Seville Half Marathon 2024 Jenny's Race Report

My reasoning for running this event was to get a faster paced half marathon done before formally starting a block of training for London Marathon. I wanted to better my time I did in the Yorkshire Marathon in Oct 23, which was my first one for 12 years and progress up the V45 all time rankings before I hit 50 next year. 

Last year I ran Retford Half in March in 81 mins and knew I was in much better shape this year already. I had only run a couple of 90 + min longer runs before this event and my weekly mileage now was much higher and more consistent, I had also had 12 weeks of 70 ish miles training for the Yorkshire marathon.

Seville half was a much faster course too so expected I could go closer to 80 and hopefully under 80 for the first time in years. 

Plans were going well until I fell over training and sprained my ankle in late November. Although this was a real pain there was worse to come! 

I was back running after a few days following the principles I know from ankle sprain guidance. I was delighted with how quick I was able to return to running but am still taping the ankle as a precaution even now as the super shoes (for those who wear them take note) are so unstable that once you twist there is no coming back (something I knew happened but never had it happen previously and the ankle is still painful now at the very end range of twisting it). I continue with my rehab of foot/calf strength, jumps and hops and feel no pain and i feel very stable and confident with it but still don’t in my super shoes! 

Anyway, back to training …. I jumped on the rowing machine for a few days after my ankle sprain not realising that actually my right shoulder wasn’t happy. 6 weeks later following some rehab it was still very painful, not improving and not really very functional. I went for an ultrasound scan so I could understand better the source of the pain and target my rehab more productively. I was shocked to find that I had a torn my rotator cuff and that surgery is the only option. I was absolutely gutted but also in one respect relieved that I now knew why it wasn’t getting better and was so painful. I could now plan the next steps. 

I started taping my shoulder to run and taking painkillers when out with a group just in case I was accidentally knocked and I have avoided going out on icy days/nights to avoid any more falls and keeping myself alert on group training runs. Any amount of slight sudden movements I need to take or someone even slightly banging my shoulder is very painful for a few minutes but otherwise ok and  it doesn’t make it worse running. 

I have been managing the night time pain best I can with painkillers, avoiding any movements that are painful (anything with the arm not by my side!) and doing exercises to help prepare for surgery. The worst thing is having to get a sweaty sports bra off (much to my annoyance I need help with this! But the worst is still to come with this over the next few months). Myself and Dave are going to have a challenging time ahead. 

Onto the race weekend ….. We drove down to Luton airport on Friday with my mum and met my sister travelling from London. Taxi journey to our apartment in the very centre of Seville, we then when straight out for food. As soon as we ventured out I loved it instantly, very unusual for me. It was so busy but yet relaxed. 

Next morning we ran down to view the start and I always love running ASAP in new places as it is a good way of getting a snapshot of everything. 

Then we went off to the expo to collect numbers and activate our chip (which was fun and a new method for me). I didn’t receive my email with my number on it like Dave did but it wasn’t a problem. Again it was really busy but so well organised that we could have been done in literally 5 mins. 

We then went on a boat trip in the afternoon and tried the third tapas of the weekend that evening. 

Saturday evening there was a very long noisy drum procession slowly making its way through the city centre. Everyone we asked didn’t know what the procession was for “lots of shoulder shrugging” but everyone was intent on watching and taking pictures. It was quite strange. I was glad I managed to buy some ear plugs. When I googled later there are at least 7 processions per day during Holy Week in April so yep the shoulder shrugging was probably appropriate. 

The race started at 9am on Sunday morning. We started walking to the start at 7.30am. 

This is where things started to get a bit more stressful and when you do a race abroad you can only plan so far… We got to the area where we were allowed in the race start at 8.15 am left mum and my sister, queued for the toilet (hardly any) and then went to look for the start pen. We then realised that there was nowhere to warm up, nowhere to go to toilet again and we were stuck! 

I got myself calmed down and thought I already had a good walk and I can just jog 150m up and down to get warmed up, it wasn’t great but nothing else to do. I don’t travel abroad as well as Dave so I really needed a good warm up this morning. 1st big error. 

