St Petersburg White Nights Marathon Race Review

On the 3 July 3016 I embarked on my first marathon abroad as I ran the St Petersburg White Nights marathon. The aim of this post is to share my experiences of this race and my experience of running a marathon abroad without turning into the running equivalent of Karl Pilkington's an idiot abroad.

First things first why was I taking part in this race? My visit to St Petersburg was part of a trip to Russia to visit my brother in law and some time running buddy Tom who is currently working in Russia. Several potential dates for the trip had been muted but when Tom suggested the opportunity to run the marathon as part of a trip that sealed things.

The White Nights marathon is so called as it takes place during the White Nights summer period in St Petersburg where as the name suggests the nights are white and light with the night not turning dark until around 11pm with the sun reappearing again at around 2 or 3am. However despite the white nights title the marathon was very much the usual day time affair with the race starting at 9am. 

We arrived in Moscow on the Wednesday with the marathon taking place on the Sunday. Thursday and Friday provided the chance to do plenty of sightseeing in Moscow before we boarded a sleeper train at midnight on Friday night which would take us the several hundred miles overnight north to St Petersburg.

Having a marathon as part of a holiday did take a bit of focus away from the race. I knew I was running on the Sunday and although I kept to my usual pre race schedule of a run on Thursday and a mile or two on Saturday I don't think my mind fully appreciated I wasn't just running on Sunday but running an actual marathon!

My build up to the race had been OK with my main focus being on enjoying this unique opportunity rather than taking the race super seriously. Having ran Halstead marathon at the beginning of May some two months previously I kind of believed that I would carry my fitness over and therefore I didn't focus as much of my training on 'marathon training' as perhaps I should have. Needless to say I felt this during the marathon and struggled with a bit of stamina and definitely felt I was at least one long slow run short of where I would have liked to have been. 

The more immediate build up to the race was probably far from ideal. Travelling naturally tires you out and we had hit the sightseeing pretty hard packing a lot in and racking up plenty of walking miles in the process. Coupled with a few nights of not sleeping that well due to being in a new bed, the nights being so light and rather hot and humid I wasn't in perfect condition but didn't dwell on these things and just tried to focus on running as best I could and enjoying the race experience. 

The actual race

The day of the race was expected to be hot, and I mean hot, 30degrees hot! I knew this race was going to be a warm one and after my bad experience of hot and humid running at Halstead I was somewhat apprehensive of running in the heat. I felt pretty prepared though as the UK had been pretty warm in the few weeks before the race and I had tried to get out to run in the hotter middle part of the day as well this in addition to the the several hours a day walking around sightseeing which I felt had helped acclimatise me somewhat. Nothing can prepare you for running in the heat though! I think the race temperature varied from around 28 degrees up to highs of around 30 degrees and was the hottest race in over ten years! 

My first observations of the differences between this race and UK races were apparent at the start line. Half an hour before the race start and there was already a lot of running going on, people running in circles near the start area and people running up and down adjacent roads. There was a 10K happening as well as the marathon but the amount of pre race warm up running was definitely more than I can ever remember seeing at a UK race.

One thing that remains constant at races everywhere is the pre race queue for the toilets! Our apartment was only a 20 minute walk from the start area but we arrived with the aim of giving us enough time for a toilet stop before taking our places at the start. The queues were enormous though, under estimating demand for toilets seems to be an international problem. Luckily we spied what can only be described as a 'toilet bus' a large bus decked out with toilet cubicles. There was a charge for this 'premium' service and there was only a line of half a dozen people waiting so we handed over our rubels and joined the line. The facilities were not any better than the portaloos but we were happy to not have to endure a lengthy wait.

The time soon came to line up for the race start and Tom and I both managed to squeeze into the cramped starting pen somewhere between the 3.30 and 4.00 pacers as we both felt we had the potential for a 4 hour marathon in us if things went our way. 

I was expecting a prompt and efficient race start but the start was delayed by several minutes and so we waited in the cramped pens with temperatures already hitting 28C.

The race was soon underway and I had planned to take things easy for the first few miles, this decision was taking out of my hands though as the course was so congested with both 10K and marathon runners sharing the route for the first 7K. 

