The Thunderous Third Cheddar Half Marathon

Saturday 9th November 2003

This eagerly awaited race was the 12th of the Somerset Series. It had sold out 2 months ahead of the day, and 350 of us descended on the small town of Cheddar for a probably the flattest half-marathon this side of London. There was a chill wind blowing from the east, but the mood was upbeat. After meeting friends and hanging out for a while,  we made our way out into the cold, brrrr. We were joined by Martin who had been promising to greet us at a pub at 8 miles and dispense Jelly Babies to help us keep going. He had been in the right place at the wrong time to inherit a much sought after (except by him) number owing to a last minute cancellation by a team-mate. So instead of a comfortable hour in the pub he was due for a somewhat longer time sweating it out with the rest of us. Not much sympathy was in evidence!

We arrived at the start-line. I was wearing minimum clobber with the idea that I'd be forced to run really fast to avoid hypothermia, and would thus achieve a time well below my previous best of 89:36. I even had dreams of keeping somewhere near last week's first lady, Lin Cummins, who was aiming for around 85 minutes. The plan was for her to get her usual fast start, and for me to run a more steady, but still fast (for me) 6:30 pace and join her at 10 miles for a sub 20minute last 5 kilometres. Unfortunately I sabotaged all that less than a mile after the start when my left shoelace mysteriously untied itself - I swear I double knotted it. That's the second time this year, I felt such a dope having to stop for what seemed like minutes but was probably less than 30 seconds while seemingly everybody in the field overtook me.

 Despite this I was surprised to find myself still on target at the first mile marker where I found myself running with Steve Bryant whom I had met at the summer Yeovilton 5k series races several times. We found enough breath to chat for the next 4 miles, along the main road and down a brief hill then on to the flat open section that looped around a large knoll. It was a pleasure not to be running up it for a change. At 5 miles, the pace had dropped so far below target pace that I forced myself to put on a bit more speed and left Steve in order to go after my next target and rival in the Series, Richard Westgate. He had been keeping about 100 yards ahead, but I caught him and a couple of other runners at about the 6 mile marker which I reached dead on 40 minutes, by now a full minute behind schedule. I realised that I couldn't hope to make up that minute now over the next 4 miles, so I settled for the goal of maintaining the 6:40 pace. This was just on the edge of aerobic running at this point so I didn't have any breathe left for chatting and the 4 of us ran through the next 2 miles together in a companionable silence.

Without realising it, we had been very gradually climbing, so at 8 miles there was a gentle downhill section of a 1/4 mile or so, which I took full advantage of to pull out ahead of the group, in search of my next quarry. The downhill petered out and was replaced by a dead-flat, almost straight section where I could see all but the leading runners strung out ahead for at least a mile. My legs were starting to feel tired by now, but not too bad and I knew I had enough in them to overtake at least a couple of the runners ahead if I could force myself to maintain the pace. Its hard to explain, but some days you know to within a few seconds how fast you can run and you just have to shut out any doubts, discomfort and distractions and just do it. I focused on the back of the guy ahead and tried to feel as if there was an invisible thread connecting me to it winding in. On reaching the first man, I unhooked it and cast a new line 50 yards on to the back of the next chap. I hope it didn't slow them down much.

The hill we had run down at 3 1/2 miles was cut off by a slight detour so we didn't have to run back up it which was a relief because by now I was running on empty. At 10 miles, my split time was 66:44 - a new personal best for 10 miles with just over 3 miles still to go. I somehow managed to pass a couple more strong looking runners who surged back strongly and overtook me back and then I gave it almost the last bit of welly I had and re-overtook them.

This time they got the message, and there was only 2 miles to go and the only remaining runner I could possibly pass was at least 50 yards ahead and going well. Despite ( or perhaps because of) a brief frisson of alarm caused by a rabid-looking dog darting out at me from a garden gate I was able to catch up with him up at 12 miles. I lacked the strength to overtake and settled 2 steps back on his shoulder, into Cheddar town, hoping in vain that each side-street would be the one, till at last - we turned into the school grounds and I found enough speed from somewhere to get past him and gut it out to the finish line where I somehow stopped my heart-rate monitor watch, picked up a commemorative mug, and was handed a banana ( which I promptly squashed when I collapsed in a heap once past the finishing corral. I've just looked at my watch to find that my heart rate when I crossed the line was 181, this is 2 beats a minute faster than I have ever seen it, and means that I must have been working harder over that last 100 metres than I had ever done - it certainly felt like it.

Of course, Lin had finished well ahead, and as I staggered over to meet her and apologise for being late for our appointment, she showed me her watch, stopped at an impressive 1:23:04 ! She had beaten last year's time by over 5 minutes, and won first lady by over a minute. Even if I had achieved my dream of 65 minutes for 10 miles I would have been 2 minutes too late, and another 30 seconds slower over the last 3 miles. And to think that earlier in the year I was actually beating this woman! And I'm doing more training than her, its just not fair!

We waited, now shivering in the cold as our friends started to finish. Richard and Hugh, both doing well in under 90 minutes, then Dave whose 95 minute goal was broken with just over 93 minutes. A couple more friends, then the cold got the better of us and we retreated to the Race HQ to grab a shower and meet again in the main hall where Lin made amends for leaving me in the dust by buying me the best piece of chocolate cake I've had all year.We all sat together for an enjoyable hour or so. Everybody seemed to have had a great race, and then the prize-giving ceremony and we had the pleasure of seeing Lin again picking up her prize for First Lady. There was some talk about drug tests and queries as to whether she would have to build another extension to store all the bottles of wine she's been winning.

The prize-giving over, we all said our goodbyes, and so back to our cars to return to the real world. Another race, another great day past, but there's plenty more where that came from.

Martin Lascelles