Hawick Half Marathon 2009

As part of my Loch Ness Marathon training I headed over to the Borders town of Hawick for their half marathon. This was an alternative to doing yet another tedious long run, and an opportunity to 'open my legs' a little bit. It was a really small but well organised event, with around 60 runners involved. It is a hilly course, and I read somewhere that you climb a total of almost 2000ft. The hills didn't really hit me that hard as running around here is nearly always hilly, unless you take a coastal run. Hills also mean you get some good views. Hawick is that town we always rush through when we have been traveling south, so I have never really given it much of a look. Fairly early on I was out on my own, with a Perth runner a good distance away in front. He became my target from around mile 6. I did get closer and closer, but never caught him, although 20+ seconds separated us in the end. This course has a really steep drop for about a mile at 6 and half miles, but then you go up again. It is rarely flat, and there are loads of turns.

This was my first race where I went against the marshalls advice and listened to the ipod. It certainly took my mind off the discomfort of race pace, and seemed to speed me up a bit. The result was me getting a new personal best for that distance. I shattered my old one of 1:28:57 with a brand new 1:25:28! Given the hills and twists and turns, I was more than delighted with that time, and pleased to have come in 6th place. More to the point, this was my very first race in the older age category of Veteran. When you reach 40, you stop being a senior and get given the title of someone you'd expect to see in the British Legion. The day rounded off with a buffet (I'd advise against samosa's on an empty stomach unless you are planning a personal gas attack on your family), and some prizes. Rhona (Emma's cousin) got the first lady, and Stuart from the club got 2nd male. Being a small event there was no team prize, which was a shame because we had 3 runners in the top 10. So, this all bodes well for the marathon, which is just 3 weeks away!