Two hour pacing at the Winchester Half Marathon
Sunday 25 September was the inaugural Winchester Half Marathon, organised by Rees Leisure/Marafun, the people behind the Southampton Half Marathon and 10k (and from next year, Marathon).
As I did in the Southampton Half, I ran Winchester as one of the official pacers, or ‘target timers’ as we were known for this race.
The name change was due to the tricky course profile for this race, with two long hills, plus other bumps and dips along the route [I ran the route a few weeks ago, and my preview of the race is here]. This meant that rather than run at a precise pace, our aim was just to finish in our target time.
I ran with Tracey, another Southampton AC runner, but one I had not met before (it’s quite a big club). After getting ready in the ‘VIP’ area, we were introduced to the crowds from the Guildhall steps and took our places on the start line.
It’s a good job the field was smaller than Southampton, as the first few hundred metres included four 90 degree bends that would have been a nightmare with many more runners. Shortly after the start, the course starts to climb and doesn’t stop going up for two miles.
It was up this climb that Tracey and I realised we were pretty much spot on two hour pace (we had expected to lose time on the first hill). By maintaining the pace on the climbs, and easing back on the descents we found running an even pace was fairly easy. It was always going to be impossible to stay bang on 9’05-9’09/mile, but we were doing better than I think either of us expected. A few of the runners around us would gain ground on the descents and lose it on the uphills, but those we spoke to seemed to appreciate our even pace as it helped them judge their efforts.
One of the hardest things about pacing is that you reach a point in the race when you could quite happily speed up just to get to the finish line quicker (especially if, like me, you’re starting to get hungry and could do with a wee). As we had a job to do, we had to fight this urge. In this race that happened around mile 7, because we both wanted to get the long hill we were climbing over and done with sooner.
Pacing is really satisfying when you know that your running has helped others achieve their goals. The last three miles of the Winchester Half are fairly flat, so for a lot of runners it seemed as though they were using Tracey and I to get to 10 miles on target, and then push on for the finish. We had more than one runner say something to us along the lines of “I was hoping to catch you around here”.
For us, the goal seemed to then shift from getting over the hills at an even pace, to maintaining that pace to the finish and encouraging any runners we passed. Ironically, given that it was the flattest part, this was probably the part of the course that was hardest to run at the right pace, as the mile markers were a little out and both our GPS watches were being confused by the tree cover. I may not be the fastest runner, but I do seem to be able to judge pace well, and so too, it seems, can Tracey. We knew, going into the trees that we needed to scrub a few seconds off, as we had gained time on the final descent. Once we popped out of the trees we were pleased to see that we had managed this and were on target for a 1:59’ finish.
There had been an odd moment just before mile 12 when we realised we were running on our own, and did debate whether to stop or slow down so that we could pick up the runners who were behind us and ‘tow’ them to the finish. I think we made the right call to carry on though, as a few of the runners who were behind us did catch us up just before the finish. I reckon seeing us just ahead helped them judge their own efforts as, just like at mile 10, a few did say “I was hoping to catch you around here”. If you’re going to catch the pacer anywhere, it might as well be just before the finish!
The finish of the Winchester Half is really nice. You run past Winchester College and the Cathedral, before a handful of tight bends, popping out on the finish straight near the Guildhall. There was a real buzz at this point and, knowing that Tracy and I were bang on 1:59 pace, I stopped on the outside of the last bend to cheer on those runners who were just behind us. We had passed a couple of runners who looked to be really struggling, so it was great to see they had stuck to our backs and were able to raise just enough of a sprint to finish in under two hours.
In the end I crossed the finish in 1:59’47”. It was never going to be one of my fastest half marathons (that’s not why I was running it), but it will certainly be one of my favourite. It was a great day, the weather behaved, Tracey was great company as we nattered our way around the course, and the whole event was well organised and a pleasure to be a part of. Next year? Maybe. I can’t do next year’s Southampton 10k/Half/Marathon, as a runner or a pacer, as it clashes with the London Marathon, so maybe Winchester will be where I get my pacing fix.
My mile splits (and elevation gain/loss), for those that are interested, were…
1. 8’53 (+185 ft)
2. 9’15 (+148 ft)
3. 8’48 (-22 ft)
4. 8’47 (-91 ft)
5. 8’57 (-160 ft)
6. 9’00 (-28 ft)
7. 9’17 (+65 ft)
8. 9’09 (+62 ft)
9. 9’17 (+27 ft)
10. 8’49 (-196 ft)
11. 9’23 (-5 ft)
12. 9’26 (-3 ft)
13. 9’06 (+21 ft)
13.1 11’55 (-4 ft)
I said in my preview for this race, but if you’re looking for a fairly challenging, but not impossible autumn half marathon, in a nice corner of Hampshire, consider the Winchester Half.
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