Phil Killingley was taking part in the Lloyds TSB Cardiff Half Marathon on Sunday.
By Charlie Talbot-Smith, Sportsbeat, 0870 445 0156
SHEEN runner Phil Killingley admitted to being left with mixed emotions after he finished 12th in the Lloyds TSB Cardiff Half Marathon on Sunday.
A finish inside the top 15 is no mean achievement considering that a field of more than 15,000 people took to the start line in the Welsh Capital.
But the 31-year-old Killingley had been targeting a personal best time of under 70 minutes in which to complete the course but narrowly missed out.
And having come home in 71minutes and 15 seconds the Ranelagh Harrier admitted he took some solace in having held off the winner of the women’s race, Kenya’s Alice Mogire, in order to finish 12th.
“If I’m honest I’m a tiny bit disappointed because I trained hard and I knew this was a good chance to beat my personal best and go under the 70 minute barrier,” he said.
“But the course was really windy, particularly in the unprotected sections of the course and the flat bits and I got caught on my own for a bit and I really noticed it.
“This is a brand new course so despite it being my third time running the Cardiff half I didn’t know what to expect from the race but everyone said it was going to be fast.
“The first lady was coming up behind me after about nine miles and I saw her coming and that really gave me a kick up the backside and I pushed on from there.
“If you get stuck on your own you can lose a bit of motivation so I was always looking over my shoulder for someone and I managed to hold her off so that was pleasing.”
But Killingley is still itching for a personal best time and will now head south for the Gosport half marathon next month with the intention of finally breaking the 70-minute barrier.
The Gosport course is known as one with excellent PB potential due to it being consistently flat and Killingley is hopeful that next month will be his time.
“I’ll definitely be coming back to Cardiff next year because it’s a lovely course and a great city but there’s still time for me to go better this year,” he added.
“I’m lining up the Gosport half marathon which I always said I would run if it didn’t go to plan here so we will see what I can do with a bit more training when that comes around.”
Lloyds TSB is proud to help Barnardo’s make a difference by sponsoring the Cardiff Half Marathon. For more information please visit www.cardiffhalfmarathon.co.uk/