I then reached for my painkillers and took my gel. The painkillers had been through the wash and were not consumable, another error made and I knew I was going to be in trouble with my shoulder, again nothing I could do other than just get on with it. 2nd big error. 

By 20 mins to go the start pens were filling and ours was at the front so we had no option but to stop jogging up and down and get ahead of the other pens, otherwise we would then be stuck behind everyone else trying to get into their start pens further down. Once in, there was literally men everywhere peeing up the fences but nowhere for me to go. I eventually had to just take off my throw away t-shirt and ask Dave to cover me whilst I went for a pee! I didn’t get it all out. 3rd big error. 

In my planning I looked where I would have finished last year and it was around 500th (at this point didn’t actually acknowledge just what this meant) so we placed around that in the start pen. The pen was fairly relaxed and not too much pushing and I just used it to relax have a laugh and calm down. The gun went off f..k me within 10 seconds I had been hit in the shoulder repeatedly. I immediately grabbed my arm and slowed down in shock but then everyone was going forwards fast and i was going backwards slow. I was in agony, totally lost Dave, and shitting it that I was going to fall over as people were barging and then suddenly jumping out of way for barriers, traffic lights, cones etc. It was awful, the first mile was a disaster (in run terms not in real terms!) I was in a huge amount of pain, breathing was all over, couldn’t run smooth and couldn’t see Dave. I eventually saw him up the field and ran harder to catch him up shouting his name, I knew I only had so much time before he would think “sod it can’t see her I’m off”. Managed to get to him and told him how bad I felt and knew I just needed to settle in and calm down. After 2 mile I knew I hadn’t fully emptied my bladder (hovering is just no good!) This had never happened to me in a race before. I knew I wouldn’t be able to run properly so just decided to stop at side of road, then sort of felt relieved and then picked the pace up. Dave said “just relax now and enjoy it as you can’t get that time back” I thought “right I’ll just try and go faster than I did at Retford then” but I just couldn’t relax at all and was in pain. Dave left me at 6 mile and I just went through all sorts of hell “again just relative to running!”, got a boost from seeing my family, but then it just took full mental effort and talking myself into finishing. I eventually got into a more relaxed state after we had gone out on the second big loop as I knew it was pointless packing in now as a long walk and if I just “jog in” I’m just gonna be out for longer so just concentrated on the km signs, again I was able to muster something for the last 2 miles and then the finish funnel was amazing with the all the arches but felt sooooooo long! I started wimpering a bit pathetically after I’d finished, I think I was relieved it was done, pissed off I ran crap and in pain. 

I finished in 1hr 22 26 and 2nd V45. I also finished 911 overall!!! I then suddenly clocked what that meant and why the start was so ridiculous. 100 runners went under 70mins. For perspective, at Great North Run, the biggest half in the world at 56000+ entrants only 34 runners went under 70 mins. Seville half marathon was only 14000 entrants. The field was unbelievably fast. I haven’t felt so “what just happened” since I ran Armagh 3K in 2018 but that was a fast painful blast of an event of under 10 mins, this was a long slow painful mental and physically energy sapping 1hr and 22 mins. 

In hindsight the warning signs were already there that I wasn’t going to run great…. the last three sessions I have done have been naff, and Dave kept pestering me to bin racing/ hard training and just run steady until my shoulder surgery but I just ignored him. Then three major errors before the start added to this. 

We walked all way back to the apartment, Dave got me to “turn my frown upside down” had a laugh about it, sorted myself out as it is just a hobby and need to get over myself then we went straight out for an afternoon/evening of more tapas, Royal Alcazar sight seeing, ice cream, sherry, and downtown backstreet flamenco. 

Seville is amazing and we definitely want to go back again and do the half or the marathon. 

The organisation was brilliant (up until the most important bit and some of this was our fault too) and we just can’t believe how a 12 hr long huge religious procession could go on in the streets all night and then on the exact same streets at 9am the next day a half marathon with 14000 competitors takes place. How do we in the UK manage to make things so complicated.