Mark Armstrong: Richmond Half Marathon 2023 race report

Whenever anyone asked me when my next race was, I’d always say that my full focus is on Berlin. 

Technically true... but around two months ago, my wife, Alison, asked me if I fancied doing the Richmond Half Marathon a couple of weeks before Berlin. One of her coaching clients, Matt Webster, was doing the full marathon and she wanted to support him as he pursues a sub three-hour marathon. 

I was up for it. It felt like it had been a while since I had raced properly, and I thought it would be a good gauge of where my fitness was before Berlin. 

The fact it was in Richmond, Ted Lasso country, made it even more attractive. 

When it was booked, I earmarked it as a chance to try and go under 90 minutes again. Ever since the Cambridge Half Marathon earlier this year when I ran 1:28, I’ve wondered if it was something of a fluke considering what happened a few weeks later at the Brighton Marathon (if I think about it rationally I realise this is utter rubbish). 

However, when I saw the weather forecast a few days before predicting temperatures in the 30s, I knew I had probably had to rein in those expectations. 

In truth it probably relaxed me the day before, a little too much perhaps. Ally and I probably had one too many cocktails the night before the race and a couple of beers in the The Prince’s Head (the pub used in Ted Lasso). 

Not recommended by any means... but it certainly helped put me at ease. 

A couple of electrolyte drinks on the morning of the race and a good breakfast meant I was good to go. 

However, as I stood on the start line in the gorgeous Kew Gardens, I could feel beads of sweat dripping down my back.  

‘This is going to be tough...’ 

I had a 500ml soft flask of a carbohydrate drink with me and I knew, on today of all days, that fuelling and hydration were going to be key. 

The 90-minute pacer started just ahead of me, and I decided to try and keep him in view for as long as I could. The first couple of miles around Kew flew by and I felt relatively comfortable, although I had already started draining my drink. 

However, I noticeably felt better each time I had some, and the third and fourth miles flew by. I was feeling really good by this point and the 90-minute pacer was still in view, around 20 metres ahead. 

Using the pacer as my guide meant I wasn’t having to constantly check my watch, which was a refreshing change when racing. 

‘Cool, stay here and hold on for as long as you can,’ I told myself. The terrain by this point was a towpath along the Thames and it was pretty uneven and busy at points with people enjoying a gentle morning stroll or bike ride. 

I could feel the temperature getting warmer as the race progressed and the need for more than a half full cup of water at each station was becoming more and more acute. 

Fortunately, Ally had stationed herself at mile eight and was able to pass me a 330ml water bottle. The runners around me were probably green with envy but I needed that water and combined with what I had left in my soft flask I knew this would have to get me to the end. 

I pushed as much as I could but gradually the 90-minute pacer was pulling away. I didn’t give myself a hard time and tried to tap into the ‘kind voice’ in me which has been a little absent from my running for too long. 

By mile 10 I was finding it tough, and I knew I had to let go of any thoughts of catching the pacer. I just needed to bring this home; I took an energy gel and swigged the last dregs of water I had. 

‘Just a parkrun to go...’ 

Other people were starting to struggle in the heat and I gently started picking off a few people, more by the fact they were dropping pace whilst I was able to sustain. 

I was able to get a bit more water on board in the last mile (half a cup, some of which went in my mouth!) and I knew the end was near. 

As we came into the finish, any thoughts about trying to sprint ended when we had to start wading through the freshly cut, long grass in the Old Deer Park. 

I didn’t drop pace though and was able to cross the line in 1:31:35 – a decent time for me, especially in the circumstances. I had generated a narrative going into the race that ‘I don’t run well in the heat’ and I put paid to that by dialling in to my fuelling and hydration, although I realise it could have been a very different story had Ally not been able to give me a bottle during the race.  

Unfortunately, other people running weren’t so lucky with the organisers, RunFest, actually forced to cancel the event midway through with more than 1,000 marathon runners still on the course following paramedics being called to a large number of runners who had collapsed in the heat. Fortunately, there were no fatalities. 

So, whilst I didn’t get the sub 90 minute time I had originally wanted, I did gain the confidence-boosting longer run that I wanted before Berlin. 

I just hope I can keep my cool in Germany as much as I did in Richmond last weekend.