Go West (to avoid the snow anyway)

With the weather in East Lancashire both snowy and icy (see Paul’s report on The Hebden which was the same weekend) I did think perhaps the organizers might cancel the Inskip Half, but a Saturday evening email confirmed that the race was on and could even be run in road shoes.

Looking out at a snowy Barrowford this seemed highly unlikely so I packed the trail shoes just in case, but as we made our way out west the snow disappeared and as we arrived at HMS Inskip (a cadet training base) it was just very cold with a biting wind.

The Trawden contingency of Sandra and Chris, Dave Lord, Dave Potter and me toed the start line after the compulsory Facebook photo call and at 10.30 am we hit the road.

The course takes you through some nice country lanes, the pretty village of Great Eccleston and a down a farm track, which had the only icy patches on the route. The marshals were plentiful and enthusiastic and the roads were mostly very quiet (despite the occasional impatient rogue car driver and the tractor that ended up abandoned in a ditch).

From mile 10 the tall masts of HMS Inskip become visible but it feels a very long 3.1 miles until the finish finally arrives. As we crossed the line we were all presented with carrier bags: Aldi bags for the standard runners and Booths for the classy ones like Sandra! The goody bag contained a Thinsulate hat, big bar of chocolate, and a nice commemorative medal. We were then treated to a warming plate of hotpot and red cabbage in the marquee!

The boys had all finished by the time I arrived and had clocked up some amazing times in a very fast field. Dave Lord was in stunning form finishing 24th in 1:22 followed five minutes later by Dave Potter, and right behind him Chris Campbell in 1:28:50. I was more than happy with my time of 1:33:43, knocking a healthy four minutes off my PB and finishing 5th lady and 1st FV40. Sandra had another good run finishing 29th in 1:52.

With at least 4 of us planning spring marathons, this was a great event to stretch out the legs post-Christmas and get a measure of how training was progressing.

This is a great event and one that I would definitely recommend: nice flat course, good value entry and free chocolate, what more could you want from a half marathon?