Half Marathon

May 2007

"After running a decent time in the 2007 London marathon I wanted to break my personal best time in the Sheffield half marathon too, but I was hoping for a slightly cooler day!

"The heat wasn't ideal, but thankfully it wasn't as windy as it was on the Saturday.

"It was a good start to the day with a record number of runners assembled at Don Valley ready to tackle the course, but I wasn't expecting it to be so undulating - I'm not sure why, because I know Sheffield well and know that generally it's very hilly, but friends who'd run it before told me it wasn't too bad - I beg to differ!

"I don't think it's a particularly fast course, though I made sure I went off fast to get the time I wanted, and managed to run under 1h 30 which I was pleased with.

"Cemetery Road was the killer bit for me - and then the long slog up Ecclesall Road - but the crowd there were in just the right place to keep you going when it was starting to hurt.

"The last three miles through Attercliffe were hard - a long straight road, not knowing how far you've got to go, and I must say to the organisers how mean it is making you run around the stadium when you think you're nearly at the finish!

"It was well-organised though with good support, and having being the fifth woman to finish with a time of 1.27.53, I'm definitely going to be back near year, gunning for a top three position in the women's race!"

:: See pictures from the 2007 Sheffield half marathon via the link on the right of the page

Jodie's boyfriend Andrew Thake came third overall with a time of 1.09.41. He was the first British male to finish the race, after Kenyans Simon Tonui and Tarus Elly.