London Royal Parks and Cirencester Half Marathons
Val Kirby has written the following race report.
In the far off days when I worked for my living, my boss had a favourite and annoying phrase: ‘for the avoidance of doubt’. We knew it was a favourite because he used it a lot. It was annoying because when he used it, we had usually already got the point – he was annoyed at something we had done or worried that we did not appreciate the urgency of something that was still to be done. The phrase came to mind last Sunday, as I was limping away from the finish line in Cirencester’s market place. For the avoidance of doubt, that was really hard work.
Two days later of course, although my quads are still stiff, I’m basking in that post-event glow, and have signed up for next year’s event – oh yes, I’ll be there on 1 November 2026.
This year’s Cirencester half marathon was the first ever. London Royal Parks, on the other hand, has been going for ages. When I failed to get a place in this year’s ballot I decided that – as it was going to be my last ever half marathon – I’d run for a charity. Yes I know, I know – just ignore me. London Royal Parks is a big event, 16,000 runners. It starts and finishes in Hyde Park, taking in Constitution Hill, Buckingham Palace, up and down the Mall, round St James Park, and zig-zagging through Hyde Park, finishing at the Albert Memorial. It has all the trappings of a big event – a ‘village’ of charity tents and food stalls, lots of fences, lots of security, lots of loos. The organisation is efficient and the audience – especially charity teams cheering on their runners – is loud and supportive. The lovely weather really helped, the trees appearing to glow in the autumn sunshine. After I finished, I met a couple of friends and we wandered back into Hyde Park for a drink next to the Serpentine. I was high as a kite, tired but not wrecked, and an hour or so later walked back to Paddington feeling well pleased.
Three weeks later I was nervous about doing the Cirencester Half. I’d caught a cold a few days earlier and was snuffly. I hadn’t slept well and hadn’t done a long run since London. This was a much smaller event, 1500 runners. First impressions of the organisation were good, as I walked into the town centre from Cirencester College car park. All town centre roads were closed, there were masses of people about, and a generally festive atmosphere in the market place. The biggest issue was the inadequate bag drop. They just hadn’t thought it through. Usually your bib number has a tear off strip that you attach to your bag handle and give to one of many helpers. With no tear off strip and only a couple of volunteers, a very long queue developed, which didn’t help pre-run nerves. Anyway, somehow all bags were dropped and we started on time. For the first mile or so we did a couple of short out and backs in the town. These looked odd on the map but they were well signed and marshalled and soon we were out on the old Cheltenham road running towards Daglingworth. As with London, we were lucky with the weather. It was sunny, not windy. There had been rain overnight but surface conditions were good. I was surprised that there were no mile or kilometer markers – not every runner has a smart watch. Once through Daglingworth there was a long out and back. Although not very steep, it was relentlessly uphill until the turn. To my relief the last few kilometers were gently downhill, including a lovely section on a track through Cirencester Park. This distracted me from my sore feet and general sense of exhaustion. I was very relieved to finish, collect my medal and rather stylish buff, and collapse into the Long Table for a strong coffee and a chocolate brownie. The return walk to Cirencester College was an enormous effort.
I’d recommend both these events, but for different reasons. London Royal Parks is well organised and the route is stunning. It takes some planning to get there, and to be sure of a place you would have to join a charity team. Cirencester, on the other hand, is easy to get to, and is a much simpler, smaller event. Starting in the market place is great, but the crowds, combined with the poor bag drop facilities, made it feel quite chaotic. It takes place a week after Stroud Half, so most local runners will have to choose between events. Overall, the route is attractive and apart from the lack of distance markers, signs and marshalling were good.
https://www.royalparkshalf.com/enter
If you’d asked me on Sunday evening what I thought about doing two half marathons in three weeks, my reply would have been unprintable. Two days later, after a couple of intensive Pilates sessions and some good sleep, well – let’s hear it for the older runner! For the avoidance of doubt, there is life in the old legs yet.