Is St.Albans Half Marathon Hilly?
“Is St.Albans Marathon Hilly?” A common question we are asked about the race. Perfect Balance Clinic is proud sponsors of the event for the last 5 years running and we are often asked the question “Is St.Albans Marathon Hilly?”. Although one of the more difficult half marathons and indeed quite famous for its difficult terrain there are some amazing success stories that have come out of the clients that we have worked with how have run this half marathon before.
Is St.Albans Marathon Hilly?
One of the many factors that keep us busy on the day is the hills involved in St.Albans half marathon. The event is one of the more challenging events in the annual running calendar and indeed a common question asked by our clients and those wanting to find out more information about the race is related to the course profile.
Here is an outline of the course profile which you may find useful...
St.Albans Marathon course profile
We are often asked by people running the St.Albans half marathon what makes us so qualified at dealing with sports injuries and in particular high profile injuries that may have career-ending consequences. Our clinics operate in London, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire, and bar far from the events we support the St.Albans Half Marathon is one of the toughest events. That doesn’t mean its too tough, our advice is just to make sure you are prepared on the day and have followed advice to help strengthen and look after those leg muscles prior to the event starting (To read reviews about how our clients have got on with their races use this link If you have a niggle and want professional advice then the team at Perfect Balance Clinic are more than happy to help on the day. Our events team boasts some of our leading therapists and our whole team gets involved with this one. We often have to bring in extra therapists for the day and are often looking for volunteers who may want to get involved or help out under our guidance.
The course is pretty hilly and as such the common injuries people get, and therefore areas you want to pay close attention to in your preparation work are your calves, hamstrings, knees, and quads.
You may be thinking that I don’t have an injury, or I’m not the type of runner who sees someone like Perfect Balance Clinic. If you are running the St.Albans Half marathon event, if you are a new or more experienced runner and if you are doing this for fun or raising serious money for charity then you are exactly our type of client.
To give you some idea of the other people’s experiences here are 3 stories from recent clients.
Esther
Injury - Shin Splints
Amount of time put off before coming in - several weeks, thinking it would clear up itself
Time to recover - 2 sessions in 1 week
Result - PB after marathon distance in Manchester
Esther is a mother of two who recently came into the clinic after deciding she was going to run the Manchester Marathon and picking up shin splints. This is a painful condition affecting the front inside of the shins and resulting in pain on running below the knee, which tends to get worse the more you run.
Esther came to the clinic the week before the run, having left the injury over a few weeks. This is a common story. Often the sooner an injury is dealt with the better the outcome and more chance runners have of not having any issues on the day.
The cause of the condition was identified quickly, some home help was issued and 2 sessions later, Esther completed the Manchester Marathon in a new PB making a significant dent in her previous marathon time.
Esther raised a significant amount for charity through just giving and the team was very happy to have helped her to achieve a great result.
Perfect Balance Clinic pride themselves on exceptional client care, which is why people consistently choose the clinic for management, quick results, and exceptional service of their sports injuries and other injuries they may get.
To remind people that Perfect Balance Clinic doesn’t just see running injuries here’s another typical story and a very special person you may well recognise thanks to her tweet following her experience at the clinic.
Michelle Heaton
Injury - Aches, and pains for a charity event
Amount of time put off before coming in - ongoing and not had much advice
Time to recover - 1 session
Result - Left a glowing review - so she was very happy!
It was great to welcome a special guest down at our clinic a few weeks ago, Michelle Heaton. For those who are unaware, Michelle is a BRIT award-winning pop star and TV personality. Not only that, but she is also a FETAC-qualified personal trainer with further qualifications in pre and post-pregnancy exercise.
A few weeks ago Michelle participated in a week cycle challenge for Brain Tumour Research in India and needed our Sports Therapist‘s help to ensure she got no annoying aches and pains on her journey. Here’s what Michelle thought of her sports massage experience with Perfect Balance Clinic.
There is a sports massage and then there is a Perfect Balance Clinic sports massage. Apparently, you’ll have to come and see for yourself why everyone is talking about the team at Perfect Balance Clinic.
Tina Muir
Injury - Shin Splints and calf pain
Amount of time put off before coming in - Several weeks and possibly longer
Result - Left a glowing review about our team and services. She has paced the London Marathon before and is a St. Albans local so knows too well the answer to the question on everyone’s lips “Is St. Albans marathon hilly?”
As the clinic offers a high-end service not only for celebrities but also for the general public and athletes they often see really high-end athletes.
Here’s a story about Tina Muir - who you may well recognise from being the pacer for this year’s 2017 London Marathon.
It was great to welcome local St. Alban’s runner Tina Muir to our clinic for the first time, as she is taking a hiatus from her life as a Great Britain Olympic hopeful and professional runner, to focus on her recovery. Tina’s PBs are 16:08 (5k), 33:24 (10k), 1:13 (Half Marathon), and 2:36 in the (Marathon).
After working as the Community Manager for Runners Connect and Podcast host for Run to the Top, Tina is focusing on one of her other passions; helping other runners achieve their goals through the passing of her knowledge and experience to the community. That is why she created the Running for Real Community. Some runners doing the St.Albans Half Marathon may find this useful.
Tina certainly knows what success feels like, as she achieved her lifetime goal of representing Great Britain and Northern Ireland in a World Championship not that long ago.
Tina was seen as an emergency session by Stephen Makinde one of the senior team who works with all our high profile athletes, stunt performers, and in the spotlight clients. He got to work reassuring her and fixing her through dry needling and neural flossing mobility work.
Tina was so happy with her result that she was kind enough to put a post up on her Facebook page to recognise the service she received.
These are some of the more typical stories from Perfect Balance Clinic (novice to expert level sportspeople across various sports), but they have also helped 1000s of people with other injuries from back to neck pain, desk to birthing pains, yes they also have a pregnancy section to the clinic.
Do you want to know the answer to this question “Is St.Albans Marathon Hilly?”. Then you should speak to one of our team. If you need help or advice with your injuries whilst in training for the St.Albans half marathon then you need look no further than the sponsors of the event for 5 years running now.