I happily set into a rhythm and tried to take in the sights of St Petersburg and all the beautiful buildings. 

The first noteworthy point came at the 5K water station, there were no signs to say it was approaching and this caused a near stampede as runners swarmed the first set of marshals handing out water. It was the scariest running experience I have ever had, a gentle paced run suddenly turned into a shouting frenzy of runners sprinting to get their hands on some water. I wisely swerved the masses and grabbed some water towards the back of the station. 

The 7K point soon came and the 10K runners departed which made the course far less congested. 

With the heat increasing and the sun blazing runners unsurprisingly headed for the side of the road offering the most shade. This along with the roads being so wide led to the majority of runners often being so far away from the racing line which was marked with a blue dotted line. I generally tried to stick to the racing line where practical and often found myself running 10 or 20m away from any other runner, almost like running in my own race, which I enjoyed! The disparity in runners racing lines must have led to some very long and very short marathons! 

My first problem during the race came at around 17K (at this point I was still going along at around 4 hour pace) when the uncontrollable urge to empty my bowels started to appear. 

I had seen some portaloos for the race earlier so consoled myself with the thought that there would be more along the route shortly. Several hundred metres passed and no toilets, I asked the Marshall at 18K, she didn't seem to understand English and her reply started with a harsh sounding word beginning with a 'N' which I took as a negative answer to there being any nearby toilets. I had to take some walking brakes to help control the urge and this obviously slowed my pace. We passed through some parkland areas and I scanned the area as I ran for any sign of suitable facilities but nothing, at 19K I again asked the marshall, he looked around and shrugged his shoulders, not a good sign. Things were getting desperate, I was confident there would be a toilet at either the 20K drink station or near the 21/22K point where the race crossed past the starting area but could I hang on till then? 

It's OK I managed to make it to 20K where I found relief in a foul smelling portaloo by the side of the course. Now I felt like the race could begin again after a difficult few miles. I cracked open an energy gel and started to assess my objectives which I summarised as follows: 

• The heat was starting to get too much and I knew it would only get worse, finishing in one piece was the real aim now.
• A four hour finish time was off the agenda 
• My gold standard objective was a sub 4.10, but that was dependent on an awesome second half of the race. My silver objective was a 4.15 with my bronze target being to beat my debut marathon time of 4.26. Additionally I tried to motivate myself further by convincing myself I had to finish in under 4.30 in order to have a respectable time.

All these objectives were set without me having any real idea of my actual race pace as I was running completely naked from all timing technology, my only barometer was that I knew that the 4 hour pacer was still behind me, how far though I didn't know!  

I passed the half way mark in 2.05 but knew this was gun time and I wasn't sure how far behind gun time I had started. 

On I pressed through the 20-22K mark which provided a brilliant carnival atmosphere with lots of support as the course passed by the race start area. After that the course went through some quiet back streets and the battle began as the heat intensified.

The next mile or so were difficult until I decided to unleash my trump card by taking on a caffeine energy gel. Once this kicked in I started to find running a bit easier and was moving at a decent pace. 

The course took us back through the more central parts of St Petersburg and with it shaded streets which made things feel easier. At some point after the half way mark the 4 hour pacer had passed me but I still felt I was only 5 to 10 minutes behind 4 hour pace with some faster splits following my caffeine injection. 

The caffeine was starting to wear off as I approached 30K which coincided with leaving the shaded streets and heading out onto a soulless dual carriageway which would eventually bring us back towards the finish. 

I had been warned of this difficult stretch of the race on twitter by @pawsonkeyboard who had previously ran the event. A big thank you for all you advice and support it was really helpful! 

Despite knowing about this challenging stretch of road it didn't make it any easier and the fact that it was accompanied by heading back into the blazing sun was just a double whammy I couldn't cope with. A lot of walking followed before I pulled myself together to adopt a walk/run strategy which comprised of walk to a lamp post run to the next one, walk one lamp post, run two lamp posts, walk one lamp posts, run three lamp posts then trying to keep a 3:1 run/walk lamp post ratio going for as long as possible before an extended walking period and repeating the sequence again. 

