Portsmouth Coastal Half Marathon is always “blessed” with challenging conditions, but this week’s snow storms adding a whole new level to the challenge. Despite the snow having melted away, the conditions were beyond freezing as the daring duo of Lyn Snow and Gillian Shaw fearlessly crossed the Solent to brave the polar vortex in Pompey.
The ladies lined up amidst the freezing air at the start at the Pyramid Centre. The multi terrain course is exposed almost all the way around so there would be no respite from the challenging conditions. However, it was clear and sunny so for the first 4 miles of the course our girls were treated to fantastic views across the Solent as they ran along Southsea Seafront and South Parade Pier.
The off road section then took our ladies along Milton Foreshore and up to Portsmouth Watersports Centre, looping down to Milton Common and back along the infamous “Muddy Beach section”
They then entered the home straight with a nice flat 3 miles back along the seafront to the finish.
Lyn managed to secure a well earnt PB as she took a whopping 9 minutes off her previous time and a fantastic 18 minutes off her time at this very race last year, demonstrating that her hard work is paying off. Gillian came home just a few seconds later taking an amazing 4th in her age category and earning herself a shiny PB too.
L.Snow – 2.40.18
G.Shaw – 2.40.37
