Hackney Half Marathon Roundup – 'twas hot

vitality-hackneyhalfBefore we set off, the starter said “This is not a day for PBs, it’s too hot”. Or words to that effect.

So of course I totally ignored him and set off at target pace. This was a pretty awesome strategy … for the first 35 minutes.

Then reality hit home.

For once I used every drink station. Both for cooling (pouring over head) and for  staying at least vaguely hydrated. My pre-raceday hydration strategy was based around ‘2 packs of crisps’ to provide additional sodium. Apparently sweat contains more sodium that potassium so drinks like Coconut juice are not optimal…then again the same can probably be said for packets of crisps, albeit for other reasons. (Actually they were Cheesy Wotsits).

It was also quite handy that Vitality/TheHackneyPeople got a water sponsor rather than just relying on the super-awesome Lucozade Sports people. Somehow I wouldn’t fancy pouring bottles of Lucozade sport over my head to stay cool.

Although I was nowhere near the PB I had hoped for I was not sure how I was doing as I progressed. When I came to the water-spray thing (above photo). It was not turned on. Either it was because I was so quick and they had not yet had time to plug the hosepipe in OR by the time I had got there they had run out of water. You decide which.

Once again my race-day planning and strategizing over the route involved

  1. Just turning up
  2. Assuming it was flat as there are marshes at Hackney
  3. Relying on someone else who told me it was a real PB course
  4. Bringing my fastest, least cushioned pair of 5k shoes
  5. Assuming I would be able to follow someone else and not get lost.

Point 5 obviously worked well. Less so for the other 4 points as I ended up parking at Canada Wharf, 20 mins tube ride away , and it wasn’t flat. Although it was still a fairly quick course, perhaps best described as gently undulating.

I passed 4 people who had ‘passed out’. Apparently there were over 20 in total. I couldn’t quite figure this out. Yes it was hot, say 23-25 celcius, but I’ve raced with it in the 30s before and never seen the same. Strange. Although never with a race of 15,000 people. I was going reasonably quick so presumably the people who I passed who had passed out were quicker and hence more experienced?

Super crowd. Thank you.

Race Summary?: no PB. Well organised. Hotty McHotFace. Turn it down to gas Mark 3 next year please.

 

 

 

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