Chesterfield Half Marathon

MKL on his way to a podium finish

Targeted because it was not far from where he was staying during a half term holiday close to the Peak District, Matthew Kingston-Lee was the sole Grantham Running Club representative at the Redbrik Chesterfield Half Marathon on Sunday 20^th October. 

Beginning outside the cricket pavilion in Queens Park, Matthew made an even more conservative start than usual, concerned this time around not only by the familiar dilemma of not knowing exactly how hilly the course was, but also by the possible triple threat of an early demise bought on by one, some or all of the following:  1. A recurrence of the issue that forced him to pull out of the North Midlands XC race a week earlier. 2. The full onset of a heavy cold that was inevitably passed on by his daughters having shared the cramped confines of a caravan for the previous two nights and 3. An aching calf muscle, tweaked while attempting to man-handle the aforementioned caravan into position, all of which left Matthew muttering to himself ‘I wondered if Kipchoge had to go through this before ‘Breaking2?’’  

These fears partially allayed after an issue free opening mile, Matthew found himself seventh once the supporting five mile racers parted company with the half marathon runners. The twisty, narrow, part pedestrianised, part cobblestoned, town centre saw Matthew join forces with an equally bemused runner not entirely sure where they were heading. This feeling was compounded when not long later they were faced with a roundabout so full of traffic cones and devoid of marshals and directional arrows they only headed the wrong way down a dual carriageway because they could just about make out a runner in the distance running along it.

With this dual carriageway thankfully closed to oncoming traffic, Matthew moved up into sixth position at 5K and spent the next three miles in relative solitude, troubled only by the occasional throng of spectators on overhead bridges and the frankly unsettling sporadic tooting of a horn from drivers on the opposite side of the dual carriageway, who left Matthew wondering if they were offering encouragement or lambasting him for being part of a collective that had closed so many major roads in Chesterfield. Thankfully leaving the dual carriageway just shy of Temple Normanton and running back to Chesterfield along the constantly undulating Mansfield Road, Matthew was inspired by the sight of the famous Crooked Spire Church and the fantastic crowd support.

The confusion of too many traffic cones nearly caused disaster at just after eight miles when Matthew and the fifth placed runner, a local fell runner who was beginning to struggle with the monotony of a road network, found themselves directly in the path of oncoming traffic who had opted to ignore the ‘Road Closed’ sign and numerous traffic cones blocking their path. Adrenaline pumping, Matthew audibly alerted a handily nearby Police Officer of the impending Grand Theft Auto style disaster looming around the bend, before surging uphill to take fifth place. It seems thankfully that no injuries were reported to runners or traffic cones during the incident.

Soon regretting this impromptu surge Matthew struggled a little for the next mile or so, not only keeping pace but avoiding pedestrians with a repeat trip through the pedestrianised town centre, some of whom weren’t going to let a runner hurtling towards them at nearly 11 mph stop them from entering M&S on a crisp, sunny Sunday morning.  

Once leaving the town centre and enjoying the support of the oncoming five mile runners in the closing stages of their race, Matthew was reminded of a conversation earlier in the morning with a repeat competitor that the toughest part of the course was in the eleventh mile with a climb up Ashgate.  While no Casthorpe Hill, Matthew made his way up this stiff climb as conservatively as you can while setting the second fastest ever time on the inevitable Strava segment.

With the hill done, Matthew took literally the message on the sponsors’ ‘For Sale’ boards ‘It’s All Downhill From Here’  to make a full-gas effort for the final two and a half miles of the race. He reeled in and passed the fourth placed runner and set about catching the third placed runner, who he all but caught as they re-entered Queens Park for a protracted finishing spiral to the finish.

With both misjudging the finish (probably due to the mile markers being 1/3 mile out ever since the first surfaced at mile 3) some premature surges left both runners on the brink when they realised they still had a lap around the perimeter of the cricket pitch to complete the race. Cheered on by a great crowd, including Matthew’s parents who had come to support him for the first time in all his years of racing, Matthew caught the now broken challenger and sprinted clear to come home a clear third.

Delighted to have put on a good show for his new fan club, Matthew was pleased to not have to wait long for the prize presentation, where he was handed perhaps his biggest trophy to date, which served well to store the Greggs Belgian Bun he rewarded himself with later that morning. Of some significance too was Matthew’s finishing time of 1:15:15, which is his second fastest ever half marathon time and saw good points scored for the club’s Grand Prix Series as he nominated the event as his ‘Joker’ race. 

The Chesterfield Half Marathon was won in a new course record time of 1:11:52 by Richard Short of North Derbyshire. Susan Lewis of Roundhay Runners was the women’s winner, also in a course record, clocking 1:24:27. There were 799 finishers. 

Post race with his family