Fair to say I got what I deserved when I’d neither been training ‘for’ it nor been well the preceding week, but afraid my 2013 Ben Race optimism’s now been followed by a new 2014 worst of 2:18:41 and placing outwith the top 200. Which, despite a pretty decent ascent once I’d finally escaped the usual ‘snakes’, was so obviously forged in a descent of such caution I’d have to concede that even 2:05 (let alone that pie-in-the-sky sub-2:00) remains beyond me unless I can learn to run down the thing properly in the next year or two. So there’s now over 11 minutes (rather than under 8) between my best and worst and, while some might argue that’s still ‘consistent’, I think perhaps the writing’s on the wall…
2014 2:18:41
2013 2:07:27
2012 2:11:41
2011 2:15:17
2010 -------
2009 -------
2008 2:08:35
2007 2:12:26
2006 2:08:22
2005 2:10:43
2004 2:13:55
(With thanks to Noel Williams for the photos!)