The AJ Bell Manchester Run took place on the 31st of May with both half marathon and 10k races. The half marathon started early in the day, at 8am and had finished before the BBC covered the elite 10k run from 11am. To avoid a very early drive I had a stay in student digs which was certainly an experience.
The half marathon was an out and back from the centre of Manchester with the first leg to the Etihad Stadium, before running over the bridge to join the carriageway on the opposite side to run back into Manchester City Centre. The half marathon then joined the 10k route which then was an out and back to Old Trafford and the route also took runners past the Imperial War Museum.
The weather favourable for running and a couple of rain quick showers brought the temperature down. The organisers had also included a couple of shower sections to help those who wanted to cool down further.
I wasn’t sure how this run would go, having more recently opted for longer runs as I’ve lost some speed. I was hoping to achieve a sub 2-hour time, which in the past had been easily achievable.
In the end, my finish time was 1:56:16 which I was really pleased with, having not run a half marathon for over 18 months as I’ve been disappointed with my times. I now feel encouraged to pick another half marathon later in the year to see if I can maintain or begin to improve on my pace.