Here you are, Antonio.
Nestling in the foothills of... the Chilterns, the picturesque Berkshire town of Reading is rightly famous for its annual half marathon...
OK, more seriously...
Reading is a somewhat middle-of-the-road town about 40 miles west of London. It's not especially beautiful, and history doesn't have a lot to say about the place. It's probably most famous for its association with Oscar Wilde who was incarcerated in Reading at the turn of the 20th century, where he wrote his famous Ballad Of Reading Gaol.
I live about 6 miles away, so it's my nearest half marathon, and a pretty good race it is too. It's big - usually about 10,000 runners - and takes place entirely in the town. This is one of the reasons I like it. Nice though it is to run in the country, I sometimes feel that race organisers send runners out into the sticks for a few miles in much the same way that parents send their kids into the garden to play for a few hours. Get rid of them for a while.
Crowd support and general atmosphere is very good, and it really feels like a big event - one of the reasons why so many people do it in preparation for the London Marathon in April. Quite a few first-timers do it, as well as the usual top Kenyans, so there's something for everyone.
I've done it twice. In fact, it was the first race I ever did (in 2002). Yes, the route has changed since then. Or, to be more accurate, the route itself isn't actually that different, but the start has moved to a different point on it, on the outskirts of the town, and the finish is now in the new Madejski Stadium, home of Reading Football Club.
It's not absolutely flat, but there are only a couple of small hills. Undulations really. Could definitely be a PB course. This is what the website says:
2004 saw the introduction of a flatter, faster course which is unchanged for 2005. The route starts at South Reading Leisure Centre on Northumberland Avenue.
The course is fairly flat and there are only two notable climbs - one from Whitley Wood Road to Shinfield Road at 1.0 mile and the other at Russell Street (6.75 miles). The rest of the route is generally down hill or flat, and after descending Coley Avenue (8.8 miles) the route is almost entirely flat and fast as it passes along the A33 and around GreenPark.
As you leave GreenPark it's just a short hill up to the Madejski Stadium and into the tunnel to the finish in front of the stands.
It's a bit pricey at £19.50 for non-affiliated runners but you get a decent medal and goody bag, plus chip timing, sports drinks etc.
Weather? Well, early March is likely to be very cool but not wintry. Pretty much ideal running weather in fact.
Lodgings? We'll sort something out for you, Antonio. Would be good if you could make it over. Heathrow Airport is much closer than Gatwick, though it would almost certainly cost more to fly there.
Website:
http://www.readinghalfmarathon.co.uk
Anyone else interested?
