Birmingham Half Marathon and 10k

My Hometown

Report – David Jones

It was a trip down memory lane for me last Sunday as I competed in the Birmingham 10k for the first time. I’ve done the half marathon a few times but the last time was in 2014 when I was a mere slip of a lad.

I was there along with some 16,000 other runners, including of 9 of our club members, according to the official results.

Before reporting on the 10k I must start with Georgie Campbell’s stunning performance in the half marathon where she was first lady finisher in a time of 1:21.18, 34 seconds ahead of the 2nd placed runner. 

This time places her 4th in the current UK U23 half marathon rankings. It really was a superlative effort by this Birmingham University student. She ran the 2nd half almost 2 minutes quicker than the 1st, following an opening 5k of 20:13 at which point she was 28 seconds off the lead. At the half way stage this gap had extended to 47 seconds before a storming second half saw her victorious.

According to the official results there were another five of our club members who completed the half marathon. Drew Sambridge (1:20.59) finished 69th and 8th in his age category. Just 53 seconds behind Drew was Donna Allen (1:21.52), 14th lady finisher and a superb 2nd in her age category. Bronwen Mansel (1:36.06) was 58th lady finisher. Cara Pateman (1:46.23) was the next Stratford finisher followed by Lisa Stevens (2:30.14).

For me the day was pretty much perfect. I was up at 5.30am before picking up Zak and Sam Lambert at 6.30, thus allowing their parents to have a lie-in!

I knew the car park I was aiming for, just a few minutes walk form the start line. I’d done my homework and found a circuitous route that avoided road closures. I had even phoned the management company who run the car park to make sure it was open on Sunday.

We duly arrived at the location. The car park had been demolished ! 

It was a building site.

I’m guessing it wasn’t pulled down on the Saturday. 

We were able to park in the nearby Utilita Arena car park, 5 or 6 minutes walk from the start line. During my warm up I spotted a Cafe Nero with a toilet, so nipped in for a loo break. I wasn’t the only one with that idea but I did get to meet Donna and Drew who had the same idea.

Despite the scorching weather we had been having, the morning was cold and it actually started to rain while I was on the start line. 

The whole event was really well organised and I particularly liked the arrangement at the start. A few metres before the starting mat there was a collection of zig zagging barriers wide enough for just one runner. The effect of this was that by the time you got to the start line there was no crush.

It was a gentle downhill start and within a few hundred metres I was being cheered on by super quick club runner Jamie Hall, who was watching not running. Later on in the race I would also be cheered on by the Campbells who were there to cheer on Georgie

It was a relatively flat course with a few cheeky inclines but it really was a trip down memory lane for me, who as a proud Brummie, found myself running round familiar haunts.

I’d originally entered thinking the race was a qualifier for an England place this year. I later discovered that it was a qualifier for next year and I had no expectations of qualifying in such a large field. So no pressure, it was just a case of enjoying the race and enjoy it I did.

Having run a 54 minute 10k a few weeks ago in Peterborough, I targetted 52 minutes at 8:20 per mile. I felt comfortable throughout and was delighted to finish in 51:10, running mile 5 in 7:40.

I was then overjoyed when Louise Lambert informed me, shortly after crossing the finish line, that  I was 2nd in my age category and so, subject to confirmation, had qualified to represent England next year.

The super quick Lambert boys were also there to greet me at the finish line having both run superlative races. 

Sam (32:43) finished in 10th place overall having run a 5k PB of 15:37 for the 2nd 5k. Brother Zak (33:03) was just a few seconds behind him in 12th place, having also run a quicker 2nd 5k than his first. 

These times meant that they finished 1st and 2nd in their age categories and are currently placed 5th and 6th in the UK U17 rankings.

So all in all, it was a superb day for SUAAC. As well as having Georgie finish as 1st female in the half, we had a couple of 1st place age category wins plus three 2nd place AC finishes

I then joined the Lambert family for brunch in a favourite haunt of mine in the city centre.

As I said earlier, it was pretty much a perfect day.

Wednesday saw the return of these popular meets at Birmingham University with the promise of even better energy and atmosphere than last year.

These high quality competitions have, in the past, seen World, Commonwealth and Paralympic games standards hit.

Competing on the night were 4 of our talented endurance runners.

Running in his 1st competitive 800m was U20 track runner Will Mayes who he should be well pleased with his time of 2:06.16.

Also competing in the 800m was U17 Sam Lambert who blasted his way to a PB time of 1:57.58, shaving 0.21 of a second off his previous best time at the same venue last June. The Birmingham Uni track obviously suits him. This time moves him up in to the top 20 UK rankings for his age group and he is actually in 2nd place for athletes in year 1 of this group, which he is.

Brother Zak Lambert (U20) also had a successful night in the longer 3000m race. His time of 8:56.28 knocked almost 9 seconds off his previous best time achieved at Stoke last June. That’s a big improvement.

U23 Alex Pester was agonisingly close to beating his PB in the 3000m. His time of 9:00.99 being just 0.95 off his previous best.