With the prospect of their spring marathons looming large on the horizon, four Bournemouth AC members had decided it was time to put the pedal to the metal and test their progress in the Fleet Half Marathon.

The race had always been on Sophie Read‘s radar as she had meticulously planned out her training schedule and journey leading up to the London Marathon. That was with the help of her boyfriend Jaymee Domoney who happens to be one of the most elite runners in the vicinity.

Taking her training very seriously since joining Bournemouth AC and starting to attend the club sessions, Sophie has been putting everything into her marathon quest. That had meant sacrificing the Tuesday night interval sessions in favour of the weekly marathon sessions where the efforts are much longer and increase in running time throughout the course of the schedule.

It also meant getting the longs runs in as well and gradually building up the distance on those until it eventually gets close the full marathon distance. The long runs would invariably contain some sections of marathon paced miles as well.

Leading the Wednesday evening sessions for the Bournemouth AC marathon group, Rich Brawn had decided to focus on those and his long runs over the weekend and not try to incorporate the Tuesday night speed sessions in as well as he had in previous marathon training blocks.

He’d also upped his mileage quite considerably from previous marathon training blocks and had this time managed to get very close to 90 miles per week. It had been hard work but he was hoping at the Fleet Half Marathon he would see some pay off for that.

He usually books in a couple of 20 mile races as well which he attempts to do at marathon pace and had already done the Bramley 20 the previous month. In that race he was around 10 seconds per mile slower than he had been the year before so he knew he wasn’t in as good shape. There were question marks now over what sort of time he should target so his performance in the Fleet Half would help him determine that.

Continuing to attend the Tuesday night speed sessions, Ben Collins was doing his main marathon sessions on Thursday evenings and then doing his long run over the weekend, usually on the Saturdays. He’d been devising his own marathon sessions but they were usually suitably long efforts and of a gruelling nature.

Training for the Newport Marathon, Chris O’Brien had been putting in some good long runs and also getting the marathon sessions done as well in his own time. His struggles with chest and breathing difficulties are ongoing so he has to work around that and had specifically chosen Newport as its the flattest in the country and he is hopeful that that will help him keep his effort level controlled throughout.

The Fleet Half Marathon would provide a good opportunity for him to assess how his training is going so far and what sort of shape that has got him into.

Chris had done the Fleet Half Marathon in 2023, recording a time of 1:28:44. He then went on to complete the Manchester Marathon in 3:13:21.

For Ben Sophie and Rich, having not run the course before, it was surprising how undulating it was. In fact, there was very little flat which presented a bit of a challenge when pacing, although none of the hills were particularly big.

Normally pretty good at pacing her runs during races, Sophie tends to be quite disciplined and avoids the temptation to go tearing off too fast. Her initial pace was just under 7 minutes per mile for the first five miles.

The next two were slightly downhill so she went through them quicker in 6:53 but was most likely putting in the same effort level. There was a bit of an incline on mile eight but Sophie managed it well to clock a 7 minute split before going back to just under 7 for the next three miles.

The 12th mile is the toughest of the race as its all uphill. Getting through that in 7:07, it was then onto the final mile and a bit. That was when Sophie could afford to speed up, knowing the end was coming soon.

Ending it with a fastest mile of the race at 6:48, Sophie went over the line in 1:31:33 which put her in 537th place overall. That was out of 2,429 runners. She was also 57th woman out of 706 and 22nd out of 300 in the Senior Female category.

What was most impressive about Sophie’s run was the consistency of her splits. Aside from the last two they were all between 6:53 and 7 minutes per mile. It was very evenly paced effort which shows she’s keeping it controlled and isn’t inclined to strive to go faster than she’s comfortable with. That approach should serve her very well at London.

Starting off quite quickly, Rich registered a 5:48 for his first mile split and then followed it up with a 6:05 for his second mile which contained a small incline. He then got managed a 5:56 for his third mile split and then again for his fourth mile. He would have been very happy if he could have maintained that sort of pace for the remainder of the run.

There was another incline to contend with in the fifth mile though which put Rich down to a 6:10 but he was still well within target pace. The next couple of miles were a bit more downhill and he managed a 6:04 and then a 6:09 for those.

There a fair bit of uphill on the eighth mile which put Rich down to 6:15 and his pace began to wain a bit after that. Not a lot though and he was still at 6:14 for his ninth mile before registering a 6:12 and then a 6:11 for his 10th and 11th miles.

His real target was a sub 1:20 time but that slipped away from him on the long incline throughout the whole of the 12th mile. He was struggling at that point and could only managed a 6:25.

The last mile and a bit felt hard but he battled through it as best he could. He could see former BAC member Luke Jackson just in front of him but didn’t have enough in the tank to put in a surge to catch him.

Clocking a 6:05 for his final mile split, Rich was grateful to be nearing the finish. The clock had sadly ticked over 1:20 and was at 1:20:35 by the time he made it to the line. That put him in 172nd place overall and he came 26th out of 231 in the M40 bracket.

It wasn’t the time that he’d been hoping for but the course had come up slightly long at 13.19 miles so he was actually fairly pleased with his average pace of 6:06. Luke Jackson had got to the line four seconds ahead of him in what was a fantastic four minute PB for him.

Rich had seen quite a few runners he knew out on the course including Poole AC man Barry Miller who had been just ahead of him for the majority of the race. He finished in 156th place in exactly 1 hour 20 minutes.

Twemlow Track Club man Steve Cook had overtaken Rich quite near the end as well and he just managed to dip in under 1 hour 20 to take 154th place in 1:19:56. He 7th in the M50 bracket.