The section of 30K to around 38K dragged big time but eventually I was in the final stages. It was during this section that the 4.15 and 4.30 pacers passed me which provided a depressing mental equivalent to a kick in the balls. The race was now all about keeping it together to finish in one piece with the most respectable time I could muster. I think in these kind of situations I have found your body gives you two options, one is to stop and call it a day, two is to keep going at whatever pace you are able to squeeze out of you weary body.

The finish

Luckily I managed to squeeze enough out of my achy tired legs and dehydrated heat affected body to get to the closing mile or two where I was greeted by so many cheering supporters. I obviously didn't understand any of their support or encouragement but they provided the required adrenaline boost to spur me.

I had prepared myself for a final assault on the last two kilometers where I was going to squeeze everything out of my legs to finish as strongly as possible but as I tried to increase my pace a debilitating sensation shot through my back. It didn't feel good so I was reduced to a walk, every time I tried to run faster than a hobble the pain returned so I just did what I could to keep moving until the adrenaline over powered me in the last few hundred metres and I ran through the finish. 

I crossed the finish line with a official time of 4.42.44 coming 1496th of 2311 male finishers. I was pleased I was around 40 minutes faster than Halstead in May but somewhat disappointed it represented my slowest city marathon. However it was a PB for marathons abroad as well as being a PB for me for marathons ran in Russia! You have to find the positive somewhere! 

In summary I feel privileged to have ran the event in a spectacular city in a race that not many runners from Western Europe take part in. There were not too many differences with a UK race and there were no real criticisms with the race organisation although there are places where this could be improved but then there are in most races. 

Overall I was blown away away with the friendliness and support from the Russian people, runners and supporters a like. I don't think I have exchanged high fives with as many spectators during a marathon as I did during this race. There were several occasions during the race where members of the public had gone out of their way to provide water to runners which was happily appreciated by runners. There were also two or three instances during the race where I was struggling where fellow runners gave me a tap on the back, a thumbs up and a smile and/or words of encouragement. In any race it is always great to experience support and camaraderie from other runners but in this instance it felt even more special that people were supporting me even though I was unable understand them. Despite the language barrier the sense of friendship and support for a fellow competitor was clear to see and this is probably the overriding memory I will take away from this experience.

Here's my Russian tourist board bit, I would recommend anyone to visit Moscow and St Petersburg if you get the chance they are amazing vibrant cities. The White Nights marathon I would similarly urge anyone to take part in if you get the opportunity, its a super flat course with strong PB potential if the temperatures stay down and is a great alternative to the usual European circuit. 

So with that challenge done and dusted I am turning my attentions to marathon number 10 in September which will be Bacchus and hopefully a new 10K PB over the summer.  

Innovation Sports Half Marathon in Victoria Park

So my second half marathon of the 2015 and my 14th overall but for South London running organisers Innovation Sports their first event in East London and Victoria Park. 

I arrived far too early as I had over estimated the efficiency of Sunday morning public transport. I still arrived to see the finishing touches of the race village coming together. Race number pick up point, registration point, bag drop off tent all the usual things you would expect at a race along with less regular features such as a mobile artisan coffee seller and a pet food stall courtesy of race sponsors Pooch and Mutt.

The events race compare was soon on the mic providing enthusiastic cajoling for the small bunch of runners gathered for the half marathon (later start times saw a 5K, 10K & a children's race). 

It was a very cold wintry morning and one of my biggest running challenges presented itself to me in the guise of trying to attach my timing chip to my trainers laces with my cold and numb fingers. 

It was an arduous and difficult task that was ridiculously painful on my freezing fingers, they don't mention these kind of things when they talk about the joy of running do they?! 

It was soon time to start gathering on the start line so I took my place in a small field of around 100 runners as the race compare encouraged runners to make there way to the start line. I noted quite a happy mixture of both seasoned runners and what looked like fresh faced first timers which made for a happy atmosphere. There seemed to be a few late running stragglers so we duly waited until all the runners were in place.

After a slightly protracted start the race was underway and we embarked on four laps of the park. Having run the RunThrough half marathon in the park only four weeks earlier I was eager to compare the two events and courses. Runthrough had opted for a six lap route running a simple lap of the perimeter of the park with a lap of the running track to finish. Innovation however opted for a more twisty turny four lap route which included a small section over grass on each lap.

