The Oxford Half will soon be upon us and our pacers are ready to motivate you to the finish line! We asked them a few questions so read on to get to know them a little better…
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
- Pub landlord – Richard Gibbs
- Long distance lorry driver – Celeste Miles
- Astronaut. I love Star Wars so to fly a spacecraft would have been so cool – Andrew Muir
- Still trying to find out! – James Bream
- I always wanted to be a train driver as a child,unfortunately I didn’t make it – Stephen Standley
- Pilot – Sam Barrell
- Football crazy – Andy Sulley
Who is your sporting hero?
- Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff – Andrew King
- Sporting hero would have to be Cristiano Ronaldo. How he has kept up his fitness and high level of focus for over 15 years is incredible! One of, if not the greatest! – Steven Salazar
- David Rudisha, he’s an exceptional athlete and looks so effortless when he runs – Ben Upjohn
- Sporting hero has to be Andy Murray – hard work and determination pays off – Harriet Penney
- Paula Radcliffe or Mo Farah. I loved watching Paula run and still remember her running her world record. Mo Farah was the starter of my first ever half marathon and I got to high five him – Emma Timms
- My sporting hero is Usain Bolt, I think he would be a party animal – Rebecca Walker
- Sonia O Sullivan- She is one of Ireland’s most renowned female athletes. She is a motivated, determined and courageous athlete who never gave up – Sinead Boland
- I admire Mo Farah, and maybe one day I can run as fast as him! He’s also a really nice person with interesting YouTube videos! – David Lu
- Graeme Obree, the cycling legend and design genius. I love it that he made a record breaking bike out of washing machine and that his kitchen table is covered in tools and bike bits! – Alastair Green
Top tip for race day?
- Focus on what you can control. And if it rains, skin is waterproof!! – Vicky Ledbury
- Have a healthy nutritious breakfast and keep hydrated throughout and have a jog before the race just to get legs warm for the race – Imran Hassanjee
- To simply have no expectations on time and to just enjoy it. Putting pressure on ourselves is something we all do but most of the times is unnecessary – Simona Scavo
- Keep your head up, take in the sights 13 miles is a long time to look at pavement – Justin Lennox
- Don’t wear headphones, take in the atmosphere! – Jessica Daniels
- Put a smile on your face and enjoy it; even if your run isn’t going to plan, you’re surrounded by people sharing your passion and giving it their all, use their energy and enthusiasm to see you through and have a blast doing it – Russell Gritton
- Smile for the cameras! – James Smith
| Finishing Time | Name | Club / Crew |
| 01.30 | Nick Coupe | Oxford City Athletics Club |
| 01.30 | Sam Barrell | – |
| 01.35 | Ben Upjohn | – |
| 01.40 | Imran Hassanjee | Severn AC |
| 01.45 | James Smith | Fordy Runs Running Club |
| 01.45 | Sinead Boland | Midnight Runners |
| 01.45 | James Bream | Stafford Harriers |
| 01.50 | Benjamin Annear | GoodGym Cardiff |
| 01.50 | Andrew Muir | Abingdon AC |
| 01.50 | Steven Salazar | Waverley Harriers |
| 01.55 | Katie Simmonds | Lululemon’s We Are Runners, Haslemer e Border AC |
| 01.55 | Nikolaos Kanellakis | University College Oxford |
| 02.00 | Emma Healey | WMN Run |
| 02.00 | Stephen Standley | Redway Runners |
| 02.00 | Ella Thurston | Adidas Runners London |
| 02.00 | David Lu | UCL Cycling Club |
| 02.00 | Tom Dolan | Lonely Goat Running Club |
| 02.05 | Alastair Green | St Albans Striders |
| 02.05 | Rebecca Walker | RAFAA |
| 2.10 | Philip Jefferies | |
| 02.10 | Andrew King | Hazlemere Runners |
| 02.15 | Emma Timms | Rugby & Northampton AC |
| 02.15 | Andy Sulley | Headington Roadrunners |
| 02.20 | Hayley Coates | St Edmund Pacers |
| 02.20 | Harriet Penney | – |
| 02.30 | Rich Gibbs | Woodstock Harriers |
| 02.30 | Russell Gritton | Run Things Run Club |
| Joggier | Jessica Daniels | – |
| Joggier | Simona Scavo | Lonely Goat Running Club |
| Joggier | Jarnail Singh | Backpackers Chasing Lights Collective |
| Joggy | Justin Lennox | York Knavesmire Harriers |
| Walk/Jog | Vicky Ledbury | Active Soul UK |
| Walk/Jog | Celeste Miles | Backpackers Chasing Lights Collective |
Entries to the Oxford Half are no longer available but you can still join in over the weekend by applying to volunteer.