Weston Super Half 2024

Weston Super Half is a fantastic half marathon by the sea at Weston-super-Mare in Somerset. We ran it for the first time last year and loved it, so signed straight up for it this year. There was my husband, my sister, my brother-in-law (celebrating his 40th birthday!) and me.

I signed up for Weston Super Half 2024 long before I signed up for Newport Marathon. I decided I wanted to run it ‘properly’, so built an extra week into my marathon training plan to allow for proper rest and recovery around Weston Super Half.

Then I got Covid.

I lost a week of running before the Weston Super Half. I knew I wouldn’t be able to run it at full pelt, just five days after testing negative, so I decided to use it as a marathon training run. The plan was to run it all at a flat nine minute/ mile pace, which is my goal pace for the marathon. This would still bring me in at under two hours, which is pretty respectable. Then I started to question whether I would be able to actually run 13 miles. I had visions of me running it in two and a half hours, or being unable to complete it. So I thought I would just give it a go and see what happens.

We drove to the car park we used last year and it was already full. So we had to turn round and drive slightly further out of town. A lot of runners were parking at the railway station, but we were lucky enough to find a free on street space right by the railway station. My younger son and Hetty came along for the ride and to support us.

The start line was a bit further along the seafront than last year. When I picture Weston, I think the Grand Pier and Tropicana are right next to each other, but they’re not. The bag drop off and toilets were closer to the Tropicana, which was a bit of a walk. There weren’t many toilets and, by the time we’d parked, we were slightly later than we usually arrive for a race. So we only went to the toilet once. (I always go twice before a race!) At 8:40am, it was time to put the bags in the bag drop, which meant taking off our jumpers.

The forecast was for eight degrees and windy. That is leggings and two layers on top weather. But for some reason I decided to just wear shorts and my club vest, like the elite runners, who just run in shorts and club vest even in January. It was absolutely freezing! I’d also bought one of those hydration vest/ backpack things that a lot of runners use and was using it for the first time.

We all lined up in the starting pen between 1:45 and 2. My sister was going for her first sub-two hour marathon and my husband was hoping for a PB.

I’m pleased to say, the race started very promptly. I didn’t see my family for dust as they sped off. Being aware of the fact I’d just had Covid, and am still coughing a bit, I tried hard to regulate my pace. Needless to say, I still went too fast.

The course begins with a loop around Marine Parade (the seafront and the road running parallel to it). This loop is about 1.5 miles. Then it heads out of town along the promenade and onto the beach. You get to the beach at about two miles and run across it for about 0.75 miles.

The sea at Weston is usually so far out as to be invisible. It was actually a bit closer this year and the sand was definitely damper and softer than last year. But that might just have been down to the constant rain we’ve had lately.

By the time I came off the beach, I’d managed to regulate my pace to 8:40 minute/ miles – still a bit fast, but a definite improvement. We entered the picturesque village of Uphill – which does exactly what it says on the tin. At this point, about three miles in, the 2:00 pacer overtook me, which was a bit of a shock. Then I did the maths. She was going way too fast. And she never did slow down. She finished the race some way in front of me.

At Uphill, there is a church on top of a high hill. As the course gradually goes upwards to the village of Bleadon, we were suddenly at the same level as the church. The course then goes through the countryside on a trail, which is very pleasant. It then goes downhill, with the church suddenly high up again. Then we were back in Uphill and back onto the beach – this was about seven miles.

I ran across the beach back towards the town and back along the seafront. There were lots of crowds and a couple of people shouted my name, which was nice. Even nicer, I spotted my son and Hetty. At this point, I felt really strong. I felt as though the Covid recovery wasn’t affecting me. We ran through the starting arch and the announcer said we’d run 8.5 miles.

The course then goes past the Grand Pier on a big out and back. I saw some of the first runners entering the pier to finish the race. The final bit of the course is basically two miles uphill and two miles downhill, following the coast line out of the town and past the old, derelict pier. I saw my husband heading down the hill as I was still heading upwards. I waved to him and he didn’t respond. I assumed he was just too tired. As I went past the sign saying the turning point was coming up, I worried that I hadn’t seen my sister and brother-in-law. I was certain I hadn’t passed them, so didn’t know why I hadn’t seen them. As I was running back into town down the hill, I saw my brother-in-law carrying his deflated birthday balloon. His legs were completely gone, so he’d told my sister to run ahead.

I ran along the seafront, past all the crowds, and onto the pier. First I saw my son and Hetty, then I saw my husband. I crossed the line at the far end of the pier and there was my sister. She’d smashed her sub-two hour target with a 1:54 – a 13 minute PB! Remarkably, I’d finished just behind her in 1:54:35. My husband had got a PB of 1:43. Having not coughed all the way round, I then had a massive coughing fit on the pier, as my brother-in-law limped across the line.

Weston Super Half had gone so much better than I feared it would. I’ll be back next year to get a properly good time!