I much preferred the Runthrough six lap course however the Innovation Sports way did provide much better views of the park and of the surrounding East London area. The innovation course was far too complicated though and doubled back on itself at points, which made it hard to run a fast time and could also be mentally challenging. 

The other problem was that the course was looooong, I and several others (according to strava) measured the course quite a bit in excess of 13.1 miles. I'm sure the organisers did their best to ensure the route was accurate but all the twists and turns might have added a few extra metres either in actual distance ran or 'virtually' according to the inaccuracies of strava.

The course though was very well marshaled with several marshals positioned in the key spots to direct and cheer on runners. There were one or two girls stood out on the course who were of incredibly cheery disposition despite the bitter cold, hats off to you guys your support was awesome! 

As for my actual run, I really tried to focus on consistent pacing following my recent attendance at the running works seminar. Although I didn't manage to maintain my desired pace I did feel a lot stronger than my run in February and was able to enjoy the run itself a lot more. I over estimated my strong finish though as I kicked for home a bit too soon (at about 18K) thinking I could finish with a few quick kilometres and I soon struggled to maintain a strong finish in the final kilometre. 

Post race a medal, a tshirt, a bottle of water and a cereal bar provided satisfactory race loot. The attendance of a mobile coffee vendor then came into its own as I was able to purchase a nice hot caffeinated drink to warm me up and give me a post race boost. 

Overall an enjoyable mornings running and I am very much starting to love running in Victoria park. As for innovation sports I don't know if I am that likely to run another of their events purely as I don't see myself venturing over to their regular Clapham home anytime soon, but if you happen to be based a bit closer definitely give one of their races a go as they are an enthusiastic bunch aiming at putting on fun and enjoyable races. 

Robin Hood Marathon Race Report

The Robin Hood Marathon, Nottingham 2014, the second time I have ran this marathon in addition to the two times I have completed the half, my fourth marathon overall and the second in my three marathons in three months series.

Despite experiencing an awful build uphttp://www.beoutrunning.com/2014/09/48-hour-marathon-countdown.html the run had a very satisfying if surprising outcome I must admit.

Although I missed out on my sub 4 hour target I still achieved a PB of 4.09.55 some 16 minutes knocked off my PB time!

The Robin Hood Marathon has started advertising its new route as being flat with great PB potential and this proved to be very much the case. Any hills I remembered from the old route have been taken out to leave a course as flat as a pancake!

Arriving in Nottingham on Saturday afternoon I was eager to stretch my legs after the long car journey and I did so with an enjoyable walk along the Trent to the race village.

Its always nice to settle yourself by seeing the start area the night before and to get an idea of things before the storm of some 10,000 runners hits!

The only other preparation I did was to make sure I drank plenty of water so I was well hydrated and to lay out my race kit ready for the morning. 

Along with a steady 5 minute jog on the hotel treadmill I also had a good stretch before treating my legs to a relaxing 10 minute Jacuzzi session which I found most beneficial!

Saturday evening I picked a local Harvester restaurant for my pre race dinner as I thought this the best option to replicate my usual pre race dinner. I ordered a half roast chicken with mashed potato and tucked into a bowl of salad from the salad cart managing to restrain myself to not adding any of the tempting but fat filled diary based sauces and dressings. For any regular harvester customers in case your wondering, the salad cart really loses its appeal when you take the sauces and dressings out of the equation!

I did cause a certain amount of confusion from our server when I requested a side order of a jacket potato in addition to my mashed potato. I don't think anyone had ever not ordered chips as their potato based side before and the shock at someone wanting to order what is surely the least attractive side option in the form of a jacket potato was clear to see by the   confusion on his face. Still I managed to get enough calories and carbohydrate from my evening meal to stand me in good stead for the race ahead.

Race morning came around after a pretty good nights sleep and despite the same lack of enthusiasm for marathon running that had haunted me all week I felt OK.

By OK I mean that I felt tense, pensive and all together not in a good mood but physically just about alright.

The race itself

My aim was clear, I knew to have any chance of running under 4 hours I needed to clock the first half at comfortably under 2 hours and I was aiming for around the 1 hour 50 mark.

After some terrible organisation and lack of communication with runners the race finally got under way along and I set off along with around 10,000 other runners.

