After 28 training runs (according to MapMyRun) I completed the Royal Parks Half marathon on Sunday 12th October. My official finishing time was 1 hour 48 minutes and 38 seconds, which is now my new personal best (also, set PB for 10k over the first 10k). I would like to thank all those who sponsored me for this event. I raised a total (to date) of £266.75 for Men United, Prostate Cancer UK.
Royal Parks Half – Men United, Prostate Cancer UK
The Men United team raised an incredible £46,500 which will make a huge difference to the 250,000 men living with prostate cancer in the UK.
Also running and raising funds was Mrs Q (18490) and my sister in law Suzi (20894), both pictured above who also shared my fundraising links which was a big help.
Special thanks to my parents who travelled over from Ireland to support us on the day! My dad made a video of me passing the 7 mile mark. An ex-runner himself, having completed the Dublin marathon back in 1984 (I think), his half PB was 1:48:00, so I was within a minute, or maybe I performed better as I am at least 8 years older now than he was when he set that time. I’m sure such a point will be debated for a long time! 🙂 I will just have to run my next one faster… maybe on home turf too, the Waterford Viking Half next year? hmm….
Not sure what run to do next, maybe take a few days off to allow the old legs to recover. I can’t stress enough the benefit of doing weekly Yoga sessions and how they have helped with overall fitness and preparation for this event. I suffered really badly with IT pain after my first 10k a couple of years ago. Certainly the core strength, stretching and flexibility that you develop by Yoga practice has helped greatly. I attend a “Mat Men” class at Twisted Yoga in Barnet,where the emphasis is on practice at your own pace with a bit of light hearted banter.
Post Run celebration Dinner!
On the starting grid!
