Finishing Time: 1:27:55

After a lot of training since last year with Bellahouston Harriers, I was confident I’d be on for a PB.

Mum, Dad and I flew down on the Friday morning, arriving in Bristol around 11am. I then headed over to Lewis’s flat to “work” from home, with Scott joining us later that evening.

The Day Before the Race

Lewis and I went for a swim in the morning. I considered doing the local parkrun, but didn’t want to risk injury. Earlier in the week I’d had a slight pain in my big toe, but it turned out to be a case of pure maranoia.

We had a fry-up for lunch and spent most of the day relaxing. I went for a wander around Bristol and picked up a new pair of shoes. Meanwhile, Scott and Lewis headed out so Scott could collect his last-minute race number (racing under the name “Luke”, of course).

For dinner, we did some proper carb loading including a big portion of pasta with garlic bread.

We watched The Inbetweeners Movie and had an early night.

bristol 1 Race numbers ready to go

Race Day

Scott decided to get up at 5am for an early breakfast to let it digest. It seemed to work well for him — Lewis and I, however, opted for the extra time in bed.

I went for a solid breakfast of eight Weetabix before we made our way to the start with Amelia and Theano.

The race itself was a huge success. I managed to hold my target pace throughout, and the atmosphere and conditions were spot on.

Let’s see if I can go even faster in Glasgow in October…

bristol 2 The aftermath 1

bristol 3 The aftermath 2