I’ve run Manchester Marathon seven times, and when you’ve run it four or more times they add you to the ‘Wall of Legends’. If I’d run it again this year, which I’d been tempted to, I would have doubled that requirement. However, what put me off was not the race itself, but the difficulty I had with accommodation last year.
For this race I wouldn’t need to worry about accommodation, I could drive there on the morning of the race, park up, and run. I just wasn’t too sure how the running part of this was going to go considering after my return from Prague a few weeks ago I’d had a cold that wiped out another week of training, after already having had an easier week than planned the week before, and numerous runs that hadn’t gone to plan. As always, race day came round far too quickly.
With Berlin Marathon later in the year, for this one I decided not to have a goal, and to just run, and see where I am right now, and what I need to work on over the coming months. I parked up at the Fisherman’s car park, a last minute decision to avoid queuing for another ten or twenty minutes and no guarantee of being able to park at the Recreation Grounds. I then tried to pay, however as they don’t charge before 09:00 it meant the machines and the RingGo app wouldn’t let me. I’d have to pay at the start of the race. I’d overheard some assuming the inability to pay meant it’d be free today, I wasn’t going to take that risk.
It was about half a mile to where the corrals started, and it was a little on the chilly side. I’d wondered if I’d done the right thing wearing just a t-shirt, but I knew the forecast said it’d warm up quickly. I kept an eye on the time, not wanting to miss the point when I’d need to pay. I actually tried at 08:59, in case it’d let me pay early, but still reported that the parking was free. As soon as it turned to 09:00, the race started and I held back, so I could pay for parking. The app at this point stopped working, and was just continuously trying to retrieve tariffs but wouldn’t. Eventually I had to cross the start line, and continue trying whilst I ran. I even messaged my sister, to see if she could sort the parking for me. She didn’t see the message in time to help though.
It took from 09:00 until 09:12 for the RingGo app to finally work so I could pay for the parking. I’d already finished the first mile by this time! I could however put my phone away now, and concentrate on the race. For any other races that start at 09:00 in future, I’d have to remember to avoid their car parks in case all are the same as it’s unnecessary stress on race day.
The route was on its way out of town now, already past the Swan Theatre. There were people cheering along Evesham Road on this first lap. At the roundabout it then heads towards the Racecourse and Luddington. I noticed a sign saying “Car boot bank holiday Saturday and Monday.” I wondered if it was avoiding the Sunday due to this race, forgetting it was actually next weekend for the bank holiday. One person stopped around here with a pulled muscle; I can only imagine how gutting that must have felt.
Along this stretch, I saw a woman sitting on the curb with a baby chick in her hands. That really isn’t something you see in every race. It was starting to get warm already, and what I really wanted to see now was a water station. I wasn’t sure where they were, as unusually for me I’d not checked out the course map beforehand. I’d planned to do it after Prague, but never got around to it. I thought maybe around 5K would be right for the first one, and sure enough, a little after that it appeared.
Just after the first water station, there’s then a short incline out of Luddington around mile 4 - the first one that took real effort to go up. As I reached the top I saw it was then a pleasant downhill, so I thought to myself, “remember this on the next lap, push through, and then it’ll soon be easier.” Of course, I was thinking that I would be running until maybe mile 20 without walking.
It seemed the water had passed straight through me. I knew when I’d done Chicago Marathon I’d managed quite a few miles before needing to find a portaloo, and felt the same would apply here. Another mile passed by and that was mostly what I was thinking about now, could I at least make it half way before needing to stop? This stretch of road was half-closed, all the way to the turn towards Welford.
There was some music playing there, and workmen standing around clapping. I ran past a pub where I could smell food cooking, and wondered what it’d feel like running past that smell in another lap.
After leaving Welford-on-Avon, around mile 8.5, was the start of a long gradual ascent. I’d read previously that this race has a tough hill around mile 11, so assumed this one would be over quickly like the last one, and tried to just power through it. It kept on going and going, and eventually I started to walk. That was not the plan. I took it as a chance to eat a couple of jelly babies that were tucked well away in my Flipbelt, and sort out my buff so it was now around my wrist for mopping away sweat, Before I reached the brow of the hill I got running again, and found this to be a steep descent. I did my best to control my speed going down, figuring it would give my legs chance to recover a little.
There’s then another turn at the bottom of this stretch, and I could see they’d got a sign ready to put up to show that on lap 2 we’d carry straight on there. With the exception of walking up a little of that hill, my average pace was around 07:10/mi. It was about 10 seconds per mile faster than what I’d got in my mind a a target pace, and as it was slower than Prague Half, I figured that the pace would be fine; but I should probably ease off a little to help with the second lap when it came. I was glad to have my running cap on, as this stretch of countryside was without shade.