Poole AC member John Bassinder was there as well and he got round in 1:19:33 which put him in 144th place. He was 2nd out of 100 in the M55 bracket, although Rich bumped into him after and he said he found it quite tough going and it hadn’t filled him with confidence ahead of the London Marathon.

Luke’s brother Sam Jackson had a decent run to sneak in in just under 1 hour 19 minutes and that put him in 131st place and 14th in the M45 division. Christian Rodiger of Littledown Harriers completed the course in 1:18:12 which put him in 122nd place and he was 24th in the M35 bracket.

Ben’s half marathon PB was 1:15:55 which he set at the Surrey Half Marathon in 2023. He was eager to beat that to prove to himself that he was in his best ever shape. That would give him the confidence booster he needed to go for a sub 2:40 time at London.

Opening with an extremely quick 5:27, he’d probably been a touch over enthusiastic to begin with but that was because he wanted it so bad. He was prepared to suffer for it in the later stages if need be.

After he settled down into his rhythm, with a 5:43 for his second mile, then a 5:39 and a 5:45. It was a very strong start and those were about the short of split times he needed. He then clocked a 5:50 for his fifth mile.

He was unbelievably consistent for his next six miles, four of which were bang on 5:47. The others were 5:44 and 5:46. Even though that pace was quicker than he’d managed in a half marathon before he was still able to do it comfortably enough.

Even the 12th mile didn’t represent too much of a drop off for Ben, as he went through it in 5:56 before grinding it out for a 5:50 in the last mile. That took him to the line in a phenomenal new PB time of 1:15:15, putting him in 66th place. He’d come in just behind Poole AC man Adam Colbert who finished in 1:15:10.

Another Poole AC man, Gareth Hale, finished 73rd in a time of 1:15:31 and he was 11th in the M40 category.

Ben was over the moon with that time and it meant that he felt vindicated for all the hard work he’d been putting in. It also meant he was well on course to achieve his target at London so it would have given him some extra belief. His average pace for the run was an impressive 5:45.

Going into it with the aim of keeping it comfortable and controlled, Chris O’Brien started off at around 6:45 pace. Then for the third and fourth miles he got down to 6:40 before registering a 6:52 for his fifth mile.

Like Ben, Chris was able to keep the pace really consistent from the sixth mile to the 11th mile. The was around 6:40 to 6:45 sort of pace. For the 12th mile though, he dropped to 7 minutes as that was the one that was all uphill. He’d had to slow down more than he would have liked to keep the pace feeling comfortable.

Closing it out with a 6:51 split, Chris then made a break for the line and reached it in 1:29:06 which put him in 459th place overall. He was also 33rd out of 166 in the M50 division.

Chris felt frustrated that his pace dropped as much as it did over the latter stages but its where he’s at now and he has to learn to live with it. For the most part, he’d found it to be an enjoyable run.

Dean Williamson picked up the race win in a time of 1:07:41 and he was close a minute ahead of his nearest challenger. The battle for second place was more closely contested, with Adam Baker getting it in the end in 1:08:34.

That meant Chris Davies had to settle for third with his time of 1:08:37 and Mark Duffett took fourth in 1:08:37. Tom Foster of Guildford & Godalming came fifth in 1:08:44.

Out of the 706 women in the race, Nina Griffith was the fastest, getting round in 1:14:46 which put her in 56th place overall. Megan Davis was second female in 1:15:35 which put her 75th overall.

Louise Small of Aldershot Farnham & District was third lady and 94th overall in 1:16:32. Jonny Cooper of Egdon Heath Harriers was racing as well and he finished 86th in a time of 1:16:21.

The Bournemouth AC members will move on and continue to work toward their respective marathons and will do everything they can to get into peak condition for the big day when it finally arrives.

With their big half marathon PBs safely in the bag, Ben and Sophie could feel safe if the knowledge that they were on track for a strong performance at London. Rich on the other hand was left feeling he still had work to do if he was going to have any chance of achieving the marathon target time he had set for himself.

The following weekend he did the Twin Lakes 20 over in Milton Keynes. It was a similar course to one he’d done before back in 2022. Unfortunately on that occasion he went he wrong way after following another runner who it turned out wasn’t actually in the race.

In the Twin Lakes 20 though, he struggled to run at the pace he was intending to go at. The paths were quite twisty and turny and he failed to get into a rhythm. He managed to make it up to 15 miles but then the guy who had been just in front of him for all of the second lap stopped.

Now he was on his own and had to trust his own navigation. By that point he was beginning to tire and wasn’t easily able to keep looking out for the mile markers. It wasn’t long before he started to wonder whether he was going to right way. All he could do though was to keep running.

Another runner who had recently overtaken him then stopped and waited for Rich to ask if they were going the right way. Rich thought they still were so they persevered. After a while though they ended up in an estate and started to realise they must have gone off course. There was another runner behind them as well and he shouted out to them that they must have gone off course.

Now the three of them now needed to find their way back to the course again which was no easy feat. They stopped and asked a lady for directions back to Willen Lake where the start/finish was and then set about trying to find their way back. At one stage they found themselves running on a dual carriageway, with cars coming past them at an unnerving speed.

Eventually they found their way back to the course but it was at the 14 mile point and they had now done over 18 miles. Instead of doing six more miles, they decided to make their way back to the start by running the opposite way to all the other runners. That way they would only have to do four more miles.

Rich had still gone through 20 miles in 2:10:39 which wasn’t too bad considering. But it hadn’t been the race he wanted or the outcome he needed at that stage really.

After the race it was announced in a Facebook post that he’d come third in the 10 mile race. That must have been because he failed to cross the line a second time to finish the 20 mile race, so it categorised him as being in the 10 mile race. Nevertheless, a podium place is a podium place so he couldn’t really feel too aggrieved at that.