Having spent the early part of the year recovering from injury Emma Wright is making up for lost time by entering as many races as physically possible.
Below is Em’s account of a recent Half Marathon she and Ryan Hogben completed.
Bishop Wilton Half – 20th July 2013
After a heavy week of training and a 5k race the evening before I have no idea why I thought an impromptu trip to Bishop Wilton to run a ‘challenging half marathon’ on Saturday morning would be a good idea! But anyway the 6am alarm went off and so began the race day preparations. By this I mean I walk around in a zombie like state whilst Ryan makes breakfast and gathers the race kit!
We made the two and a half hour journey to Bishop Wilton near York. The race was part of the Bishop Wilton show so there were lots of people around and a welcoming atmosphere. As we walked towards the entrance of the show to enter the race we heard a little voice say ‘ah hello Sparrow’s friends’ when he recognised the world famous TBH vest! To avoid any disappointment I explained that unfortunately we weren’t quite in Sparrow’s league… One day maybe!
We completed our on the day entry forms and received our numbers quickly and easily with plenty of time to spare. At about 9.45am everyone started heading towards the start line ready for the 10am start. We were chatting to local club runners who were detailing their previous experiences of the race… Which left me feeling less than confident! Something about a THREE MILE HILL! Not having quite recovered from my Chevy Chase experience I was still in the ‘I hate hills’ frame of mind!
So anyway 10am came and we were away… A predictably fast start! It was flat for the first 3 miles so the pace remained fast. My legs felt heavy but managed the pace well. And then came the dreaded hill… All 3 and a bit miles of it!!!!! I really struggled to keep pace and could see people gliding past me. And then to make matters worse along came a horrific stitch!
After the hill we were off road on trails and started to go downhill for about a mile. My stitch continued and my pace slowed. This is where Ryan caught me up and we ran together for a few undulating miles over long grass and trails before making our way back on to the road.
Somewhere between mile 9 and 10 I started to feel a little better and picked up the pace. The road was undulating but nothing I couldn’t handle. Knowing I wasn’t going up achieve my time goal I decided I just try and enjoy the last few miles of the race and chatted to few other club runners. One lady in particular really cheered me up and spurred me on when she told me I was her marker. She told me there was a sharp incline between mile 11 and 12 but after that it was downhill all the way to the finish so with that in mind I was off! That last incline was incredibly tough on tired legs but I remained focused on the fact it was less than a few miles to go. As I reached the top of the incline just after 12 miles we turned a corner and I saw the downhill stretch… At that very moment a man with a camera appeared clearly capturing the delight on everyone’s face at this final part of the race! I thought of the advice those fell running types would give about running down hill and off I went, passing several people along the way!
Finally finished in a time of 1:52:47 (125th overall and 14th lady) and Ryan just behind me in a time of 1:53:41 (129th overall)
I’d definitely recommend giving this one a go and think we should get a few of us together for next year 
2 Responses
Well done Emma and Ryan, a good read. Not sure I want to acquaint myself with 3 mile hill though!
Well done Emma on a great report and race (Ryan too), that 3 mile hill sounds like a bit of a challenge mind! but looks like you cracked it with your usual gusto!