Gosport Half Marathon

Eyes were cast skywards on the trip through Lee-On-Solent as our runner drew closer to this year's Gosport Half Marathon, not too clever with so many speed cameras along the route but after such abysmal weather over the last few days and still recent horrible memories of the Lordshill 10 mile race, the question was on what conditions were going to present themselves.

Arriving reasonably early, the next challenge was which car park to choose? The cheaper option at just £1 had the drawback of no early release before 12:45 hours as it exited straight onto the finishing straight, so the public shore car park was chosen. With a massive queue already forming due to the broken machine in one of the car parks, our runner was eternally grateful to the kind Gosport runner who lent him the additional thirty pence to make up the £1.80 fee. So with the extortionate sums paid to Gosport Council it was into the warm up ritual. Alas it was one of those days where the weather caused runners to become total fashion victims...not on what clashes as most of us know when your dribbling at the eleven mile mark and blowing it out of your proverbial you don't care two hoots what you look like, but what to wear so not to overheat but still keep warm. The wind was a factor that wasn't going away this Sunday, but the sun was putting in an appearance. With two more trips back to the car for a quick change first to get rid of the long sleeves and then the thermal top, it was off to the start.

Being the polite type, our runner endeavoured to get as near to the start so not to get under the feet of the uber elite, but still to get ahead of those unfortunate runners who still insist on ignoring the time boards placed along the kerb. When calculating how much of a field is going to be ahead it would have been wise to look at the huge width of the road, because as soon as the start commenced the field was massive and there was going to have to be a lot of fighting through. Along Browndown Road, it was left into Privett Road and then right onto the newish'ly constructed bypass. One other factor is that the field is quickly taken from this road and directed along a cycle pathway that runs alongside, thus narrowing the stream of runners and so making progress again slow. The recent heavy rainfall was evident with large puddles still in abundance causing the runners to take mini detours. Over several junctions it was tight left onto the Daedalus airfield that luckily was traffic free. However, being exposed the wind really started to make itself known with runners tucking in behind, head down and just trying to keep pace. With there being a loop back along the fence area, this gave a rare opportunity to catch a glimpse of the front runners and with what little apparent ease they displayed keeping up so fast. With two water stations close to each other it was then decision time.....take the massive water feature across the airfield or circumvent onto the slippery grass?

It was then back onto the road network, following Broom Way into Gosport Road, luckily by this time the field thinning and with wide pavements, a little easier to make headway. With fond memories of the Stubbington 10km race it was through that village and then back out towards Lee-On-Solent. Not knowing the course having missed last year's race which is when it was first trialled, it was a surprise to be directed back onto the airfield for another series of turns along the fence way and through the buildings, again having the opportunity to cool ones feet through the water feature. It was about now that our runner felt his energy ebbing and knowing that this race was not going to be that PB opportunity, but more a case of hanging on to get that sub one and a half hour finish time.

With more ninety degree turns it was back onto the public roads with a small loop around the estate and then back down Marine Parade along the sea front. With the welcoming loud beat of the steel band to stir the blood, it was down onto the promenade proper for the last leg back to the finish. One thing with the wind is that if it's there , it's there and not much can be done about it. However the big factor is of course in which direction its blowing. Luckily the last few miles, with our runner really trying to hang on in with his energy reserves seriously depleted, it was with huge relief that the wind was at his back giving him an advantage to keep his pace up. So with enough for a sprint finish it was over the line in 1:28:44, happy with the way things went considering the wind and water features. If anybody is looking for a PB half marathon course, then under the right conditions this is definitely one to consider, just note that there is quite a large gap between drink stations from the first to the second time on the airfield, so make sure you take on fluids the first time through.

For those interested in the route and with Google Earth installed, or right click and paste into Google Maps, just click here.