After months of training and losing two stone in weight, I felt nervous about running the race in a good time. I’d set myself a target of beating my previous time of 1:56:56 from the 2012 Leeds half-marathon and that anything more was a bonus! I was struck down with a bout of man flu in the days running up to the race which didn’t help, but I still felt confident on the morning.
Aside from having a stitch for about two miles in the middle of the race (very painful!) I ran as best and as fast as I could on what was a very warm day in Leeds. My initial success was overtaking a man dressed as a minion somewhere near Meanwood. As the miles clocked down, my legs began to tire and the heat put a lot of strain on not just me but everyone running. Thankfully, the support was magnificent and just what was needed to push everyone on – from people handing out oranges, water and jelly babies to those dragging their hose pipes out to cool people down, it showed what a fabulous city Leeds is, full of generous and wonderful people.
The last half mile is simply a blur but crossing the finish line was an amazing feeling and not something I’ll be forgetting in a hurry. Finding out shortly after I’d beaten my best previous best time was the icing on the top of a fantastic day. With over £400 raised for CRY, the day was a phenomenal (and hot!) success.
Jonny Cooper
