Coach Tune’s Race Report Retford Half Marathon 2023

This Sunday saw the annual Retford half marathon road race which we as a clinic have supported Dave Corbett and his team with sponsorship over the last several years.

Although the race route is not the flattest I do believe it is a good one and that the variety of the up and down add to the event.

This year the runners were greeted with almost perfect racing conditions with very little wind to consent with.

My own personal ambitions  were halted by a niggling cough that seemed to have followed me home from Portugal so instead of trying to race the event flat out it was an occasion where I could just enjoy the race without any pressure.

Having looked at the startlist the night before I thought that wife Jenny had a very good chance of taking the overall ladies title so running with her and helping to hopefully achieve this was my sole aim.

We arrived early at the school and got parked before meeting up with several members of the training group to do a group warm up which I know helped remove some nerves from some of our athletes.

The first few miles ticked away easily enough and the key to running well at Retford is to have a little bit left in the “tank” for some of the undulations later on and in the last 3 miles.

The switch back around ⅞ miles allows you to see runners coming the other way and it was great from a coaching perspective to see so many of the group running well and passing encouragement to each other as we passed alongside.

The 10 mile marker was passed and then it is a bit of a drag right until you turn at the prison to head back to the finish. Jen at this stage was still in control and the only thing putting us off was another runner who kept sprinting off everytime Jen got anywhere near him as his ego clearly didn’t like a lady beating him but he soon faded!

Turning into the final run in it was Jenny’s turn to take the lead as she sprinted to ensure she finished a few meters in front of me to take the win she deserved.

More impressively was the fact that we had managed to run together for the whole race with one single crossed word which anyone who trains with us know is very rare!

Next stop Lincoln 10k in a few weeks.