish it were this simple.

I guess the first question that should be asked is WHY?...What would make you think that running this kind of distance would be fun?

Well, for me it was a personal challenge and also a message of support.  One of my good friends had decided that he was going to run a Marathon.  This was to be his second Marathon and he was also going to return to make a second attempt at the same race.

I have to admit, I was a little surprised as last time he completed this he said he was never running another marathon in his life.

So, one day we were chatting and he mentioned his entry to the Malta Marathon and kept telling me what a beautiful country Malta is and maybe I should have a look.  He then mentioned that it was in February and that they did a half on the same day.  As I was mainly running 10K races this sounded a little more achievable so I started doing a little training and it felt good.  I actually felt comfortable doing longer distances.  Eventually October came and the registration opened so I signed up (the hotels and flights had been booked for months but until registration day I could have just been going to see Danny cross the finish line.

The months passed by and the training went well but it was all done in the UK winter temperatures but Google kept telling us that Malta wasn't too hot.  15 degrees was mentioned a lot and that seemed like a reasonable running temperature.

We landed in Malta a few days before the race and were pleased to find that the temperature was nice.  16 degrees, a little cool in the shade.  Nice day but carry a coat just in case, day 2 was cooler and it rained and day 3 was just like the first day.  Perfect running weather.

By now Danny and his family had arrived, the finish line has been put in place and there were loads of runners going up and down the marina.  The atmosphere was amazing and all was good because we had a plan.

Over the last few months we had been comparing our pace and Danny had worked out that with the start times he should be heading around to the final 5k of the Marathon at about the same time as I would be hitting the same distance.  Even if we were a little out we would still have a great chance of meeting up somewhere along the route or maybe even crossing the line together.  This made me feel a lot more confident knowing that I'd have a little extra support just when I needed it. I was already looking forward to seeing my wife at the finish line but to have Danny there too was a bonus.

The night before the race we all went out for Italian food.  Carb loading! I had a few beers as I have always been told not to do anything different before a race and I have never found a beer or 4 to cause any issues on the next days run.

The dawn of the race day arrived and I woke up to the sound of people moving about outside our room, there were the Marathon runners with their early start.  A few hours later and it was my turn.  I met up with Danny's wife and we caught the bus to the start point.  I have to mention that Clare herself was taking part in an amazing event.  She was actually walking the 13.1 mile course.

When we got to the start line we met up with the other 2 girls who were joining Clare for the half marathon walk and stood chatting for a while before the warm up.  The atmosphere was amazing by now so we headed down to the start point and headed off on my own leaving the girls to gather their thoughts and allowing myself to get my head ready for the task ahead.

By now the initial chill had burnt off and I realised I may not need so many layers.  I had my normal running shirt, a second layer and a hat.

The first section of the course was stunning and we had to start off slow due to the amount of people taking part but this thinned out after a little while. I took this time to enjoy the scenery. It looked like we were on top of the world. I'm not exactly sure how long we were running downhill but it was certainly a good way to start the longest run I had ever done.

The first 5k was brilliant. A lovely run on a warm day and the pace felt good but by the time I'd reached 10k the heat had really started to become an issue. I had to stop and take off a layer but that wasn't enough and the hat also had to come off. I realised exactly how hot it had got when I took this off and found it was soaked right through. At 11k I did the stupidest thing ever and decided to have a little walk.  if you have ever done any running you will know that once you take a walk it's difficult to get going again and this is exactly what happened. It was walk/ run for the next half of the half. I took on water at every station and this helped but it was really starting to get hot now. 
 The atmosphere was fantastic though. The crowd were all very vocal and encouragement was rife and there were bands playing music all the way around.

Pretty soon we were in Valletta and I knew this was the home stretch. You could see the finish line on the other side of the water.
Just a few more miles to go. It was here that I started to look out for Danny. He had planned to either over take me at this point or run the final stretch with me so I was looking forward to a little company.

I thought I'd found him a couple of times but it turned out to be just another runner. As we turned into the last stretch I saw my wife in the crowd. She called me over, gave me water and probably gave me some encouragement but I really cannot remember. A little further down I saw Danny's family and they cheered me on. Still no sign of my potential finish line buddy though.

Eventually I crossed the line and grabbed my medal, a banana and water.  There were so many people at the finish line and I just had to get out. The heat was unbearable and I really thought I was going to collapse but I made it out and found Danny's family and my wife. 

At that moment I swore that I'd never run this distance again. This, was of course, a lie but I did not know that yet.