This weekend I raced the Bath Half Marathon. I had a great race and ended up with a new half marathon PB of 1:26:09 (which you can look at on my Strava account). Overall, the day was superb, well organised and very enjoyable.
Transport
I'd very sensibly booked in for the Park and Ride service provided by Bath Racecourse. While, this was slightly more expensive than other options it was lovely to arrive to a nice warm waiting room with tea and coffee on tap. The coach into town departed spot on time and deposited us just a short walk from the race village. The return journey was just as smooth. I'd definitely go with this option again another year - but book early as it sells out quickly.
Race Village
The race village was nicely organised, if a tad muddy. Not a great deal to do if you weren't a charity runner, but that just allows you to focus on race preparation. Changing tent was a nice size and dry - which was very welcome during the short shower about an hour before the race. There seemed to be plenty of toilets and I didn't have to queue for too long. Bag drop-off and collect ran very smoothly.
The Start
Getting everyone into the starting pens was very smooth. With a predicted sub-90 minute time I was able to secure a white race number, which got me into the second pen, just behind the elites. Organisation of the pens was very smooth and it was very pleasant standing chatting with the other runners in the sun. The race started spot on time and I was across the line about 30 seconds after the gun.
The Course
The course starts on nice wide roads, which meant it was easy to get into a good running flow quickly. By the time we hit any narrower points the field had already spread out a bit. Much better than the early bottlenecks you get on some courses. It then turns into a 2-lap circuit round the A4/A36 area of Bath, running parallel to the River Avon. The outward leg of the loop has a few undulations to get the legs working, but nothing too steep. The return part of the loop felt much flatter. It was a breezy day and there were a couple of spots where the wind really hit you head-on, which made for some tough sections. Mostly the route was sheltered enough that the wind was only an occasional annoyance. The final section returns back along the start route to finish at the same point you start from.
On the first lap you run to the left of the cones (which are positioned down the centre of the road) and for the second lap, you run on the right. In the mass field I can imaging that space is tight and the danger of running into a cone is quite high. However, in the leading groups I didn't experience any problems with space or cones.
Water and Lucozade stations seemed to be well spaced, well staffed and easy to use. However for a half marathon I'm only taking on a few sips of water from a couple of the water stations so I can't say how well they functioned for the main group of runners.
The only downside I could find with the 2-lap course was that at about 8 miles I started to catch tail-end runners who had just reached mile 3. I'm not sure how those runners actually felt, but were it me I would find it quite tough knowing I've got 10 miles left to go while fast runners go whizzing past in the final stages of their race. Still, I suppose you know it's a 2-lap race when you enter.
Support
The supporters along the route were amazing. Being a 2-lap course it meant that there wasn't a single point in the course where there weren't spectators cheering. Additionally, by the time I had reached the 9-mile mark, on my second lap, I was lapping many of the runners still on their first loop. It was therefore possible to benefit from the great cheering and support being offered to those runners. A great experience compared to some half marathon courses that leave you with a few miles of isolated running before heading back into a supported area.
The 'Battle of the Bands' feature really helped the atmosphere. Every mile or so you ran past a local band belting out some excellent music. A great way to put a spring back in your step.
The Finish
After crossing the line, the finish process ran smoothly. We were funnelled down a path to pick up water and the finishing medal. Then it was on to finishers t-shirts, goody bags and a good supply of Soreen malt loaf bars. The goody bag was nice, with plenty of chocolate to restore lost energy (or so I like to pretend!). The finishes t-shirt is a nice memento of the day. It's a good technical t-shirt as well, although the size did come up quite big.
When I reached the finish funnel it was very quiet and I passed through very quickly. However, it's quite narrow, so I can imagine that it got very busy once the mass-finish began.
Overall
A thoroughly great race. Nice fast course, perfect for attempting a PB. Organisation was superb and everything happened very smoothly. I'm definitely considering this race again for next year. Bath is a beautiful city, and while you don't get to explore the most scenic parts, it's certainly a nice location for a race.
For those planning on attending in future, my main advice would be to make sure you plan your travel well in advance. Also, if you are in the 1:45 – 2:15 finish range you may find the course rather crowded, which may hamper a PB attempt, but probably not any more than other large field city half marathons. For a sub-90 minute attempt it's just about perfect.
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