Race Report by Loz Harvey

The life of a middle-aged, middle-distance runner can be varied. Ups and downs, ebbs and flows. Take the two half marathons I’ve signed up for in 2025. Bruges. And Clowne. One is renowned for its ancient cultural heart, its romance and winding cobbled streets, its many beers and chocolates, drawing thousands of tourists and film crews to its dappled baroque charm.

But enough about Clowne. Apart from my presence in both of them this year, maybe the ancient capital of Belgium and ye olde touriste trappe of Clowne do have things in common. They’ve both probably experienced their fair share of primitive painters for example. Expressionism just outside Barlborough? Completed it mate.

 

 

Anyway, I mention these two half marathons to show that running can really be a varied business – really, it’s about what you take out of each experience, and how you talk about it in the pub afterwards. Much like these two cornerstones, my running has ebbed and flowed a bit in recent years. In October 2023, I did the Eyryi Marathon in Snowdonia. It was a glorious day and I felt great. No reason why I couldn’t fulfil my ambition of doing an overseas half marathon every year in my 50s.

But ambition can sometimes bite you in the bum. One year on and I was in northern general with a canula in my arm and a blood clot. Time to re-adjust and reset – it was probably overdue in a way, but I realised that we are all overcoming our demons in one way or another every time we put one foot in front of another. The start of 2025 brought me to Couch To 5k for the first time, which was fantastic and helped me to remodel some goals. Time for more swimming and a burgeoning padel obsession and a few months off the pop. By Summer, fittish and 51, I was ready to resume my overseas half marathon dream in Bruges. There’s nothing quite like an overseas half marathon experience. Bruges was no exception, it really was a weekend of running which was a great opportunity to break up the drinking. I somewhat foolishly decided to climb the 364 steps of the Belfort Tower the evening before the race – there was no way I’d be doing it afterwards, I surmised. Come the Sunday morning and, thanks to the flags on everyone’s race numbers, I could see the many different nationalities taking place. I couldn’t distinguish, it turns out, the flag of Luxembourg from the Finnish, but more on the latter in a bit.

The route is beautiful, the stuff that dreams are made of. It can loosely be divided into four sections; an old town 5k surrounded by Belgian samba bands and cheering crowds with Tap This Cardboard For Extra Speed placards, 5k along the canals to Damme (and I can assure you that stronger words were used), 5k through the small town itself and along some tracks not dissimilar to the North Lincolnshire Half (no, really!) and then 5k back into Bruges. My game plan was just to get through the first 15k and hope I had enough left in the tank to go sub two – unfortunately despite the myriad of cola bottles (not as many as Barnsley’s Nick Rimmington, but hey ho), the wheels began to come off at around 18k and I lost a few minutes in those classic difficult miles – for a final time of 2hrs and 2minutes. I did it with a massive smile on my face though – this half marathon was my 16th but probably meant more than any of them for the aforementioned medical shenanigans (now all resolved).

The Athora Bruges Marathon has firmly established itself as one of Belgium’s most popular races. A fast, flat course set against the breathtaking backdrop of Bruges and its surroundings, I set off from ’t Zand, in the shadow of the Bruges Concertgebouw. The scenic route winds through the historic city centre, past the medieval charm of Damme, and along the picturesque Damse Vaart before culminating in a spectacular finish at Bruges’ iconic Market Square. Around 8,000 people took part, and I was there in the middle of the pack. Within an hour I was sinking a Roquefort Trappist overlooking the canal and watching the marathon runners completing their second 21k. Belgium rightly has a reputation for organisation, preciseness and no small amount of understated beauty. The Bruges Half had all three in abundance. Hopefully there’ll be more city breaks in exotic marathon locations for years to come, but, if not, there’s always Clowne. And, as Striders know, they all count

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