The Stur Half, 6th August 2023
A visit down to Dorset to see family provided an opportunity to run in a new area. The Stur, a half marathon starting/finishing in Sturminster Newton, still had places available a week in advance. This was not an area I know and so, since I would be down in Poole, not too far away, I signed up.
388 of us entered the half marathon. There was a 5K race too and children’s races in the school sports field that was also the registration and finishing area. The main races started a short walk away from the school, in the centre of town. At the start I was surprised to meet Dan and Charlotte, two former Claremont members, that moved to live locally just a week earlier. Like me they signed up at the last minute.
Weather on the Sunday was much kinder than the Saturday, being mostly sunny, with the occasional drop of rain and a breeze. The race route, a figure of 8, was mainly on roads passing through the local villages and fields. Lots of thatched cottages were to be seen! The rolling hills provided lots of lovely views as well as making it quite a tough race. The final mile was largely downhill, taking a sharp left at the White Horse pub and down a quiet side road towards the finish in the school field.
Throughout the race lots of friendly and helpful marshals cheered us along the way. The sun and breeze led to me taking water at all five water stops. I can’t remember the last half marathon I raced and perhaps because of this I struggled in the second half, stopping to walk up the final big hill.
After the race another brief chat with Charlotte and Dan was followed by a drive back to the White Horse for Sunday lunch with my mum and sister.
All in all, it was a great day. The only slight negative about the race was the text plastered on the official photos “COPYRIGHT VISIBLE? IMAGE IS STOLEN!”. Luckily there are no images associated with this report (aside from one, legally obtained)!
I finished 150th with a chip time of 1:44:48.