As you would expect from a large race for the first few miles I was somewhat cramped in and unable to run at a natural pace and had to very much go with the flow. I was still happy enough with the early pace and once I got settled into a rhythm decided I needed to work hard through the next few miles to get myself on track for hitting 10K and then halfway on target.

The early miles were plagued by concern over my bladder as soon after the start I started to develop toilet urges, luckily these were only for a straightforward call of nature for a number 1 and the dreaded urge for the far more complicated number 2 never came.

Most of the scenery in the early part of the course was pretty grim as we ran around the roads in and out of the Boots factories and warehouses so I was able to concentrate on the running. I did work hard and managed to get ahead of both the 2 hour half marathon pacer and the 4 hour marathon pacer. 

After several miles in I was pleasantly relieved to notice the worst hill (going through the University of Nottingham campus) I remembered from previous years had been completely taken out! 

We were soon heading back towards the city centre and out onto the Trent for the split at 11 miles where the marathon runners go on to complete their 15 extra grueling miles away from the buzz of the city centre and race village. 

I think it is this race that has galvanised in my mind that I much prefer smaller events with a few hundred runners as opposed to the mass participation city centre affairs. With this in my mind the split with the half marathon runners held no fear for me, to give you an idea of the split and the solitude of the marathon around 1500 people complete the marathon compared with some 7500 half marathon runners. As I approached the marathon split it must have been easily a 80%+ split of runners heading to the finish to complete the half marathon.

With the marathon now well under way I felt pretty motivated as I kind of thrived on the sense of having a superiority over the half marathon runners as I was partaking in a grander challenge.

I duly hit the 13 mile mark in a little over my target time of 1 hour 50, now it was time to get to work and focus if I wanted to finish in and around the magical 4 hour mark. I set myself a target of 25 minutes for the 16 mile mark and my next energy gel, 8.20 mile splits pretty tough going but attainable. I rose to the challenge with relish trying not to focus on the scenic part of the course around Colwick Country Park.

16 miles was hit in my target time and I allowed myself to walk for a bit while I adjusted my hydration pack, took on an energy gel and gathered my thoughts for the remaining miles. I felt good with a feeling of having plenty in the tank and knowing that I was still ahead of the 4 hour pacer made me feel confident. 

As I prepared myself to start running again half a dozen or so runners breezed past me running strong, a white haired gentleman in the middle had the 4 hour pacer flag attached to his back.

Gutted! A real body blow punch tot he stomach kind of feeling! 

Undeterred I was confident I could keep with them until at least the 20 mile mark. The pace however I found a bit much and I fought to keep up, by mile 18 I realised maintaining the faster pace was not only not doing me any good but was not sustainable.

I had to slow it down, I have always considered miles 18-22 the toughest miles in the marathon, its where many runners hit 'the wall' and even though you have broken the back of the race 8 miles is a hell of a long way to go and there is a whole lot of running ahead of you!

Miles 18 & 19 were tough, it was a constant battle to not walk while I tried to push myself to keep going as fast as my legs would carry me.

The mental battle raging in my head was not helped by the sight of at least three other runners on the road side looking in a bad way receiving medical attention. On the one hand I was trying to push myself to my limit while the plight of other runners passed out on the floor warned me to not push too hard.

Luckily these miles didn't drag on too long and mile 20 was soon in sight. This was the part I remember vividly from my last attempt where my aim had been to run to the 20 mile mark. Mile 20 is the point of the course where you come out onto the great expanse of water that is Holme Pierrepont the former national water sports centre.The lake is 2km+ long and a few hundred metres wide and the marathon route encompasses about three quarters of it. Many runners find this section completely soul destroying as the water seems to go on forever, which to be fair it pretty much does! I was prepared for it though and stuck to my tactic of only allowing myself to walk small pre defined sections before running again.

Mile 22 came around pretty quickly and with it the smell of the finish line. By now I was in a great routine of running as far as I could, slowing down to a walk, taking a few deep breathes, counting out ten paces before setting off running again. The tactic was working well apart from a sharp pain that kept reoccurring in my left hip which did curtail my efforts. 

