As part of my role as Teignbridge Trotters Press Officer, I got all the Trotters together before the race and my wife took a team picture. That is below.
I purposefully started right at the back of the 2000+ strong field to stop me going off too quickly, and I got into my stride ok after a couple of miles. I saw Steve Way on the course, and also in the queue for the loos (how's that for a claim to fame?).
I got around in 1:57:04 (unofficial) and I'm genuinely pleased with that. It was a bit of a confidence booster really because I've been struggling since March and this is the furthest I've ran for a while. It's a bit sobering looking back as last year I did 1:43 on this course and in March I did a 1:38, but yesterday genuinely wasn't about PB chasing. It was about seeing if I could run the distance with no major issues, and I really enjoyed the event. I'll see how I feel in the next couple of days to see how the achilles are before saying for sure if this event was a success for me, but as I'm typing this I'm cautiously optimistic.
This is a picture of me and a mate who I was running with for a mile or so....
Mentioning Steve Way, in case anyone isn't aware, he is a great British runner, who was third Brit at London, recently broke a 100K record and is representing England at the marathon at the Commonwealth Games. Reading his blog is mind-boggling....on the day of the race he did 20:22 miles, including the Torbay Half in 67:49, and then did a further 6 miles that afternoon. This was part of a 132 mile week, with an average of 6:02min/mile. I think it's safe to say he's a class act, and I was looking forward to being on the same course as him, albeit miles behind!
However, I was getting on my high horse, again, yesterday. It was only with my wife though, and she's used to it! I think this chap is a phenomenal and he was wandering around at the start and no one knew who he was. Even the announcer at the start of the race didn't mention him as someone to look out for (she did at the end, but said he was representing Great Britain at the Commonwealths, which is wrong, as he's representing England). I know she was only announcing what she was given to read out, but still.
From his blog of the day, him and his wife and dogs camped in a camper van the night before the race. This is a chap who is representing his country in a few weeks time!
I know there are loads of other athletes doing great things in sports I haven't got a keen interest in, but is it a bit strange that generally they're unheard of? Or am I on my own in thinking this? My wife just thinks it's because I'm interested in running that I've heard of him (which is obviously true). Also, she said the fact that he works hard isn't enough to capture interest of the public, and reluctantly I have to agree with her. However, I still find what he's doing inspiring and I'm hoping he does well in Glasgow..
He has a range of "Don't be shit" shirts to support him through the Games, and I've ordered one...
Here he is in the final straight.
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