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Bath Half Marathon 2021. Add Sports Massage to Your Training and Make This Your Best Year Ever

Enjoy miles of painfree running and injury free running



Nothing keeps you running like a good targetted muscle massage to ease those aches and pains.
Bath Half Marathon Runners in 2009 on Pulteney Road

Bath Half Marathon 2021

Date: 5th September 2021
Start Time: 11.00am

Bath Half organizers anticipate having to make significant changes to the race in 2021 to accomodate COVID restrictions. Visit the race info page for more details. For example, it may be necessary to alter routes or restrict numbers to allow for social distancing.

Website: www.bathhalf.co.uk

More affectionately known as the 'Bath Half', the Bath Half Marathon is an annual city centre road running half marathon held in Bath, England. The Bath Half Marathon has been held every year since 1981, normally on the second or third Sunday in March and has remained a popular race for runners preparing for the London Marathon.

Charity fundraising: Large amounts of money (over £163,651 to 2015) are raised every year for a wide variety of local, regional, national and international charities, making the Bath Half Marathon one of the largest annual charity fundraising events in the southwest region.

Course around the city of Bath: The Bath Half is a fast flat course, straddling both sides of the River Avon. The race starts and finishes in Great Pulteney Street - with a roadway spanning 46 feet (14m) - one of the widest Georgian boulevards in Europe. The first mile is gently downhill down Pulteney Road to Churchill Bridge, then following two identical laps from Churchill Bridge, rising up past Green Park station, round Queen Square, then down Charlotte Street and westbound out of the city centre along the A4 road (Upper Bristol Road and Newbridge Road) to Newbridge and crossing the 'New Bridge' at the 'Twerton Fork' at the beginning of the dual carriageway. From here the race heads back eastbound on the A36 road back towards the city centre, along Lower Bristol Road, before crossing over Churchill Bridge and up Green Park again for the beginning of the second lap. At the end of the second lap the runners pass across Churchill Bridge, finally rising up Pulteney Road to the finish back in Great Pulteney Street.

The importance of regular sports massage as part of your marathon training
It's not hard to over train. That extra hard push to the finish, or to knock off a few seconds here and there. And, when you do, there's a price to pay! Sprain, strain, tear and st-r-e-e-e-t-ch, are all things you can do without even realizing. This will put a rapid end to improving fitness and endurance, at least for the time being. You'll be lucky if you can maintain the status quo, until you're recovered enough to make more headway.

And that's the problem really. It's not something you can put off. Most people don't train all year for a marathon (full or half), they would burn out long before they ever took the race. No. You set aside 10-12 weeks of training for a half-marathon (15-20 for a full marathon), and this presupposes you can carry your training through to the start of the race. What happens if you have an injury? You must take time off to recover! You run out of training time.

Muscles repair by blood flow, more precisely, by oxygen delivery. A strained muscle is tight, rigid, damaged, has trigger points galore, and therefore very little oxygen. No oxygen can enter the cells to repair/replace the damaged ones and healing is consequently slow. It's like trying to get water into a sponge you are holding tightly in your palm. It stays dry, even underwater, until you let it go, when it can engorge with water. Your muscle is no different.

Bath Half Marathon Runners in 2006 on NewBridge Road A muscle massage will help to open the fibres in your muscle tissues, allowing fresh oxygen and nutrients to flow into the muscle, enabling a more rapid recovery. Any dead cells need to be removed and massage stimulates your lymphatic system, which is your way of removing toxins from the body. Cleaning your inner terrain in this way enables your muscles to repair themselves and for your body systems to recover.

Scar tissue is an important by product of previous injury and normal tissue that exists alongside of scar tissue is the next target for injury. Massage can help to break down the scar tissue and increase the strength of muscle tissue around an old injury, making you less likely to have a recurrence.

There's no getting away from it - Massage feels great! It improves your mood, reduces anxiety, releases endorphins (which are the body's natural painkillers), and because of all the health benefits of a massage you may even see your times improve beyond anything you'd considered possible before.

I firmly believe massages during the weeks building up to a race are a must. If once a weeks is not an option financially, then once a fortnight is a good compromise. You will notice a big boost in your running and ability for at least a week afterward. Legs should feel really loose, usually from the minute you get off the couch, into the next days and into your runs. Regular massages prevent injury by creating the right conditions for your body to heal between runs.

