Race Date: Sunday 13th October 2024
Race Report by Kevin Wong

I signed up to the Manchester Half Marathon on a whim. I wanted to see what time I could achieve. It is the second time I’ve run as a Strider, but I’ve attended under several other names if you get my drift.

Andy Hinchliffe had kindly agreed to give James Shirtliff and myself a lift to Manchester. The weather forecast was not great. 

The Hinchliffe party car set off at 6am. It was still dark and cold. At least it was not raining. For some reason we were in three different waves, despite picking the expected time slot. No I didn’t pick 1:40. I’m not that crazy. On our way there we had chats about times. I hoped for a sub 1:50.

We arrived in Manchester in plenty of time. Attempts to park near the race event (Old Trafford cricket ground) were abandoned. All the roads around the cricket ground had been closed. But we were lucky and found a car park a mile and a bit away. 

As we walked towards the cricket ground it came evident there was no chance of getting closer. Some of us made use of the unused toilet facilities. Someone, not naming names, wanted a nice warm toilet 😊.

We had time to kill until Lindsay Upton arrived. Lindsay is a runner from the Stainland Lions, but is a second claim Strider. Lindsay was also in a different wave but had put down a similar time. 

After a couple more toilet breaks, and getting changed on a wall. We popped over and took some snaps in front of Old Trafford (looks bigger on the tv – just saying). 

Soon we were the fab four with Lindsay. We agreed to all run in a group in the purple wave at a gentle 2 hour pace. This was “the plan”. Andy had the York Marathon on October 20 (plus he had run a marathon the weekend before). I had a nice warm Palma Half Marathon to look forward too. This was James first half marathon (spoiler alert – he smashed it out of the ball park).

The bag drop was painless – no queuing (unlike the recent Sheffield events). In return for our bags we received a wrist band. Very well organised.

It was cold so we tried our best to keep warm. We waited around for the bronze and green waves to set off. To our surprise each wave had pacers (this would late cause us a bit of confusion).

The purple wave was scheduled to set off at 9.45am, but like most events it was late. I refused to take off my Percy Pud hat until the last minute.

When the purple wave finally set off, it was evident that the Manchester Half Marathon was going to be a fast one. After 5 metres the planned 2 hour gentle excursion around Manchester was abandoned. 

Lindsay (I am not in any running shape) set off at a brisk 4 min KM pace and we tried to catch up with her. Soon we caught the 2 hour and 1:55 pacers. I should have got all three of them to sign a contact. 

I followed Andy and James until the first water station. It was the Striders soul train. Then they turned on the afterburners. Lindsay and I waved them goodbye lol… 

Most of the Manchester Half Marathon course is flat and on wide roads. I am sure sections are also used by the A.J. Bell Great Manchester Run.

After being abandoned, I kept an eye on my Garmin watch to check out the split times. The 5K and 10K times were faster than planned. I got a bit worried when I clocked 49:03 for 10K, which was only 8 second slower than my Sheffield 10K time. Fears of the “wheels coming off around 15K began to plague my mind. But my soft rock tunes kept me going.

I was unsure how I would cope with the half marathon distance. It was the longest I had run since the A.J. Bell Great Manchester Run, in May. I had found the Sheffield 10K tough (after a catching Covid). 

I had a bit of a surprise, around the 9 mile mark, when I ran past another set of 2 hour pacers. I was slightly puzzled. Then another runner said they were from the green wave. We were in a nice leafy suburb of Manchester. I thought I was tracking the 1:50 pacer. 

Later on we found out James was admiring the large houses on this section of the race. He was in cruise control with Andy. In contrast, I was concentrating on avoiding tripping over loose drain covers and numerous pot holes.

The Seymour Grove section seemed to go on for ages. By this stage, 12 miles into the race, I wanted it to be over.  

Lindsay had warned us of what one of her club members did last year. Run through and stop at the end of the black inflatable tunnel. She stated the next inflatable arch is the finish line.  I made sure I avoid the tunnel on Talbot Road. Managed to dig deep and have a little sprint finish at the end of the race. 

All members of the fab four managed a sub 1:50 times. We then headed to KFC for a much deserved.

The race was won by Jack Rowe of Aldershot Farnham and District AC with a time of 1:02:12 The leading female was Lucy Reid of Tonbridge Athletic Club with a time of 1:09:24.

There were 12 Striders at the event. Here are their results: