This morning I ran the Warwick Half Marathon, it was a tough route.  Much hillier than I thought it was going to be.

It went out into the countryside, it was really nice and peaceful.  Closed roads and no traffic to worry about.

The views were beautiful across the fields and farm land.  However, it made it a boring run.

The first few miles of views were a pleasure but then it all looked a bit samey.  There were a few people out to support but it's too difficult to get to some of the areas with the road closures.

It lacked the buzz of the Coventry Half and that is nothing compared to the atmosphere at the Birmingham Half.

As a result it has changed my view point on training for your first Half Marathon.

Location, location, location as they say in the property market.

Choose a city based Half, for your first one.  One where there will be lots of support and cheering.

The Birmingham Half is great fun all of the way around.  There are bands, radio stations etc but the people of Birmingham really get behind it too.  Putting speakers out in their gardens, handing sweets out, shouting out your name or the character you're dressed as.

It makes the tough bits seem easier and makes the journey to the end less of a battle.

Team Achieve have several runners entered for various Half Marathons this year.  If you are interested in doing your first one let us know.  We're putting to gather a programme specifically aimed at beginners running their first one, you will need about 16 weeks from couch to finish line.