Submitted by Jane

Reading Half Marathon

Ran the Reading Half today, didn’t manage to get as much training in as planned for various reasons but was pleased to finish. Reading is my hometown so a few friends also ran as a one off which is why I joined in.

It starts from the Reading FC stadium and the route is all based on fully closed roads. Not sure how many runners but I have a friend who’s been a 2 hr pacer there for 10 years who said there’s previously been 16,000. There’s plenty of pacers and one other thing that stood out was a massive amount of support on the entirety of the route.

I didn’t take photos of the route unfortunately as was focused on running but it passed through the university, past my old school & a few pubs from my younger years, through the Abbey Gateway and then through town.

After that was a bit of a hill, there were only two main ones, along the side of a park then it was about 4 miles to go along mainly residential areas to get back to the stadium.

Lots of entertainment along the route including two steel bands, an orchestra, a choir & DJs plus general music. Not got chip time yet, think will be a few mins longer. I

​t’s a great run for the route & support if you’re in the area or a Reading FC supporter I’d definitely recommend it, probably a bit far to travel otherwise.