I hit 40 this year and in a stereotypical manner I decided I wanted to set myself the challenge of running a marathon. I've been a recreational runner since 2011 and have run 3 half marathons before this and a couple of brutal 10 mile hilly trail races, plus a handful of 5k's.

As I started searching for an event I thought I could get prepared in time for, Leicester jumped out at me. It's not a big event, it's not a very attractive city and I hadn't read great reviews but it was the home of the specialist premature baby unit that cared for my youngest daughter some years back and so it resonated with me and trying to raise a little bit of money for them helped provide additional motivation. You can read a little about the back story at the link below if you like.


https://www.justgiving.com/Steven-Brain1

The Event
About 4000 people line up at the start line in a large and attractive park, 90% of whom are doing the half mara. The first 10kms or so are through some tired-looking parts of this post war city (apologies to any locals). The half mara peels off just before the 10km mark at which point the marathon leaves the city and heads into attractive countryside and villages, doing a large loop before coming back to the same spot where the half-mara peeled away and then following their route home via a lake-strewn country park then a final run through the city to the finish line.
It's a meandering, undulating route with no major hills, gaining only 164m elevation (according to my Garmin).

Race Day
A chest cold added to my pre-race anxiety in the final week and to be honest, my head was all over the place. I knew my goal of 4 hours was unreachable in my condition (if it ever was) and I was really worried about not finishing and letting down all the people who had donated to the charity on my behalf. I really should not have Googled "running a marathon with a chest cold" the night before in vain hope of finding reassurance.

Fortunately the night before the race was when the clocks go back an hour in the UK so I was able to get some rest AND get up early. For a 9:15am gun time I was parked at 7:30am about a 7 or 8 minute walk away (remember that duration, it comes back into play later). I like to get there early, drink a cup of tea, do a reconnaissance of the staging area and destroy the nearest portaloo (TMI - sorry).

Coupled with a hacking cough, the wind at the start was nothing short of cruel. Although the ambient temperature was about 10 degrees C, it felt closer to zero and everyone was having a good old English moan about it whilst we waited. I'd lined up at the "longer than 4 hours" marker and it took over 5 full minutes to cross the start line.

There was a long gradual downhill for the first 3kms which was quite a confidence boost. If it wasn't for the chest cold, I would probably have gotten a bit carried away at that point. As it was I kept it easy and stayed within 10-15seconds per km below my target of 6 mins per. I chatted with a few people up to the half-mara split point where suddenly it got really lonely. From having hundreds and hundreds of people around me to just a dozen or so within my line of sight and all spread out was a big change.

By this time my chest was clearing up nicely and I was getting comfortable. I'd seen one person passed out at the side of the road (being attended to) but I stopped fearing that would be me and just stuck to my rhythm.

I took as SiS gel at every water station every 5kms/30mins.
I took a Nuun electrolyte tablet every 10kms/60mins.

This seemed to work pretty well, though with tangible peaks and troughs as they kicked in and wore off. I really, really struggled at one point to do the mental calculation as to what is two-thirds distance and if I has passed it yet. I eventually got it, then 1 minute later couldn't remember the answer and couldn't calculate it that time. Odd.

Those winds came back to punish us several times. It wasn't quite take your breath away, but it was close. That seemed very cruel at the time. I'm sure at some point it was behind us and giving a push, but I didn't notice that at the time.

I can see from my Garmin splits that I pretty much stuck to my 6:00 per km rigidly give or take for inclines and descents. By the 32 km mark (20 miles) my watch was showing an avg pace of 5:52 per km. At this point I seem to have started slowing down getting to a worst of 6:33 before picking up a bit for the final few kms.

I got a huge mental boost from overtaking people. From when the mara group split, I think I got passed once only and I must have overtaken 50-75 people. Since my pace didn't alter, I guess they all went out too fast and ended up slowing and walking. As a newbie, that was very encouraging and surprising. I distinctly remember 3 people wearing "100 marathon club" t-shirts and a few Iron Man t-shirts and I guess they were having a bad day, but it helped me stay with it.

I've read here a couple of time (Carson I think) that you shouldn't train beyond 20 miles at it takes a heck of a toll on the body. I followed that guidance and now I know why. It's a real battering. My legs were like lead and my head was a mess, but I knew I couldn't succumb to the temptation of a short walk. I wouldn't have got started again so other than walking through the water stations I ran (plodded!) the whole way.

The final 6 kms were all uphill. Gradual for the first 3 but worse for the final 3. In fact the Garmin says it was only a 16m climb during the worst of those kms but it felt like a mountain to me. I was really hurting bad, but I kept thinking about the fighting spirit my youngest showed when she was born so small and that in comparison these final few kms were a small thing.

Unexpectedly, about a km from the end I heard my name called and it was my wife and 10 year old son. He ran with me the final km, urging me on. I was a mess. Poor kid had to answer the question "where is the end?" 4 times. My Garmin must have been a bit out as it was telling me I'd done the distance about 300m before I had. Cruel, cruel, cruel.

4hrs 15mins was my chip time. The photo taken afterwards is the worst, most unflattering photo I've ever had taken, but I'm proud to display it. It will be my profile pic here for a while now.

Post Race
It took 25 minutes to get back to the car. You'll recall it was only a 7 or 8 minute walk away. I was absolutely spent.

A HUGE thanks to everyone who gave me tips, support and kept me accountable during the training. It helped me a lot!! Whilst many people achieve incredible feats in life that dwarf a marathon, this was the biggest physical challenge I've ever undertaken and I am feeling pretty good about overcoming it.

I've learnt quite a lot in the preparation and running of my first marathon and I think I will write a full blog post so others might be able to avoid some of my mistakes.

I thanked every single one of the marshals along the route; "thank you marshall for your time today" and "thank you marshall for giving up your Sunday" though the last few came out as "thank you time" and "thank today" which must have been quite confusing for them. They were an enthusiastic bunch which was just what you need when there are no crowds to urge you on.