Runthrough Cannock Chase half marathon 2024

Matt and Elin running on a trail next to a lake. They are both wearing sunglasses

Race date: 14 April 2024

Race distance: half marathon

This was the second round in our “run a couple of half marathons as training for RSR as a pair” plan. We’d previously done and enjoyed a Runthrough event at Carsington Water, so this one was an obvious choice. I’ve run at Cannock Chase before and it’s surprisingly easy to get to, so early on a bright Sunday morning we were haring down the 72 miles to Rugeley. We had a full tank of gas*, no cigarettes, it wasn’t dark but we were wearing sunglasses. As always, we arrived early so I could get lost looking for the car park, finally discovering it in the charmingly named village of Slitting Mill, twinned with Cutthroat Bridge and Body-in-Woodchipper.

Once there, parking, registration, toilets and start/finish line were all in the same field, so we got a cup of hot chocolate from a van and waited for our call. There were several distances, including a kids’ race, with the half marathon being first to set off. The course is four laps of just under three miles, with a small lap on the beginning to make up the distance. The main part of the loop is up and down a valley past some small dams, on the site of an old coal mine. Apparently there are crossbills and woodpeckers. We only saw some ducks, but ducks are cool so all good.

Although there was a bit of a headwind on the uphill sections, the weather was perfect, first proper sunglasses run of the year. We set off planning to hit 2:15, but with better pacing than last time, so we deliberately held back on the first two laps. The trail was mostly wide enough for passing, and the one two-way section provided good motivation when we spotted ahead/behind us pacers coming the other way. Although we didn’t quite hit our target time, the pacing was miles better which was the point (and there was more climbing in this one, 242m vs about 170).

The Runthrough events are friendly affairs in nice locations, well worth a visit.

The race was won by Joel Stevens in 1:18:16 and Kathryn Powell in 1:44:50. 247 finished.

P Name Cat Time Cat P
185 Elin Reeves FV45 2:15:21 4
186 Matt Broadhead MV45 2:15:21 20

Full result: https://results.runthrough.co.uk/results.aspx?CId=16487&RId=5086

*fuel gauge is broken so I always fill it before long trips.

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