On Friday night, as I had my final massage in preperation for the race, Brian Porter told me an interesting fact - and thus laid down the gauntlet - no former junior champion of the race has ever gone on to nail a top 3 placing in the overall race...
That gave me an extra little bit of motivation and another target, although it wasn't really needed - I had been up for this race all week (and some) and was raring to go.
Last year, at the 50th anniversary of the race (the oldest half in the UK, don't forget!) I finished in 7th place, in 77:21 after coming out on top in a sprint finish for the position. It had felt like somewhat of a failure though, having worked hard for 12 months and having targeted closer to 76 minutes. But the heat had done for me, and having never really been comfortable at the pace, I wilted and lost a minute or so in the final 3 miles down the dreaded bypass!
This time out, knowing I was in far better shape - both physically and mentally - what with the confidence of a few race wins and a solid bank of training behind me, I felt ready to attempt to set a new PB. My current PB time being 71:54, set at Wilmslow earlier in 2015.
Setting out with a lap of the playing fields, before entering the village by running up Green Lane (my old stomping ground as a kid!) Ben Fish and John Mason quickly broke away in their own race for the title. It was good to be able to see the battle unfold a bit more this year, seen as I was a bit closer to them for at least a bit longer! It seemed as though Ben put in a bit of a push during the third mile and opened up an advantage - a gap that Mason couldn't then close as Fish claimed his record ninth win at Freckleton.
Mason is an exceptional athlete himself, a regular in the race, he has travelled over from his home in Canada each year since I have been doing the event, and this was his third time as runner up I believe. Only 20 seconds seperated the two in the end, as both ran sub 70.
Back to my own run, and despite the front two breaking clear very early on, the pace through the first mile for the chasing pack was still quick - we went through the first mile in 5:08 - bearing in mind that I knew an average of 5:28 would be PB pace, I already had time in the bank, which I knew would probably be needed as the next few miles would be into a fairly strong head wind. The usual heat wave hadn't materialised this year, and the stiff cooling wind may have made for slightly difficult conditions, but at least they kept it cool!
Mile two saw a 5 strong pack, with myself, Rob Affleck, Gary Pennington and a couple of others packing nicely - a runner from Otley running club (Yorkshire?) had originally set off alone in 3rd, but had soon dropped back in to join this group. I later found out he was a 2:24 marathon runner - so I was in amongst some quality athletes.
That second mile was 5:27, whilst mile 3 was 5:29. We had settled into a really good rhythm and as we turned off Kirkham Rd and into the country lanes heading towards Wrea Green, it was looking good for time. At this point we hit the wind...
Mile 4 was slightly slower pace - clocking in at 5:36 - but I wasn't too concerned at this stage, knowing that it was due to the conditions and also that the time in the bank from mile 1 meant I was still on track. On a downward section of the undulations on this mile, Gary Pennington put on a bit of a spurt. Me and Affleck followed, but the rest in the pack started to drop away, as we began to break away into our own smaller pack.
Later on in the race, Gary would confess that it was a bid from him to break free of the next civil service runner - and it sure worked for him!
Miles 5 and 6, through Wrea Green, timed in at 5:34 and 5:31 respectively, as we still battled with the elements through the first mile or so of this stretch, before getting the wind behind us for a bit as we came around the Green. It was good to see support from watching members of Team Wesham, who came with water in supply - even if I did miss it at the first attempt! Thanks Kerry for getting it to me again!
Mile 7 was steady at 5:31, and I was still in and around PB pace. However miles 8 and 9 through Saltcotes and around the country lanes into Lytham we were back running into a head wind. 5:37 and 5:35 miles saw our predicted time drop to 72:20, as that PB began to slip away.
In the back of my mind though I thought that if we could just get to the bypass in touching distance, then the next stretch would see the wind behind us right up until the final mile, so time could well be made up there.
Between 9 and 10 miles, myself and Rob Affleck pressed on as we entered that bypass stretch, a 5:20 mile saw us break clear of Gary Pennington and into a two-way battle for 3rd. Taking onboard some more much needed water - once again courtesy of the fantastic Team Wesham support crew! - we continued down the bypass at an increased pace.
During mile 11, Rob took on the lead and looked to push on, and although I was always able to keep him within reach, I could feel my body beginning to tire and knew that I would be hard pressed to beat him. But, if I could just keep up, perhaps the PB could still be on after all. Miles 11 and 12 both timed in at 5:26 each, probably just a little too conservative for me to catch up on the seconds needed.
Mile 13 was a case of hanging on and putting in that last bit of energy - at half a mile I was on for a 5:15 mile, which might just have seen me home in time - but I ended up with a 5:20, as Green Lane saw us into another headwind. Around the final corner and into the finish line, Rob had got away with a six second gap to dip under 72. I crossed the line in 72:04 - ten seconds short of PB time, but a massive 5 minutes and 17 seconds quicker than last years effort. I finished up in 4th position, my best yet at the event.
No doubt next year I will be there again, and with another 12 months of training and (hopefully) improvements to my technique and overall running fitness, who knows I might be able to go quicker and break into that front 3. We will give it a go anyway!
