On Sunday, Newport & District Running Club’s Heather Campbell-Miles took part in the Cheshire Half Marathon. Afterwards, she was kind enough to send us this report, not just from the race itself, but also from her training journey leading up to race day.

It was a beautiful Sunday morning as the sun rose over Shropshire. Taking place that day was the Tibberton Trot, although that wasn’t where I was heading myself. My journey took me to Capesthorne Hall, near Congleton in Cheshire. Setting off bright and early I loaded up the car with my husband Daniel and daughter Acacia, who were coming along as my enthusiastic cheer squad for the morning. It was a landmark occasion for me as I was taking on my first half marathon race since August 2019. It was also my first half marathon since having my daughter three years ago.

I entered the RunThrough Cheshire Half Marathon knowing that it’s a flat and fast course (it’s where Daniel ran his one and only sub 90 minute half!). Back in May, I began an 18-week training programme designed to get me back to half marathon distance, and rather ambitiously I decided to aim for a sub 2 hour half. I’ve run many half marathons, but I’ve only run sub-2 once before in my life, and that time was along country roads during lockdown five years ago! My training was going well from weeks 1 to 13. I was really proud of myself for finding the time to run four days a week, go to the gym and strength train at least twice a week, as well as juggling work and childcare responsibilities. 

I enjoyed the routine of training again and could feel my body getting stronger. At week 13 I had a big mileage week with a taper coming up before my two peak training weeks. However, on my 19k long run I fell over 300m from home heading along a farm track. The fall itself wasn’t that bad, but I could feel a small strain on the inside of my knee. I put my sensible head on and took a full week off running. I tried an easy run but could still feel a small niggle. I rested again for another week, tried an easy run and could still feel a small niggle. Irritatingly this pattern continued to repeat itself for the next five weeks.

The week of my race came around quickly and I went from worrying about missed training to facing the dilemma of whether or not I should even participate in the race. Up to this point I never considered that this very small knee injury would stop me from racing, simply they would stop me from training. During the week I did two very easy 5K’s and the knee felt okay. I decided I was going to get myself to the start line and if I needed to pull out part way round then so be it.

Driving to the race I felt surprisingly nervous about what was ahead of me. I did the Sexarathon series last year, but hadn’t done any other races postpartum. We arrived at the event and got parked up in plenty of time. A quick visit to the portable loos and then I had time to join in the warmup exercises. Daniel and Acacia left me in the starting area so that they could find a good place to watch the start of the race. I nervously hung around waiting to get going. We got to the start line quickly – I’d managed to place myself between the 2:00 hour and 2:10 pacers. Knowing I’d missed so much training and had a niggle in my knee the sub 2 goal was out of the window. I decided to treat the day as an opportunity to practice running a long distance and dialling in some race day strategies.

I wanted to focus on good running form, adequate fuelling and a positive mindset. I may not have been running for a time goal but I could learn valuable lessons along the way. However, I had absolutely no idea what pace I should be aiming for having missed the last five weeks of training. I decided not to check my watch and run to feel. For me this meant running just above easy pace but a little bit below what I would consider a steady run pace. For the first 10k, I felt like I was flying. I knew that I was running at a relatively easy pace but I wasn’t sure if the knee would hold up, and how much fatigue would impact me with the missed training. I managed to run almost perfectly even six-minute kilometre splits up to 13k into the race.

The course is a closed road course around country lanes of Cheshire. There are some very small undulations, but overall it’s pretty flat and would make for a great PB course on a different day. Unfortunately, I started to feel dizzy and lightheaded. I had been fuelling and hydrating well so I’m not sure if it was an incoming illness or a lack of fitness that was causing the symptoms. I slowed my pace right down but at around 17 km I had an intense bout of vertigo. I felt as if the ground was moving beneath me and it was very disorientating trying to run. So, I walked for a little while until I felt better and then managed to get moving again. From that point on I was fighting for my life and really just trying to get through to the finish. Aside from the dizziness my legs were very heavy and going in undertrained definitely started to show.

At around 14 km, I saw Daniel and Acacia, who had made an incredible sign for me and that gave me a huge boost to continue on with the race. The one positive in all of this is that my knee didn’t hurt at all throughout the entire run. In the last kilometre, the 2:10 pacer nipped past me and I didn’t have the legs to chase her down. I did hugely appreciate being enthusiastically run into the finish by a member of the RunThrough staff. In fact the organisation of the whole event was fantastic and I cannot recommend their races highly enough. And if you’re in the market for a fast September half then this is a great option to get in the calendar for 2026. 

I finally crossed the finish line in an official time of 2:10:43, a time that I feel neither excited nor disappointed about. The race was about so much more than running a time for me. It was about returning to something I love after a long time away. It was about seeing what my body was capable of even when I doubted it. And it was about setting an example to my daughter that even when we fall short of our goals, simply turning up, trying our best and having fun are more important than anything else. Next up for me is a strength focused training block followed by a spring marathon in 2026.