Berlin Half Marathon
 

Report – Stuart George

A little over a week ago I had the privilege of finishing the Superhalf Series In the haunting city of Berlin. 

I visited once before around ten years ago; childless and definitely with  less fitness. In fact this trip had 100 percent less cigarettes and margaritas than my previous soujourn to the city. 

What also has changed is Berlin is far more complete. Believe it or not a decade ago there was still much being repaired from the damage sustained at the end of WW2. But the city feels replenished and refreshed. Whilst still holding onto it’s history with Soviet and allied monuments still to be seen. Luckily one particular era doesn’t have any monuments left!! 

The Superhalfs series has been incredible to partake in. The 6 cities are all wonderful.

Cardiff is a cracking place with the Welsh being the best of Britain as far as I’m concerned. Copenhagen is a joy and so fresh and clean. Lisbon ( the only race that’s a bit sub par) makes up for it with history and cityscapes that are truly magical. Valencia puts more famous Spanish cities in the shade. So clean, safe and the best Aquarium you will ever find. If you like Star Wars this is where Andor was filmed too. Lastly an incredible outdoor Zoo where animals mingle, if you have kids I heartily recommend ( we are going back in October). Prague is a city where you can feel special, walking through beautiful squares and markets that still remain slightly cheaper than other Euroupean cities. 

The best part though is the camaraderie between everyone on this cool journey. I was even more lucky as I was joined by the wonderful Lisa Lambourn and her wonderful husband Nigel on three of the races. Lisa will be  completing her journey next year. She is so much fun and generous of spirit and takes vital minutes with my children so I can have a rest 🤣

This had been a tough training block. I’d injured myself in the lead up to Cardiff last October and frankly it was because I hadn’t altered my training to what I needed as a 43 year old. I know thats not old old but there are short cuts you can take in your thirties that will leave you on the shelf at 43. So with lots of slow running that would make Richard Dobedoe proud. 2 x 1 hours  at the gym weekly, without fail and a little bit more sleep than before;  I made sure I was in better nick. 

With a few 50 mile weeks thrown in I felt sharp and ready.   The aim was to go sub 1:25.  Years ago Sarah Bland said if I could do this I’d be a different kind of runner. This was a tantalising prospect. Who would I be if I managed to do this 🤣 Jokes aside it’s a barrier that had got me in a bit of a chokehold. The though of running 4 plus back to back 20 minutes 5ks felt impossible. 

Race day came and the weather was perfect. 6:26 miling was the goal and that elusive 4 sub 20 5ks was what was needed.  The course is super flat with a slight incline in the first mile or so, which with the adrenaline you don’t notice at al all .

The first 5k thankfully felt nice and easy, I took my gel at 3k. This was the beta fuel nootropics which with 200mg of caffeine was key to my strategy. I’d practiced with these in my 2 hour long runs in my block and they really did the trick. 

The crowd was decent throughout and the sights and sounds of Berlin were a brilliant backdrop.  As always though I can’t tell you a thing I saw as I was just concentrating on one foot In front of the other. 

The second 5k followed well and at 10k I was coming though at 39:56. right on time. It felt comfortable still and, like I’m sure we all do, I had the fanciful thought of oh this is easy I will be fine entered my head. 

By 12k this had changed and I was now having to really think about the pace. I have tried and tested mantras and strategies to help me through but on this occasion I found a new one. In my head I just kept saying ‘hunt the 13k” then hunt the 14k and so on and so forth. 

This focus on purely completing the next K in under 4 mins really really helped. 

I knew that at 17k I would be turning back on myself and then just have under 4k left. This was the focal point and it really worked . 

I turned the screw slightly in the last 5k but probably could have done a bit more. I did hit the magical negative split but definitely probs had a bit more available to me but I was so dialled in to being at the same pace I probably left a couple of dozen seconds out there. Which is exciting for the next one. 

I came over the line in a pb of 1:24:05 ( 1 minute 23 faster than my previous one 😃).

A great way to finish the Superhalfs and what is even better I then went off with the family to Italy for 2 weeks of carbs and vino. 

Home races are great but if you can do a European race I can’t recommend enough. Plus turn it into a holiday with the family for extra brownie points and less moaning about your training lol. 

Hi everyone,

It’s Lucia and this week my section is about nutrition.
Nutrition falls under this month’s topic of ‘How to look after yourself: Have you been doing it wrong?’ And I have a new structure to try for this section. Every week you will get a thought, an action and an unusual fact.

Thought:

Fuelling your body correctly is very important, especially if you do a lot of sport. However, many people skip meals because they don’t have time. This puzzles me a lot.

Action:

Take the time to check in with how your body feels. If you’re hungry you should eat even if you think you don’t have the time. Make the time. For example, take a protein shake to drink at work or school.

Unusual Fact:

Improving your sleep helps you to eat better. If we get more sleep and feel less tired this can reduce our need for food throughout the day. Research shows we will snack less and when we do snack, we are more likely to choose a healthier option.

Thank you for reading!

Lucia

Clare Goodwin making light work of the mud

Above and below : We’re not going to let a bit of light precipitation stop us from training are we ? We are actually SuAAC juniors after all.

Nick Campbell’s classic photo of Sam Lambert letting the mud get the better of him. Needless to say Sam got back up and finished the race in fine style.

Our ladies XC team, sheltering from the storm

Our then U11 XC team ready to do their warm-up drills.

No it’s not an SAS training camp, it’s my very good friend Kate Sergent competing in the aptly named Grizzly.

Oh we do like to be beside the seaside.
Team Stratford invade the Barry Island parkrun.

February’s track mile. Above: the senior elite runners. Below: elite juniors.

Emma Davis and Rosie Slocombe enjoying the Shipston 9.

Gotta love Sportshall.

Jan Turner proudly displays her age category trophy after the Fladbury Festive Five.

Team Stratford at the British Masters Indoor T&F Championships in London, returning laden with medals.

The then U13&U15 team at the recent West Midlands Regional Sportshall Final

Jamie Cassells completely focussed.