Race Description
A well organised and enjoyable half marathon, not overly hilly and relatively easy to support if you are organised. Very good for first-time runners and more experienced runners alike.
Elevation Profile
Data taken from Garmin Forerunner watch
- Total Ascent: 126m
- Total Descent: 125m
Supporting Tips
The course is very busy and motivating when going through villages and the start/finish area. The following map highlights where my girlfriend was able to support during the race:
Firstly, she was able to see me at the start line, then walked through Cantley Park and saw me at point one. Then with the car parked nearby she was able to drive to Hurst, see me there and drive back to the finish line.
If you don't have a car there's no pleasant way of getting to Hurst. You can cycle but bike lanes are few and far between so bear this in mind.
Course Description
An out and back course, the start out of Cantley park as you turn left to go into Wokingham town centre is probably the worst hill you will encounter. Which in my view is pleasant to get out of the way straight away. After that when running on overpasses they are gradual inclines which do tire the legs out.
The 2-hour pacers were brilliant, and I was able to stick with them until KM 19 before falling away. They finished just before 2 hours and throughout the race whilst I was with them kept ahead of pace by 40 seconds.
Training Plan
I bought Ben Parkes sub-2-hour training plan. Maybe worthy of its own blog post, however the summary is this plan consists of 4 main runs during the week. Easy runs, Strides, Interval and Long runs. It is well put together and is more beneficial for a newer runner to know how much they should be running to hit their goals.
Would recommend if you are aiming for less than 2 hours. I'd have hit my goal I believe had I not woke up feeling under the weather. I will follow this plan again in 2025 and smash that 2 hour barrier.
Overall Thoughts
I hope this guide has been useful for all things training, preparation and learning more about Wokingham half marathon. I hope this comes in handy for 2026 and I will be back to cut 20 seconds off my time and beat that sub 2 hour goal.