My first half marathon and the nerves had set in the week before the race when I received my race pack through the post. I don’t know why, I had done all the training beforehand, rigidly stuck to my 12 week training plan, well apart from the bit about drinking less alcohol! Anyway for all the nerves and anxiety seven days in the lead up to the race, on the start line, I felt fine and ready to go.

Jimmy Savile waved us all off at 10.10am and the runners snaked through Glasgow City centre streets. My tactic for the race was as normal, take it easy at the start, don’t let the occasion get the better of me and run comfortably for the first few miles, hoping to do 10 minute miles. The first mile was really slow, at walking pace going over the Kingston Bridge in parts. However it was good to settle the nerves and get the right tunes on my i-pod. The next three miles went by in a flash and believe it or not I was really enjoying the race.

Heading back down towards the Clyde and Paisley Road West, the streets were getting busy with vehicles, pedestrians and of course runners. Paisley Road West is quite a long road which stretches out as far as the eye can see. All I could see were thousands of bobbing heads. The support along the road was great as shopkeepers and residents came out to cheer us on.

Between 4 and 8 miles, the route snakes around Bellahouston Park and then into Pollok Park, all too familiar route if you participate in the ladies 10K run in May. However, the quiet tree lined paths around the parks were welcomed at this point in the race. The trees provided much needed shade from the sunshine and the paths meandering through the green space were reasonably quiet apart from a few thousand runners puffing their way to the finish. The slight incline (not hills) in the park also separated the men from the boys and there were a few who decided it was time to walk. At the end of Pollock Park it is back out on to the bustling Glasgow streets and a welcome cheer from many supporters who lined the streets at this section. Having looked at the map in the race pack before hand I knew if I got to this point then that would be nearly 9 miles, it was a great psychological boost. The tired legs and negative thoughts which were creeping in completely disappeared and the head was down and the march to the finish was on.

From 9 miles to 12 miles it was a carnival atmosphere, supporters at the roadside, the stewards controlling the traffic and giving out water were giving us great support, people giving out oranges, soaking us with water, local radio stations blasting out music, it was great.

Pollockshaws Road is another long street, where again runners stretch out in front of you and at this point I could feel the legs tiring. However I got a welcome boost when I bumped into a few familiar faces from jogscotland and then saw the 12 mile marker, only one mile to go, how hard can it be!

The last mile was horrible, I could hear the cheers from the finish line but it made no difference, the legs were tired, lots of runners had stopped or started to walk. Just when I thought about stopping, a jogscotland member flew past and gave me some encouragement and I was away again. I didn’t catch her but she did help me find some rhythm again and I managed a sprint finish. My watch stopped at 2 hours, 7 minutes and 41 seconds, not bad. Now the countdown and all of the preparation starts again for my next race, The Great North Run!!!

Sharon Marklow