10 years now since I first ran the Paddock Wood Half Marathon. Almost every time I’ve made the journey back down the A21 I’ve asked the same question “It can’t get better than that, can it?”.

Once again, the answer to my question was “Yes, it most certainly can”. What a day the Team had. We were blessed with perfection conditions, cool, calm and overcast. Still, that doesn’t guarantee success, you’ve still got to execute the race.

I’ll share this story from my perspective. 5 months have passed since Chester Marathon. Having picked up an injury by returning too quickly (and off plan) I’ve been building my distance slowly.

My gratitude, just to be able to take part in this race, was off the charts and I was delighted to take on the pacing duties for Lou W. She’s had an incredible few months and with a previous half marathon PB around the 2:19 mark, I knew something special was on the cards.

We were joined at the start line by fellow Hastings Runners Katie who stuck with us for the whole route, adding to our enjoyment levels.

The plan was always to go off nice and steady. My role here was to reign in the pace and ensure we saved enough energy for a strong finish. If anything we were still a little quick at the start going through 5k in 29 minutes, 60 seconds faster than I had planned. Despite Lou’s Garmin telling us she was working harder than Damo Mills in the final 50 metres of a parkrun, I could tell from our chatter all was under control.

We went through halfway in around 62 minutes, and then I could sense the effort level was creeping up. We tucked in behind some Dulwich runners who were setting a perfect pace.

With time in the bank and the RPE nudging to a 7 for the first time we held back the pace. It wasn’t until 3km to go, that we started to pick up the speed and go into overtake mode.

By now my advice had changed “Relax, focus on your form” to “dig deep, we’re on for something special here”.  The final 3kms were our quickest of the day 5:33, 5:34 and 5:23. Even hitting 4:37 pace for the final 200 meters, a perfectly executed race and we crossed the line in 2 hours 2 minutes and 15 seconds. A PB of over 16 minutes for Lou, incredible.

Running the race as a coach is always the relaxing part of the day, it’s what follows that can be nerve wracking. Approaching your runners with no idea if all their hard work has paid off, or if your training plan has proved a flop.

I need not have worried, the results were incredible. Paul who has been aiming for sub 80 mins, clocked 1:18:50, a huge PB, and by all accounts leading a group in the process.

Jamie banked a new half marathon PB by over 2 minutes, clocking 1:31:25. Conal who I’d seen just 10 minutes before the start, still dressed in his tracksuit with his bag on his shoulder, hinting that just a few weeks after his Seville marathon success, he was going to jog round today. No chance. 1:31:34 PB for Conal. Superb.

I’d had a tactical pre race discussion with Lucy P, suggesting a new PB (sub 1:44) was possible, but to ensure she didn’t go bonkers to jeopardise her Brighton Marathon training. She came across the line in 1:41:50. Wow!!

The next runner to approach me was Karl. Now I’m sure he won’t mind me saying that he’s struggled to live up to his potential in recent races. He’s been superb in training but not been able to convert that into a strong race. I feared the worst as his shoulders appeared a little slumped. Karl too had run a great race though and even with a few walking breaks managed a new half marathon PB of 1:46:25.

Mark was the last of the team to cross the line, and his goal was to come in under 150 mins, he too achieved his target, comfortably in fact, clocking 2:26:46. A new personal best.

Adam who unfortunately picked up a niggle a week ago still produced a fantastic performance to come in at 1:29:58. Glenn ran his fastest half marathon in 15 years, banking 1:41:08.

Allan wins the prize for best shorts, even if they aren’t Orange and ran a strong time of 1:57:00, not bad for the oldest member of the team, turning 73 in a few weeks time.

Sue Mann had targeted a 2:30 in the hope of beating her time from last year. She managed to run 2:19:35. Wow again.

I’m so proud of my team, I love them to bits. For the hard work they put into their training and for digging deep on race day. I’ll be back at Paddock Wood in 12 months time, “It can’t get better than that, can it?”

Outside of Kent, Maria banked a 6 min 10k PB at Victoria Park, crossing the line in 55:25. Michael (1:38:37) and Patrick (1:39:24) both ran excellent times in the Eastbourne Half Marathon.

On the other side of the country Andy and Sarah ran the North Tyneside Trail 12k, including a section on the sandy beach. Andy ran 1:23 and Sarah 1:33.