B&A Trail Half Marathon 2011....Race Report

Wow, this came round quick! As the first race of what is going to be a long season, this was half marathon was always going to be interesting. In previous posts I have stated that training has been a bit sporadic so far this year and with big races late on in the season, the first few months of 2011 have really been a base building. So yesterday I got the first race done and dusted and it turned out pretty much like I thought it might.

Race conditions for a half-marathon were spot on, a chance of showers and almost ideal temperatures. The pre-race build up had gone well although I didn't really taper at all with an hour run two days before and a group ride of 50miles the day before. I had however, been using Hammer Nutrition's Race Day Boost to aid in the buffering of lactic acid, increasing glycogen storage and increase time at anaerobic threshold. It was the first time using the product and besides the slightly odd taste, it goes down pretty well. What would the results bring on race day though?


The Thousand Yard Stare!


A quick banana hammer gel with 30mins to go till race start and then a warm-up. For this half-marathon there wasn't much of a gameplan, I knew that I hadn't put in as many miles as last year by this point but had done plenty of tempo. So with that in my mind I went at the gun and wanted to hang onto the leaders for as long as possible. For the 4miles I was sitting in 2nd and pushing out 5:45's with the leader pulling away down the trail. I knew he was rocking and had settled on protecting 2nd place.





Between mile 4 and 5, the runner in 3rd gradually came up alongside and over the next mile we ran together. It was at the turnaround and coming up the only hill on the course that he pulled ahead to which I couldn't respond. By this time I had settled into a 6:00min/mile pace and actually felt okay considering the lack of big training miles in the legs.

The good thing was that I wasn't dying and the chase pack was more lone wolves than a pack. It's always good to know that you have a gap. Coming back up the trail is fun as you get to see all the other racers heading to the turnaround, I don't know what would possess some people to go shirtless on a rainy, cold Sunday morning!

Coming up around mile 11, I heard some footsteps from behind and gradually I was caught for 3rd. By now the 6:00min pace had begun to get a bit harder but I was still in 4th with 5th a good distance behind.

With the rain starting again, I crossed the line in 1hour 19mins 06secs for 4th place. It was a 6:02/mile pace and although slower (by 2.5mins) than last year it was a good test for the early season. With the duathlon long course nationals in three weeks time, it bodes well that the leg speed for the two brutal 10kms should be there.




Now for the Hammer Nutrition review.....well the gels are a given, I've been using them for years but this was the first time using Race Day Boost and I have to say I was impressed. The main effect I found was that once I settled into my race pace (which was at 6:00min/miles on this day)after the initial starting surge, I was able to stay there for entire race. It definitely increased the time that I spent at threshold with no drop-off towards the end of the race and enabled me to race to the top five and the age-group win. I'm looking forward to seeing the benefits for the A races later in the season.

B&A Trail Half Marathon Race Report 2010.......

The first race of the year is always interesting. You put the training in but until you get into a race situation you never really know what your fitness is like. Well, yesterday I got the first race done and dusted and it turned out pretty well.

Race conditions for a half-marathon were great, a little chilly at the start but once you got going it was almost ideal temperatures. Circumstances that are normally taken care of at home but weren't, had me standing in the porta-john queue with just five minutes to go before the start. Fortunately the queue was fast moving and I managed to get things taken care of and then hit the front of the startline as the National Anthem started up.

Just in time for the start........suitably relieved!

For a half-marathon there isn't much of a gameplan, it is really just a matter of hit the start hard and hang-on for the next 75mins. So with that in my mind I went at the gun and led the field out of the school and onto the road. For the next 4 miles that's the way it stayed with just a Navy runner on my heels and one other a few meters back. I was actually feeling really good and after the first few miles at 5:35's, we settled down into some 5:40-5:45's. We were clipping along at pace that would easily give me a new personal best.

Between mile 4 and 5, the runner in 3rd made a strong surge and opened up a gap, which he would pretty much hold until the finish. Running through 10km I posted a 10km personal best at 35:25 and was in 3rd on the heels of the Navy runner. It was between miles 6 and 7 though that I lost his heels and dropped a few meters behind.....the 10km PR was taking it toll and we were only halfway through.

Can't hang onto the surge

Importantly though I wasn't dying and the pace was still good, just not good enough for 2nd! Coming back up the hill from the turnaround, I could see that the top 3 (me included) were a substantial distance from the chasing pack and that failing a complete meltdown I would be on the podium.

The journey back is always good as you get to see the rest of the field and for a few miles you get to pick your way along the trail making sure not to bump into people who are in "the zone" and not realizing that runners are coming the other way. Plus I got to say hello to Jessica and Lindsay who were both competing.

Jessica saying hello

I was now running solely for a PB as 1st and 2nd were about a minute up the road and no-one was close behind. The pace did begin to slow slightly but the encouraging thing was that it was dropping real slowly and all things look good for the marathon in two weeks. The only mile split that was above 6:00 was when we came back up the hill and it just about scraped above! I also managed to get a new PB at the 10 mile split going through in close to 58minutes.

In the end I crossed the line in 1hour 16mins 30secs for 3rd place and a new PB by 2 minutes. It was a 5:50min/mile pace and I was well pleased with that. As I said, it bodes well for the marathon on March 20th as well as the upcoming triathlon season.


After some hydration and the awards ceremony, I cruised home on the bike and put in a good 30miles as a cool-down. I even saw Kyle Jones out on the roads for the first time in a long time and cruised with him a while.