The Conwy Half Marathon takes place on Sunday 24th November 2013. It is organised by Rhedeg Cymru, or Run Wales for the translation. As expected with every half or full marathon, runners have the choice to run for a charity or just to simply better themselves in a gruelling 13.1 mile course.
It was voted one of the top five most scenic half marathons in the UK. Its route starts on Conwy Quayside, next to the Conwy river, and has a beautiful view of the ancient Conwy Castle. It then takes two miles to get to the Deganwy beach. A beautiful place to run. Approximately three and a half miles later, the runners will run past West Shore, in the Victorian town of Llandudno. Then comes the tough bit because the steepness of the course comes into play. Wales, being the hilly and mountainous country it is, makes this course difficult as the runners must run around the Great Orme. After two miles of running on the gruelling Great Orme, there is a two mile downhill run that will find the runners returned to West Shore. From there, the runners retrace their path to return to the finish line on Conwy Quayside.
There are plenty of runners already signed up to run. A few Bangor students are running for the challenge, among them are Roisin Murphy, Mark Simpson and the man who ran the London marathon earlier this year, Shaun Fleckney. One of the runners happens to be one of our own here at Seren, our film editor, Jack Nicol.
I asked him a few questions about how he is preparing to run the half marathon course, this being his first means it is all new to him too! This is what he has to say:
What is your basic routine to prepare for your first half marathon?
Spin class; death on a bicycle. I run each day going slightly further each time. I start about 3 miles, getting higher each week. One or two rest days a week. Make sure that your body is used to it. Don’t worry about walking at first, it is always hard to actually start to run. If your legs aren’t used to impact, they will get used to it over time. Also a mental challenge to get passed the “I can’t be bothered phase”. So put the cookie down and FOCUS!
Is nutrition a vital part of your preparation, if so what are the most important aspects?
Yes. No white pasta or white carbs. Plenty of nuts and seeds. Chicken and wholewheat rice. It is important to release energy over a prolonged period of time.
What made you want to run?
Someone challenged me and I was stupid enough to say yes. I’m glad I did, although it is quite daunting. Preferably, I would have given myself more time to train than 9 weeks, but you live and you learn!
Are you running for a charity?
Yes. Movember, all proceeds go toward men’s health.
The Conwy half marathon kicks off at noon that day, with a fun run starting forty-five minutes prior to the start time at 11:45am. Runners will receive information, in the form of a brochure, ten days prior to the date of the half marathon. As well as this, runners will be given numbers and timing chips so friends and family can track their progress online. The website will post a training plan closer to the date of the event.
Good luck to all those participating from all of us at Seren!
Movember link: uk.movember.com/mospace6832293
