Thursday, April 26, 2007

 

Lochaber Marathon 2007


3:26;02












Race Results

The race went really well and pretty much to schedule. Conditions were almost ideal with a temperature of around 13C and light drizzle during much of the race. There was a bit of a breeze which was helping for the 1st mile and against for the last mile but generally a side wind for the rest. I had set out for a 3:28 schedule but ran the first 2 miles a bit fast in 15,05 (7,25 + 7,40). I got into a good pace after that at just under 8mins/mile and eventually turned in 1:42;40. I kept this pace until 20 miles but then had to start working a bit harder to maintain the pace. Also around this point I started passing other runners which gave me lots of encouragement. By 23 miles I knew I would break 3;30 which was my main goal. I pushed a bit harder on mile 25 and went for it on the last mile. I estimate that I probably passed about 20 runners in the last 6 miles with 12 of those being in the last 2 miles. I eventually finished in 95th place out of 402 finishers so I was really happy with that.

At the end of the race I had really bad cramp in my legs which I've never experienced before when running. It's only now cleared up on Thursday.

It was good having my family with me for my first marathon. This was actually the first time that my wife, Gillian, had seen me run. She will be running the women's 10K in Glasgow in about 2 weeks time so I need to give her as much encouragement and support before her race as she did for me.

I also wanted to mention a couple of friends who completed their first marathons recently. Frank Tooley ran the Paris Marathon in 4:06 and Robin Mitchell finished London in 4:56. They both struggled with injuries during their training and I know that they both had much harder conditions that we did in Fort William. Hopefully they will both persevere with their running and do more marathons in the future.

Now I need to plan my next race! I'm thinking Loch Ness in October and possibly the Lairig Ghru hill race on the 24th of June.

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