The last mile or so of the course  really tests your mental toughness as you head back towards the finish all be it on the wrong side of the river. You can hear the cheers from the finish area, the commentator welcoming runners to the finish but although you are only a few hundred metres away there is still over a mile to go, so near and yet so far! 

The relief at crossing the bridge towards the finish life injected me with a shot of caffeine like energy for a few hundred metres at least. The last half mile I managed to keep a steady jog going as I pursued my new target of finishing in under 4 hours 10, unfortunately my watch was out of sync with the official timings so I ended up a bit close to comfort to my target!

Overall I was pleased with my performance and felt satisfied with how well I ran. Being honest I know I wasn't in as good as shape as my last two marathons and my last two weeks of preparation left me in a much weaker state physically and mentally than I had been previously before a marathon. 

My initial reaction to finishing the marathon was to repeatedly mutter 'running is horrible!' which indeed it is! I came close to a Steve Redgrave moment of almost declaring to my wife I didn't want anything to do with another marathon ever again but I knew the pain and anguish would only be temporary.

The last few days since the marathon have reminded me how great running is though as I reflect back on my achievements and bask in the glow of a great accomplishment. The great feeling of running a marathon that lasts for 2/3 days after running one is an almighty feeling that drives me on and motivates me to want to run more marathons despite the hardships of training and the pain endured while running.

Vanguard Way Marathon Report

Time to reflect on my third marathon yesterday and my first of three marathons in the next three months. Warning this blog may turn into a bit of a marathon read and doesn't even fully cover everything that happened along the way! 

Yesterday I completed the Vanguard Way Marathon, a small local trail marathon starting out in South Croydon following the Vanguard Way trail out to Limpsfield and back. The race was organised by a member of the 100 marathon club and I was in awe of some of the runners I ran with who were rightly introduced and acknowledged at the start of the race, a few had run in the region of 500 marathons and one gentleman was on the verge of completing his 1000th marathon in the coming weeks! If that didn't motivate me to run then I don't know what would have!

The run turned out to be really enjoyable with some great trails, countryside and scenery to experience. I enjoyed some great running and felt stronger and ran more than in previous marathons. I also experienced some great camaraderie with my fellow runners along the course. 

The marathon turned out to be a rather eventful few hours of running.

Preparation

In the week leading up to the marathon I had very much enjoyed 'the fun part to marathon training', that is the bit where you get to eat loads under the guise of 'carb loading'. Despite eating lots I managed to keep it all healthy and clean with lots of potato, flapjacks and tortilla wraps, you can read about some of my carb loading fun here. 

I felt pretty good in the build up to the run although I had missed out on a few long training runs due to illness and injury, see previous blog articles here.

The start of the marathon was about an hours drive from home, so I made sure I was all organised and ready to go the night before with only a little bit of packing in the morning. We set off in good time and we managed to find our way their easily and got there in plenty of time. I say 'we' as although I wasn't running with anyone I had my number one supporter my wife with me acting as driver, support crew, photographer and cheer leader.

This was my first event with my camelpack and I must say it worked out well as it was comfortable to wear, allowed me to stay well hydrated throughout the run and I was able to carry energy gels a lot more comfortably than my running bum bag I used previously.

The Actual Run

The marathon was a small scale trail marathon only in its second year. The course was marked out with tape and spray paint arrows which required a certain amount of self navigation and awareness to ensure you stayed on the right track.

Lets just say that although I didn't have any real running problems my navigation wasn't as successful! 

Detour number 1

After around 3 or 4 miles I was part of a largish group of maybe ten runners coming down a trail picking up a decent speed enjoying a decline in the trail. We came to the bottom of the section, over a crossroads in the path and I followed everyone through another gate up onto the next part of the trail. As the trail started to get steeper I was now part of a group of maybe 20 runners when 2 or 3 runners started to raise questions over whether we were on the right path and if any markers had been spotted. After a bit of discussion they decided to head back but I made the decision to press up following the majority of the other runners ahead of me.

It turns out we had missed our turning and had ended up going up and around the golf course rather than along the bottom of it an up the other side. After a mile or two we met up with the proper route again and I think the detour only added a short distance to the course. Although I was at fault for not observing course markings and getting caught up with the group I don't consider this error to be my fault which is frustrating as it cost a lot of time in deliberating and discussing which way to go and how to proceed.

