Half marathon finishers received a medallion

This morning, in cool, overcast weather, I ran 21.1 km around the beautiful Swan River, finishing the 2009 Perth Half Marathon in 1:57:47. I was aiming to go under 1:50 but I’m very happy to get under 2 hours, particularly considering a) the congestion at the start, b) 2 toilet breaks and c) inclement weather. Courtney Carter, the men’s winner ran 1:07(!), to become the 2009 WA State Champion, beating over 900 fellow participants in the process.

I ran a 1:01:11/56:36 negative split* which I’m proud of. My mirrored splits (cumulative time bracketed):

1st half

0-2 km: 11:56 (11:56)

2-4 km: 12:25 (24:21)

4-7 km: 17:17 (41:38)

7-10.55 km: 19:33 (1:01:11)

2nd half

10.55-14 km: 19:21 (1:20:32)

14-17 km: 16:46 (1:37:18)

17-19 km: 10:12 (1:47:30)

19-21.1 km: 10:17 (1:57:47)

Daryl of Frank And Daz Take On The World fame also ran today. Running part of the way with him was inspiring. What a legend!

My next challenge is to double the distance and run a full 42.195 km marathon! I will achieve this in the first half of 2010.

*A negative split occurs when the 2nd half is run faster than the first. Many runners are tempted to run fast at the start only to suffer later on, often affecting their overall time.