Wissey Half Marathon – 04/09/2022

This was my third year of running the Wissey Half-Marathon and it was another well organised and enjoyable event. The race starts and finishes near Oxborough Hall and the route is mainly along country roads taking in the villages of Beachamwell, Barton Bendish and Boughton. Mile 9 proved to be no easier than in my previous runs here, with a long steady incline that seems to go on forever this time with the added bonus of being into a reasonably strong headwind! However Mile 10 is always quite nice, with an enjoyable downhill section before the push towards the finish. The weather was pretty warm and humid with temperatures in the low 20s and this meant that conditions were challenging and on a personal level I was unable to get close to my PB time. There was a noticeable reduction in participants compared to previous years, with the race around 75% full in line with many local races in recent times. This did not affect the atmosphere however with a buzz around the village green and start-line and excellent support from the marshals around the course. 

Three Jags took part in this year’s race with Rachel Jackson and Iwona Litwiniec both having excellent runs. I was involved in a close battle for 5th, 6th and 7th places at the end, with only 4 seconds separating these places in a sprint finish. I finished in 6th place between two Ryston runners and taking 3rd place in the M40-44 age category. 

Daniel Smith

NameTimePBStandard
Daniel Smith1:21:45Third in Age CategoryDiamond
Rachel Jackson2:01:22First TimerBronze
Iwona Litwiniec2:23:26