Where Bournemouth, Dorset
When April 2, 2006
First Man Robin Copestick 1:15:03
First Woman Jennifer Rhys 1:32:42
Last Finisher 3:25:49
No. of finishers 823
Bournemouth might not seem to have much in common with Chicago, but the 823 runners who entered the 24th Bournemouth Bay Half-Marathon might well have felt it had a greater claim to the title of "The Windy City".They might have wished that the 400 windbreaks for hire in summer along the seven-mile beach had been set up early.
Even on windless days the course is not propitious for PBs, thanks to the long climb up Alum Chine (where R L Stevenson wrote Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde) near the start and another "attritional" hill later on.
But battling into a strong east wind, nearly everyone - including the Paddington Bear impersonator - found the last five miles gruelling.
