The Johnson Crane running race holds a special place in my heart. It’s where I managed to run my first half marathon but it’s also the race where I hit my first (and my only) wall.

The race is held out in Benoni where it’s pretty flat. It’s hugely popular and this year, the marathon and half had to be delayed by 30 minutes due to traffic congestion. No wonder with 6 000 entrants!

Loads of runners had entered the 10.56km (quarter marathon) race. Young, old, kids. I managed to weasel my way to the front area so that I wasn’t starting at the back of the group. Gun went off and so did we.

The race is not too challenging but what makes it different is the fact that it is flat. Very flat. There are no undulating hills to help break the run. Sometimes a flat run can actually be quite tough because of this reason.

For the first time ever, I was able to run a full 10km race without stopping to walk (largely due to the awesome help from Craig aka @biggestbossfan). Yes, we did stop maybe twice to walk for 1 minute but compared to other races, this was a huge improvement for me. It definitely helps running with someone!

I also managed to run the race in under 8mins/km. We finished in 82 minutes. Bearing in mind this was a 10.56km and Craig did point out that it took him on approximately 2mins to pass the starting line due to the number of runners, I was thrilled!

Considering I was averaging 80 minutes for a 10km, here I ran a 10km, plus another half a km in 82 minutes. A personal best (PB)!

Rating: 8/10