Kings Forrest Half Marathon Trail
Although I was very sporty at school - giving both sprinting and cross country a good shot, running only really became part of my life six years ago when I signed up to do the Ipswich Half Marathon. Since then its become addictive and find great enjoyment from pounding the streets and the local trails. My plan is to share my good and bad experiences of my running adventures - whether its a social run, a race or just time hanging out with my running buddies. There are so many historic ones to share though I thought I would start with my most recent adventure.
This race was one to test me both mentally and physically as although I have been lucky enough to complete a number of half marathons and also spent a number of hours hitting the trails - the combination of the two in a race environment was here to test me. I was quite confident about getting round - I love a trail run, but as the starting gun sounded I realised that it was a different ball game to race quickly on such terrain. I am not a speed demon when it comes to running, and although we are all told ' its the taking part that counts' the pressure was suddenly on that I might actually come last in this race. It's a crazy fear but one I am sure most of you runners have experienced at some point.
As I was lacking in speed I had to pull out every running trick I had to keep going and run the best race I could. This was easy as once I stopped stressing that people were passing me and I started to look around. I realised that I was running through the most beautiful scenery. The trails were winding round endless amounts of forest land, the sun beaming through the trees and picturesque views everywhere to be seen. The thought past my mind several times as to whether its ok to stop and take photos while in an actual race, but I kept on plodding and just appreciated being able to enjoy these surroundings while taking a mental note that I would return and capture them another day.
The race was amazingly organised with great signs marking the route and two checkpoints on the way round. The checkpoints were well set up with drinks, jelly babies and a great crew to make you smile and laugh. A great inspirational bunch to help raise your morale and give you that extra boost to race on.
The end of the race saw the tortoise running skills emerge as my plodding saw me catch up a number of runners. It sometimes pays to not race off and to keep a steady pace. By slowly over taking people one at a time it gave me a confidence boost that I could do this in a good time still. I started to really enjoy the race and the finish line fast approached where I was met with a great bunch cheering. The great support, the amazing scenery and the great medal above made the race a really enjoyable experience.