You know very well when you are carrying an injury, the start of an injury, or the makings of an injury. Don't ignore the signs. Your massage therapist will be able to kick start the healing process, advise on recovery times and recovery treatments. More marathon runs are cancelled because of ignoring the early signs of injury than just about anything else, including the psychological impact of recognizing that you're not good enough, not fast enough, or not fit enough.

What sort of injuries are high risk for marathon runners?
The most common are: Muscle or joint conditions of the lower limbs, particularly stiffness, cramp, torn musculature or ligaments (sprains, strains and stress fractures). These are the sorts of things that massage and preventative therapy CAN help you with.
Next most common are: Topical skin conditions such as, foot blisters or flexural chafing, black toenail and sore or bleeding nipples. But I don't think massage will help in these conditions.
Other potentially serious conditions are: extreme thirst, hyponatremia, severe exhaustion with or without confusion, peripheral circulatory collapse, alimentary disturbances such as vomiting, diarrhoea, sunburn and windburn, and syncope (fainting). Again, these are conditions of the day and are difficult to prepare for without adequate training.

My warm invitation to you is this: If you are training for the Bath Half Marathon and live in any of the towns or villages in the list below, you are well within a 2-40 minute drive of The Haven Healing Centre, and I'd be delighted to help you in your quest to remain fit and injury free during your training. It is fair to say that anyone who is training regularly and training hard enough to increase distance and endurance, would do much better, and probably more quickly, by including regular treatments in their training program.
Please call Phil Chave on 01934 740275 to make your appointment or to talk about a treatment plan structured around your needs. Don't wait. Make your appointment today. You'll be glad you did!


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All These Areas Are Within Easy Reach of The Haven Healing Centre, Cheddar, Somerset
Abbots Leigh - Ashwick - Avonmouth - Axbridge - Babington - Backwell - Badgworth - Bagley - Banwell - Barrow Gurney - Bason Bridge - Bath - Beckington - Berrow - Biddisham - Bishop Sutton - Bitton - Blackford - Blagdon - Bleadon - Bleadney - Bradford-on-Avon - Brean - Brent Knoll - Bristol - Burnham-on-Sea - Burrington - Butcombe - Cameley - Catcott - Chantry - Chapel Allerton - Cheddar - Chelwood - Chew Magna - Chew Stoke - Chilcompton - Churchill - Clapton - Claverham - Claverton - Cleeve - Clevedon - Clutton - Cocklake - Coleford - Compton Bishop - Compton Dando - Compton Martin - Congresbury - Coxley - Cranmore - Cross - Downhead - Draycott - Dundry - Dunkerton - East Brent - East Harptree - East Huntspill - Easton-in-Gordano - Edithmead - Emborough - Englishcombe - Evercreech - Failand - Farmborough - Farrington Gurney - Felton - Flax Bourton - Freshford - Frome - Glastonbury - Godney - Green Ore - Gurney Slade - Highbridge - Highbury - High Littleton - Hinton Blewett - Hutton - Inglesbatch - Kelston - Kenn - Kewstoke - Keynsham - Kilmersdon - Kingston Seymour - Langford - Litton - Locking - Long Ashton - Lower Weare - Loxton - Lympsham - Mark - Marksbury - Mells - Midsomer Norton - Monkton Combe - Nailsea - Nempnett Thrubwell - Nettlebridge - Newbury - Oldmixon - Paulton - Peasedown - Pensford - Pilton - Portishead - Prestleigh - Priddy - Priston - Pucklechurch - Pudlow - Puxton - Queen Charlton - Radstock - Redhill - Rickford - Ridgehill - Rodney Stoke - Rooks Bridge - Rowberrow - Saltford - Sandford - Shapwick - Shepton Mallet - Shipham - Sidcot - Somerton - Stanton Drew - Star - Staverton - St Georges - Stoke St Michael - Ston Easton - Stone Bridge - Stowey - Street - Temple Cloud - Tickenham - Timsbury - Trowbridge - Ubley - Weare - Wedmore - Wellow - Wells - West Harptree - West Horrington - Weston-Super-Mare - West Pennard - Whatley - Whitchurch - Winford - Winscombe - Wookey - Wraxall - Wrington - Yatton
Training for the Bath Half Marathon? To book your sports massage at a convenient time, call: 01934 740275

Note: DISCLAIMER: This information is not presented by a medical practitioner and is for educational and informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read.

  Experience the wonder of complementary therapy by booking your appointment today.  
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