Half marathon showed city and its residents at their absolute best

SUNDAY was one of those days that if I hadn't been out for a run I'd have wanted to be.

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Runners make their way along the Cardiff Bay barrage during Sunday's half marathon

(KARA THOMAS/HUW EVANS AGENCY)

The sun was shining, it was dry, Storm Amy had all but gone, and there were pockets of breeze.

As the sun caught the leaves making their majestic turn to autumnal reds and browns and the waves in Cardiff Bay, it was one of those days when our capital looks at its finest.

That's not to say as I stood in the purple pen ready to start the 2025 Cardiff Half Marathon I wasn't questioning my life choices.

Why couldn’t I just have gone for a 5km plod to see those pretty sights - why oh why did I think this was a good idea?

My training hadn't gone to plan and for the last few weeks I’ve had probable Covid so as I crossed the line, my only aim was to get further than my longest training run and hit 12km.

After that, I honestly hadn't decided whether I'd get to that distance then slope off to the side and rapidly remove my number from my T-shirt so no-one knew I hadn't finished or simply walk the rest. As it happened, I did neither.