Race Date: 23 October 2022
What could be better than Valencia in the autumn? Spain’s third city is awash with things to do and see with more museums than you can shake a paella at. It is also home to the fast, flat Valencia Half Marathon as evidenced by its course record of 57:32 which was also the world record until recently.
With his training and racing having been on an upward curve for some time Ryan Sheppeck had planned an assault on his pb (74:55, Doncaster) and things were looking good as he went through 15km in just over 52 minutes and on target for 73 minutes at 21km. Ryan’s splits show how his pace then slumped, being reduced to a virtual walk a couple of times, as he was mysteriously stuck by stomach cramps. This has happened before in longer races and the cause is unknown. He was not guilty of setting off too fast as this was conservative due to the heat nor was it the “Wall” in a race of this length. Dietary issues or incorrect hydration might be the cause or it might be stitch as he tired and lost form thus constricting the diaphragm with poor core stability being the culprit.
“If we should fail? We fail. But screw your courage to the sticking place, and we’ll not fail.”
Toughing it out (Ryan still wanted his t-shirt and goody bag) eventual time was 77:12. Most Striders if they ran this time would be checking to see where they had missed a turning but in this case a disappointing end to a block of serious training. As they say however, get back on the bike, evaluate and plan your next project.
A big event with 17,074 finishers. First man Kandie Kibiwott 58:10 (Ken) whilst first female was Konstanze Klosterhaufen 65:41 (GER) Valencia Half Marathon Results
| Pos | Name | Cat | Gun | Chip |
| 529 | Ryan Sheppeck | SM | 77:12 | 77:02 |