Potters 'Arf Half Marathon
Today was my first half marathon in four and a half years, my previous one being the Stafford Half Marathon early in 2020, only a week before Covid lock down. A lot has changed in the time since, not least no longer being in my 30's and now less than 2 years away from hitting the V45 category. The Potters 'Arf is a race that I've known about for some time, but one that I've never considered, partly due to when in my racing prime I often selected courses that were flat and fast. Now that I'm past my peak it was an opportunity to select a big race with c.1,500 entrants where the course profile is at the opposite end of the scale with about 400 metres of total climb. With a climb at 11 miles known as 'Heartbreak Hill', any chance of a PB even in peak condition was never going to happen. Today was all about the race and try to do the best I could.
Start. Second on the left.
Other races that are flatter can be more forgiving when it comes to pacing and you can afford to go out a bit harder and hold on, or expend a bit more energy to ensure you stay with a competitor. With the profile of the course today, I planned to approach the race more like a marathon by trying to ensure I always had something in reserve. The first km was sharply downhill (37 metres!), so despite my planned pacing strategy I did the km in 3.00, I can only think of one other time I have gone quicker than this even in shorter distances. Initially I was in the middle of a spread out group of 5 and it stayed much this way over the following km that continued downhill. After this, things started to spread out and three of us started to move away and I slot onto the shoulder of my co-lead. The pacing felt comfortably uncomfortable, which felt about right to me and it stayed this way for most of the first 5km. There was the odd moment where it became a bit more pacey, but equally there were other occasions where it was a touch easier. This probably reflected the lumps and bumps and our relative strengths. During this time you constantly try to suss out how your fellow athletes are running and I sensed the leader who was driving the pace was quality, but the third runner in our group I felt was hanging on and so it proved as he started to drift away towards the end of this section.
Early on.
Just after 5km we hit what was one of the major climbs, 50 metres in a km is pretty crazy and I tried to tackle it in a way that didn't put me at risk of going into the red zone. It was during this climb my co-lead moved slightly ahead and at its most gapped me by about 10 metres. I put in a touch more effort to ensure the gap didn't grow, but at the same time you do wonder whether this is a bad omen. I had to trust my own pacing strategy. As it turned out the descent on the other side of the climb I managed to pull back and we were again side by side. Shortly after I sensed that the pacing had eased a touch, although was very difficult to discern due to the constant up and down nature of the course. I decided that this was not the right time to make a move and to do so now could end up being suicidal later on a course like this.
Long drag up the hill about 6km in, just starting to fall a little behind.
Shortly after 7km, despite not intending to make a move I gradually went into the lead and started to create a small gap. This was not intentional in the slightest and I continued to go at a comfortable pace, without going all in. I started to get the impression that on the hills we were fairly evenly matched, but I was stronger on the flat and downhill. Normally, when these gaps occur and the 'elastic band' snaps, the gaps can get quite big very quickly. I could however sense from the cheering behind me from spectators that he remained close and the odd glance here and there suggested that over a period of several km the gap was still only about 30 metres. It was far from a race winning position, but I still took the view that if he bridged the gap back to me I still had energy in reserve for the latter part of the race.
The middle section of the course also had a couple of oddities. The traffic management of a closed course was frankly a nightmare for the organisers and there were several instances where the race route had been coned off, presumably to prevent cars from accessing the course whilst still keeping crossing routes open to the last moment. The problem was that some of the hired in marshals providing security clearly weren't aware of the brief, and it stopped the lead car from continuing ahead. It also was confusing for me as I hadn't got a clue which way to then turn. There were also two lead bikes and on occasion I had to shout for clarity as to which direction to turn. There was also a further instance where the bikes took the wrong decision on which way to approach a partially closed island and took me down the wrong side. It probably only cost 5 seconds, but as I was still only slightly in the lead at that point I didn't want to throw the time advantage away - thankfully the runner behind was close enough to me to go the wrong way too!
The gap between the two of us really had not grown much up to the 14 km mark. One of the lead bikers told me it was about 50 metres, which really was very little on a hilly course like this. I started to put a touch more effort in on what was yet another long drag uphill and it was at this point that the gap started to grow. It was still far from a race winning move but at a guess I had extracted a 30 second advantage as I approached 'Heartbreak Hill' just after 17km. I had no idea what to expect as I turned the corner, but it was certainly one of those hills where taking it easy is impossible and you can feel the immediate drop in pace and the legs getting heavy. Thankfully, although 700 metres in length and 45 metres high it was over relatively quickly and now there was just a couple of miles to the finish. I did the km in 3.53 (compared to 3.20 average) which just goes to demonstrate how hard the hill was.
It was only at this point did I think I was now certain to win, although my legs had turned to jelly due to the hill. I was now hanging on a bit, but otherwise still in control and at 20km there was a hairpin bend and I could see my lead was about 45 seconds so was now unassailable. I crossed the line in 1.10.30, 52 seconds ahead of 2nd and only my second ever half marathon win.
Finish.
And Another...
For winning, I got a custom Emma Brigewater pottery tankard, £200 and a voucher for a 3-month membership to a Stoke gym, albeit the voucher having expired on 17th February 2024. Its always nice to win something a bit different and I'm sure it will find a nice home somewhere in the house. Despite being a little over 2 minutes shy of my personal best I am actually well chuffed with my time as the course was so tough, it probably accounted for about 90 seconds. I also had a bit in reserve over the last km as I didn't need to defend my race winning position. On top of all this, my race craft on the day was pretty good and its a nice feeling to finish strong rather than hanging on. I felt like I could have continued at this pace for several more km had I needed to.
Prize.
The crowds around the course were up there with the best I have experienced anywhere. Often courses will have a lot of support near the start and finish, but then you go into country lanes etc. and then there is nothing. The Potters 'Arf is an urban route throughout on closed roads and there is clearly a real affinity by the locals for their race.
BBC Radio Stoke Live Interview
One of the reasons for entering the Potters 'Arf was as a stepping stone to decide whether or not I'm ready for a marathon at the end of October. Despite all the positive indications coming out of the race, I'm inclined to give it a miss. Whilst I have no doubt that I could probably give it a decent crack, I'm not sure I'm mentally ready for the challenge. I may instead look for another half and also perhaps take the opportunity to try and resolve what I think is Plantar Fasciitis in my left heel which is getting increasingly painful. I also have the Cheviot Goat 55 mile ultra on the horizon in early December to be mindful of as well. I will make a final decision in the next few days.
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