Marathon Number 9. Shakespeare Marathon. Inspired by his Birthday Celebrations.

And so to a flattish marathon and the chance of achieving a PB; a GfA place at London Marathon and possibly going under 3 hours. Was it to be or not to be?

The weather all week had not been great and the weather forecast for the rest of the day was worse with rain, rain and more rain making the road slippery and the Greenway wet, muddy and dotted with puddles as well as rabbit holes which signs kindly warned us away from potentially breaking our ankles! But it was mild and I found myself at the start line stripping off to just the TCHC vest.

One thing was clear from the very start of this race. This was a superbly organised event that oozed slickness from the start. A very different feel to it than some races that I have recently finished! The photo above was taken from the car park where I parked about 45 minutes from the start of the race. The tent on the left is where I picked up my number and chip as I had entered the race late and had tea and coffee for all finishers. On the right the finish line is clearly seen. There were plenty of loo's and further to the left a male changing block, showers and a bag store! This meant that you could cross the finish line, get food and hot drink go straight to your car for clothes and on to the changing room to get clean, dry and warm. No faffing! I hardly queued the whole morning even out of the carpark after the event. Seriously impressed. Thought and planning has gone into the event and other organisers seriously need to up their game to get to this level of quality. The full marathon was only a few quid more than the Sheffield Half Marathon and they even had bottled water every 2 miles!... And its reasonably sized as well with about 2000 in the half marathon and 730 in the full marathon.

Anyway, to this race and I had multiple things I wanted to achieve. I was not about to waste a sunny(in Derbyshire) day with the kids on a round trip of 200 miles and a wet run for nothing. Top of the agenda was attempting to get a 'Good for Age'(GfA) time for London next year. I say attempt as there is still some dispute over whether this course is accepted as it has sections of disused railway line, so we'll see. This 'qualifying' time is set at 3 hours 5 minutes. Second on the list was getting a PB which if I achieve the first task then was sorted as I don't tend to do road running. Lastly with a fair wind behind me it would be great to dip under 3 hours. The course was more of a slightly undulating one with 1 notable peak over Rumer Hill on each lap but generally long flat sections throughout.

So chucking caution to the wind I set off at 3 hour pace and felt good through 10k and up and over Rumer Hill for the first time. I actually struggled more on the steep top part of the descent but happily pushed on to go through the half way point in about 1 hour 29 mins. Unfortunately around 26 or 27k I really struggled to maintain the pace. I realised I was at serious risk of not finishing if I tried to carry on at the same pace. I just felt the batteries had run out. I had a quick change of plan:- Just get over Rumer Hill for the second time and do some quick maths on what I would need to do to come in under 3:05 given that I had about 5 minutes in hand.

The last 6 miles on the Greenway with the puddles and mud were a bit grim but it wasn't too slippery and apart from a little wobble between 41-42k and some yelling and growling at my legs over the last 15k it was relatively straightforward! Actually it was bloody hard work and pleased to finish in 3 hours 4 minutes and 4 seconds. But not as hard as getting out of the car after the 100 mile journey home 2 hours later! Nothing beats Sunday roast lamb after a Marathon. Especially when theres no washing up to do because you're at the inlaws! Thanks, it was the perfect recovery alongside a pint of Gardeners Tap.

I think the key thing I have to be pleased with is the time considering I haven't done any speed work and flat road is not my thing. I also can't underestimate the fatigue from 8 previous marathons in 6 weeks. What I'm more impressed with is how good my legs were later on in the afternoon and Monday at work. I think I could have easily run again, ok so not quick and not pretty but testament to the type of training I've put in. So GfA done and I will hopefully be accepted by the London Marathon in June for race next year. And if a place is secured then this can be all about flat speed work on the back of all this endurance. So Alls well that ends well. What am I going to do for my pre-run photo when I run out of fingers?

Shoe Choice: Nike Icarus Stealths
Stats. Distance: 42.2 km  Elevation: 0.13 km  Total Dist: 390.6 km  Total Elevation: 5.79 km