The morning started early. A 5 o’clock alarm and double and triple checking that I had everything I needed for the day. There wasn’t really much extra to remember besides the clothes I would be wearing and a few gels to see me through the early aid stations before the SIS equipped ones appeared. I decided to drive as at least then I had that to focus on and not the marathon I hadn’t really prepped for.
This would be my first official road marathon. I have run the distance numerous times before but always either during long chill runs, trail events, or 6-hour road loops where I never knew exactly when I had crossed the marathon threshold (gps is notoriously inaccurate, just look at all the Instagram reels about people topping up a measured course 10k because their watch says 9.9km). This would be the first time I would be running to see how fast I could do it, leaving everything on the course. Well, almost. In the last two years my brother has gotten into running. Manchester would be our first big event together, so I thought it’d be nice to run together. That took a little pressure off the whole not really training thing, and meant the day would be more about brotherly experience. Connor had also PB’d in the half marathon a week earlier, so a running buddy would help with pushing through on tired legs.
The logistics of a city marathon are baffling, hundreds of roads closed, grinding a city to a halt to the beat of 30,000 runners’ feet pounding the concrete. PB’s, heartbreaks, elation, cramp, racing to win and running for fun, we would see it all before the end of the day.
We ran in the 9:30 wave and positioned near the 3:45 pacers. This was Connor’s target, a roughly 5:22/km pace which seemed to be well within his abilities, having run the Sheffield half in a blistering 01:35:30. The atmosphere of a road marathon was something I was not quite prepared for. Having mainly run trail events, supporters on the sidelines are few and far between, concentrated around the few aid stations dotted along the course. Here it must have been 80% or more supporter along the entire course, with signs and words of encouragement between friends, family, and strangers alike. The crowds were so thick throughout the city centre, in places four or five deep. It was brilliant. I must’ve high-fived 20+ kids and received a speed boost from the same number of Mario mushroom signs. The atmosphere definitely influenced the both of us, and wordlessly the pace crept up to around 5:10/km average. I was a little concerned that this may be our undoing, knowing that pushing early on is a recipe for disaster. But it wasn’t. We were able to comfortably hold the pace through all 8 or 9 aid stations, grabbing a bottle at each and taking on as much water as we felt we needed then slurping a gel (I had no plan or practice for nutrition, but this worked out great).
By the time 20 miles rolled around I was waiting to hit the dreaded wall, or at least begin to fade or develop a niggle. This didn’t happen. If anything, we sped up, taking on the last 10k quicker than the first. Rounding the final corner to the home stretch we launched a final push. Weaving between runners to the roar of the crowd we closed on the finish, each finding our own path throughout the crowd before uniting just before the end to hold hands and finish at the same time in 03:36:54. A fantastic performance and a great day out. I am super happy with how it was paced, and even though the final sprint indicated we could’ve got round at a quicker average pace, the fact we ended up with a negative split gives me confidence I am maturing in my approach to running.
Two brothers with the same marathon PB, next year its racing time.
Stats
Moving time: 03:36:24
Distance: 42.195km
Elevation: 118m
Average Pace: 5:09/km
Average Speed: 11.7kmph
Calories: 3504
Average HR: 160bpm