Detour number 2

Just after the half way turnaround I was running with another guy who I had been running with for several mile and we had struck up quite a bit of conversation about the course and the run. The route took us onto a bridge over the motorway and back onto an off road track into a wooded area. I was confident we should then veer off to the left down a few steps onto another trail. Following the guy in front I kept my eyes peeled for this passage to the left but couldn't see it so I thought I must have been mistaken and kept on running up the track. A few minutes later and I started having serious doubts over where we were heading and sure enough shortly after the other guy stopped to question me. We consulted the map and decided we were unsure of where to head so should continue to the next junction before deciding how to reconnect back with the real trail. We were soon caught up by another runner who confidently reassured us we were on the right path and should keep going straight on. I voiced my concerns that we had missed a turning to the left through the woods and although the other two thought this might be correct we decided going back would waste too much time and we should just try to reconnect to the real route. After pressing on for several minutes with the three of us having contrasting views on how to proceed I decided it was time to whip out my phone to consult my mapmyrun app which had been tracking my run. I quickly identified where we had gone wrong and where we needed to head to reconnect with the route. A few hundred metres down the side of a busy road and we met up with familiar territory and the course. Easily a mile wasted and more time lost in discussing where to go. 

Worse than the detour upon trying to quickly navigate the most direct route through a field of cows I failed to notice a rather large muddy patch and ended up taking several large squelchy steps. As if that was bad enough the mud wasn't pure mud and contained the kind of smelly stuff you unfortunately find in cow fields! My trainers got pretty dirty and wet which made them heavy for the next few miles but the worse thing was the stinking smell caused my the cow excrement coming from them which thankfully only lasted for a few miles! 

Detour number 3 

Coming into the last 4 or 5 miles the trail passed through some woods before coming out onto residential roads towards the finish in Lloyd Park. I was managing to find my way OK while trying to make ground on two runners a few hundred metres ahead of me. I remembered from the way out that there was a tight poorly signed corner which I think I managed to take, I was then heading straight along a path for ages waiting for the path to come out onto roads. It took me too long to realise I had gone to far and obviously had missed a turning. Upon consulting my phone to check mapmyrun My heart sank as I realised I had ended up a long way off course. I quickly planned the most direct route to link me up with trail again determined to get back on course and complete the route. My heart quickly sank as I realised it was around 3 miles to join me back up towards the finish line and the start of this journey was a steep long hill! I walked/jogged my way towards the finish carefully checking my map to make sure I was heading the right way and taking the most direct route. 

I decided to keep going until I hit the marathon distance and then to just concentrate on getting back to the finish line. I had spent so long looking at my map and trying to navigate that my race time had suffered greatly.

After an age I caught sight of the park where the finish was, I felt like a right idiot heading towards the finish line in pretty much the opposite direction of the actual course and my wife was shocked to see me creep up on her from the wrong direction! 

So the finish brought a range of emotions, I was so pleased with my actual running performance as I ran throughout the 5 hours it took me to complete the course and my legs were full of running in the final miles. I was so disappointed to have messed things up so much though! 

I was very downhearted to have put so much effort in and sacrificed so much to end up with a disappointing time caused largely by my detours and the delays and stoppages they caused. 

Recovery

Post race apart from the anguish, frustration, disappointment and annoyance of taking so many detours physically I felt good, really good! Throughout the day I kept waiting for the pain to hit me but it never came. 

Directly after finishing I did a bit of a shakedown and cool down and as well as taking on plenty of water I consumed an energy drink, a protein shake, a banana, a mars bar and a tortilla wrap. As well as no physical pain I didn't suffer any stomach issues either during the race, directly after the race, after eating or during the drive home.

I did take a huge amount of satisfaction from feeling so good after such an effort and knew it meant I had trained and prepared very well.

First thing I did when I got home? Before I jumped in the shower I popped my favorite source of post run dirty carbs in the oven and as soon as I was washed up I devoured it pretty much as quick as I could.

A Chicago Town takeaway style filled crust pizza, hits the spot every time! 

Thanks for reading and I plan to share more thoughts from the marathon and my experiences soon.