As we gathered on Peterborough Embankment ready for the 2023 Great Eastern Run to start, it felt like we all had our fingers crossed that all would be well. It’s a race that’s suffered more bad luck than most over the past few years, including an on-the-day cancellation, incorrect mileage calculations on the route and, of course, Covid.
But back to 2023… the sun was shining on Peterborough this time and racing conditions were perfect. Having run this race many times in the past, I know how good it can be. We don’t have hills in Peterborough and so this is one of the flattest half marathons in the country. and it can be fast. I was hoping to run under 1 hour 40 minutes; this had been my aim back in 2019 and I hadn’t managed to make it happen in the years since. I arrived in my start pen and found the 1:40 pacers, one of whom was the same pacer I’d stood nervously chatting to four years before.Was this a sign? There were plenty of pacers for various time goals, many recruited from local running clubs and the mood was good.