On Sunday, the Birmingham Future Half Marathon team successfully took part in the city’s first attempt at the 13.1 mile event. Sunday’s weather was far from perfect, with rain and strong winds, but all of the Future team made it round safely.
The ‘undulating’ course took its took on some of the runners legs, with the first six or seven miles being predominately uphill! Matt Taylor, Future’s current chair, was delighted to part of the the day: “The blood, sweat and tears were all worth it in the end as I crossed the line, beating my previous half marathon time by a full five minutes. I was delighted to be running for Birmingham Foundation, and want to thank all the members of Future who took part”.
Geoff Guerin, of BHSF, and Jason Norris of Deloitte, both hit the metophorical wall during the race. For Geoff, it was at the 9 mile mark: “Once I hit the 7 mile mark I knew I was on the way back, unfortunately my body didn’t think the same… and after pushing through the wall at 9 miles I got back into the swing of things at 11 miles and headed for home”.
For Anthony McCourt, of Wragge & Co and current BYPY, it was a first half marathon experience, and a positive one finishing in 1 hour and 46 minutes. “It was a challenge, but with hindsight, a fantastic thing to be part of. I really enjoyed running through, in, out and across our city… though I will never think of Hagley Road in the same way again”.
Also running for Future was Neil Murphy, of Lloyds TSB who was surprised and encouraged by the support all the way around the course, and is already looking forward to taking part next year.
In all, the Birmingham Future team raised over £1,000 for the Birmingham Foundation, with more money still to collect. The whole team are extremelly thankful to everyone who has donated to date, and remind you that should you wish to recognise the acheivements of the team, you can still make a donation to the team.
So here is to next year… where again, Birmingham Future will be entering a team in a run through the city… will you be part of that team?
