Stroud half marathon 2025

My husband, eldest and I, along with several members of our running club, recently ran the 43rd Stroud half marathon. My daughter went along to watch. The race is organised by Stroud AC and Race Nation and is part of our running club’s road race series. It was the seventh time running it for me, the fifth for my husband and the third for my son.

One of the many good things about Stroud half marathon is that it falls on clock change day. This meant we got to travel there in the light, which is so much more pleasant than travelling in the dark.

Race HQ, as ever, was on the playing field of Marling School in Stroud. Parking was recommended in various car parks around Stroud, but we found a space on the road half a mile from the start. We picked our numbers up from the registration tent, which was quick and efficient. It was also possible to pick numbers up the day before, so that eased the pressure a bit. I queued for about 10 minutes to use the portable toilets.

This year, for the first time, there was also a 10k race. The 10k runners used the same bag drop and toilets as us, but then they were taken by bus to their start line at Whitminster – halfway round the half marathon course. I think they started running at 9:20am. They then ran the same route back to the finish that we did.

It was a sunny, but cold morning, so we left it as late as we could to take our layers off and put our bags in the bag drop. The bag drop was being operated by Stroud Food Bank, so I took a couple of tins of food as a contribution. There was also a trainer recycling collection, which was very useful, as we get through a lot of trainers!

This year, the start line was very close to the school – it is usually a bit further down the road. Stroud half marathon has always been a fast course for me. I’ve got three PBs there over the years – in 2017, 2023 and 2024. Having got PBs of 1:41:55 at Birmingham and 1:41:11 at Cheltenham this year, I thought I could manage another PB. Maybe even sub-1:40? My eldest is getting quite fast and was definitely hoping for a PB. His plan was for us to run together at 7:35 to 7:40 minutes per mile. My husband was still struggling with the injury and cough he’d had at Weston Super Half the previous week, so knew he wouldn’t be running a PB.

We found our place in front of the 1:45 pacer in the start pen and, at 9am precisely, we were off!

The Stroud half marathon course is very familiar to me. It is undulating in the true sense of the word – not code for hilly, as it is for a lot of the races a do. It starts with a small downhill. There are some small climbs, but the first half of the race is more downhill and the second half is more uphill.

I managed to keep up with my son and his pace for nearly two miles. My PBs were run at 7:45/ mile, but I usually do the first couple of miles at his target pace anyway. But my legs were hurting. This is very unusual for me. My legs never hurt at the start of a race and, even at the end of a race, it’s more tiredness than actual pain. I told him to go on without me and I kept going.

The road goes through Stonehouse and Standish. There were crowds in the centres of villages, but a lot of the time the route is quiet. Much of it is on closed roads, but there is traffic in parts, particularly the A38 and A419. In the past, headphones were completely banned, but now bone conducting headphones are allowed, which is good for me!

There was water at Standish, at around 4.5 miles, but I didn’t bother getting any as I carry my own drinks. At about 5.5 miles, we crossed the M5 by bridge, then before we knew it, we were on the A38. This is always the most memorable part of the race. It’s about 0.75 miles, it’s uphill and it’s on an open, main road with heavy traffic. There’s just a line of cones separating us from the cars. It’s possible to overtake other runners, but mainly you just need to run in single file.

There are a few businesses at Whitminster at the top of the A38, so there was a nice big crowd cheering us, as we turned left off the main road and back onto a country lane. I always think of this bit as being the most scenic part of the route. At just after seven miles, we crossed the M5 again.

We were now on the 10k route, as well as the half marathon route, so there were km markers as well as mile markers. When we passed 1km, some joker shouted “Only 20 to go!”.

At around eight miles, we entered the huge new housing estate. There were lots of people out cheering, which was nice. My legs were really hurting. I started thinking I would need to skip next week’s race. I wondered if I would need to walk. (I didn’t walk!)

After about a mile, the housing estate moves seamlessly into the industrial estate. At nine miles, I could hear the 1:45 pacer just behind  me, motivating his little gang of runners. He’d crossed the start line after me, which meant I was probably running slower than 1:45. There was supposed to be a water station at nine miles, but it was actually nearly 10 miles. I slowed down to gulp some water from a paper cup and the 1:45 pacer and his gang overtook me.

I didn’t let them get in my head. I didn’t try to catch them or overtake them and I didn’t feel defeated. I just kept going. What I didn’t know, was that my husband had been running with the 1:45 pacer until just before this point. He’d had me in his sights the whole race. He’d seen me slow down, then he said he saw more speed up after the pacer went by. I think in actual fact, he’d slowed down rather than I’d sped up!

After the industrial estate, at just after 10 miles, we were on the A419 and the long road back to the finish line. Most of the time, there was a path to run on, but sometimes we were on the road. There was quite a few spectators along the way, which was nice. There was supposedly another water station at 11 miles, but it was more like 11.4. Again, I slurped a bit of water as best I could.

Then it was just a very gradual climb through the streets on the outskirts of Stroud, with lots of spectators. On this last stretch, I passed a few 10k runners/ walkers. I can imagine that 20 minutes earlier, there would have been quite a lot of half marathon runners and 10k runners getting in each others’ way.

I always like this last stretch of the race, but I would like it more if it was flat!

I crossed the line in 1:45:31 – much slower than I’d hoped and slower than Stroud last year. But it was still my second best Stroud time and still over a minute faster than Weston Super Half the previous week. I was third in my age category, which is actually my best Stroud age category position. My husband was two minutes behind me and my son had achieved his aim of sub-1:40 – managing to maintain his planned pace throughout.

My watch showed the impact my aching legs had on me. Normally I run nearly an entire race, of whatever distance, in Zone 5 heart rate. At Stroud, it was only 59% of the race. My legs hurting meant I hadn’t been able to fulfil my potential. But the potential is still there and it will still be there for whatever races I run next year.

We picked up our medals and bottle of water, collected our bags from the bag drop and limped back to the car. Somehow it felt twice as long as it had on the way there.

No doubt we’ll be back next year.

Another good thing about Stroud half is you get free professional photos!