“Do we have any marathon virgins here today?” I shot my hand up expecting to see a few others go up around me, only to have slightly shocked faces peering back. A round of applause went around and the countdown began from five, four, three, two, one. I was off, 26.2 miles of the Northdowns infront of me. I fell into step with another runner and he smiled “So this is your first marathon?” “Yea!” I grinned back “Hell of a one to pick!” “Well, who wants to do a boring flat one!” I laughed.
When I saw the advert for the Northdowns marathon a tiny seed was planted. Could I? Was it even sensible to consider it? How much training would I need to run that far? And it would be hilly….very hilly….and probably hot! I had started the year only really planning on doing obstical races, around 10k, maybe push it up to 20. I had never really understood the lure of a marathon. Why run that far? What could you possibly get out of it….except knee ache?! I had done an 8 mile off road run back in January mistakenly thinking it was an obstical race. At the time it had seemed hard work, 8 miles with nothing to break it up! I hadn’t trained properly for it, mentally. I had done the distance, but my running back then was to prepare for the bit I struggled with on the races. Distance running had not been on the agenda.
In March I did a half marathon with the Muddy Brotherhood. It was a road run, which I’m never keen on, but it was for a good cause so I stayed with them on it. I decided after that 13 miles wasn’t too bad. It was a doable distance. 26 though? Still a bit mental. So I pushed my training up a bit and then started reading books about Iron men competions and ultra marathons….my mind was begining to change on the subject. A friend ran the Manchester marathon and I floated the idea of the Northdowns to her. She thought it was mental. Too hardcore for her. The seed remained.
I put the runs I was considering on my calender and suddenly June and July had got very full. I had a run of four event weekends! The Southdowns half/London to Brighton weekend of madness. The Leeds Castle Triathlon. Bewl 15 and finishing with the Northdowns marathon. I wasn’t sure yet how doable this was, but having it infront of me pushed me on.
I started pushing up my distances and suddenly 13 miles didn’t seem like alot at all. By the time I did Bewl 15 I already had a 17 mile training run under my belt. Whilst at Bewl I tried to imagine going further. When I reached 10 miles I asked myself if another 10 felt ok? The answer was yes, I felt ready. I finished Bewl under what I expected and got in the silver medal bracket which spurred me on even more. I knew the Northdowns would be hard. I knew it would be hilly. I knew it would long. But I wanted it, I wanted to push that barrier and see how it felt.
“How you feeling?” My pacer from the start of the race had come along side again. We kept doing a kind of leap frog maneuver, mostly when he would rest at a drinks stop and I would power on. “Alright!” I was surprised to find I actually ment it aswell! I had forgotten to pick up my Garmin from the car so I was running entirely on gut and it felt good. I had to just rely on my internal guide to set my pace and stick to it. I found it was nice to just run, and enjoy it. Not be reminded of the miles ticking by or if I was on target. It didn’t matter. I was there to have fun. The route was an out and back, and the half followed the same way. When I got to the half turnaround point I knew I was nearly 7 miles in, only another 20 to go.
With the route being an out and back, every hill you pounded down you knew you would be coming back up! There were some nasty hills. I had decided I wouldn’t waste energy on anything too steep. I stuck to the plan and found others doing the same. The good thing about an out and back, is that eventually the front runners start coming past. This may sound absurd to those that know my competitive side. But the comradeship that forms on these races is epic. Every single runner congratulates you as they go past and you return it. It’s such an amazing push when your headed to that half way point, and knowing that, you give that push to those behind you as you head back home. I had a few moments of total piece on the run. When there was none around me, just the woods and the track and I could’ve been anywhere. I felt good up to mile 20, and then the run became mental rather than physical. I had never run this far. I had never wanted to before this year! I really had to dig deep. I wasn’t running any hills anymore. And when I hit the flats I really had to spur myself on to run again. I wasn’t going to let it beat me. The end was close, I knew this area, and I knew it was the last few miles. “Come on, you’ve got this” I kept pushing. I could see the finish, I dug as deep as I could and powered to the end, not quite a sprint but strong nonetheless. I was elated! I had done it! The medal was epic and everyone said it was an amazing effort for my first marathon. 4 hours 33 minutes, 8th woman. I couldn’t of been happier. As I was walking out and back to my car a runner was walking past “That was your first marathon wasn’t it?” I nodded enthusiastically and grinned “You must be wonder woman!” I laughed a thank you. As my knees started to remind me, I certainly wasn’t wonder woman, but I was now officially a marathon runner. So what next?!
Running and other stuff 