At Milcote the route moves onto the Stratford Greenway footpath which was still open to the public, so we had to keep an eye out now for pedestrians and cyclists. This footpath was once part of the Honeybourne Line, a single track railway, and this would lead most of the way back into town on a gravel/aggregate surface. I was very conscious that the loose chippings could end up inside my shoes, as often is the case.
“Run like the police are chasing you,” a spectator shouted through a megaphone after using a siren button on it. I wouldn’t run though, so that didn’t really work for me. I kept on running though, and eventually crossed a bridge. I realised this path could also help to get a fairly quick finish. Perhaps if I only walked again on that hill in the second lap, I could do quite well - maybe get 3:26 so it’d be comparable to my second ever marathon.
There was then another water station at around mile 12, and this time I walked whilst drinking, so I could cut across to the portaloos. A few seconds later I was going again, and followed the split to the left, looking enviously towards those heading towards the finish. There were definitely more people heading towards the finish for the half marathon right now. It felt like I was doing so much worse then Manchester last year - though it was probably about as hot.
It soon returns to Evesham Road, and the second lap has truly begun. After about a mile into this, I walked again briefly. It felt like this was an indicator of what the rest of this race was going to be like - maybe sub-4:00 was more like it now. I overtook a spectator who was running with a sign, “great running” he commented. I replied back with “and to you too!”. He laughed and said he was only running a few metres, nothing like what the rest of us were doing. I’d already realised that the spectators on this lap were few and far between.
On the first lap, I’d seen a woman holding a chick in her hands as runners had passed by. This time around, there were far fewer of us running through here, and she was now holding a fully grown chicken. “Had that first lap taken that long?!” I thought to myself with amusement. At the back of my mind though, I knew that long hill was coming up.
In the first lap I’d been eating jelly babies or two every few miles, but on this lap I’d completely forgotten about them. My main focus this time was look for shade where possible, and ensure I could get water at each station. I ran when I could, and walked when I felt I couldn’t. I’d pick a spot in the distance and decide that would be where I’d run to, thinking I could change the ‘goalpost’ when reaching that, but it was very rare that I could.
From the top of the hill in Luddington, I did actually manage to run a whole mile without walking, but this was an exception. At some point around here, a rapid response ambulance zoomed past, sirens blaring. I do try my best to run to the conditions and not overdo it; I wouldn’t to be in the position to need them. It was a reminder to take it easier as the temperatures continued to rise.
The hill out of Welford-on-Avon didn’t look as bad this time, but I still walked it all, and then ran for about half a mile until the split between lap 1 and lap 2 routes. This time it went through Long Marston, and joined the trail from there instead. It was an extra two miles approximately of trail, and this time it really did feel so much longer.
I saw a woman trying to stop her bike with a young child in a child seat from falling over onto the grass, but I couldn’t get there quick enough to help. I stopped to see if she needed help, but before I could ask she said “it’s okay, we’re fine, keep going!”
The sign for mile 15 was a relief, more water, and then just over a mile to go. This felt like a really long stretch of road, and I walked frequently. One guy told me he was okay, and then screamed, I think trying to push himself to go on. Someone else, who’d so far walked the whole half marathon route asked if I needed any water. With less than a mile to go I thanked them, but insisted I’d be okay without it for now. I then got running again, for the last little bit to the roundabout, and then walked for a few seconds before deciding I could now run to the finish.
“The finish will be in sight as soon as you go round this corner,” a marshal called out. They were right, but it sure seemed a long way to got for 0.2 miles. The route followed the path, with crowds cheering the runners for this last bit. I kept checking how far away the finish was, and then when the time was right I sped up to finally cross the finish line.
I finished in position 370 out of 1690 marathon finishers, with a time of 03:36:12. Certainly not my fastest, and not as fast as London Marathon 2015, which is what I’d hoped to match. I’d done better than Manchester 2025 though, on a more undulating course. Marathon 27 done.
My legs actually felt tired, but I kept on moving. You’re given a medal, and then water, and this is followed by some snacks: corn, protein flapjack, a choice of biscuits, and some Haribo. An air ambulance was in the field, so could only assume someone was in a pretty bad way. I saw ambulances speeding past after that as well - hopefully the number of casualties wasn't as bad as last year. I also hoped that Berlin marathon might be a little cooler in September, but I doubted that would be the case. At least now, what followed would be months of warm weather training, and time to acclimatise to it.