A Good Plodder On-er

Although ultra races are my favourite a big step on the way to this was the marathon.

My first marathon was in Brighton in 2012. It was a big step up from a half marathon and I found it very intimidating. I promised my husband that this would be my one and only marathon which I believed at the time (although he didn’t). It followed my diagnosis of breast cancer and mastectomy in Oct 2011. I was lucky I had no chemo or radiation so could get straight onto training as soon as (or maybe before) I had fully recovered. Having my body do something hard and new was important to me, it made me feel I had some control over life again. I used a training plan from a magazine, put it up on the kitchen wall and followed it religiously. I had no idea how I would do and was incredibly nervous. Luckily the event was smaller than it is now but even so it was very busy with lots of runners and supporters and quite overwhelming. My family and brother-in-law came to support me. My poor husband had to entertain the children who were then 7 and 11, the eldest being autistic too so not always the easiest to keep calm and happy amongst large crowds. Fortunately for all of them I was faster than I had ever hoped and finished in 3hrs 55 mins 46 secs. I was elated. I never thought I had a chance of going below 4hrs (and I never did again). It was such a great feeling to have done so much better than expected that I wanted to do it again. My son, the 7yr old, was not so impressed and complained about his tired legs and wanted to be carried up the hill to the station.

It took another 2 years for me to try again and I did Brighton again. I was massively disappointed with a time of 4hrs 37mins and 25 secs which now I would be totally over the moon with. I remember feeling totally deflated on the way back on the train, the opposite to the time before.

I think my husband was hoping that this would put me off but no, by this time I was far too obsessed. I entered for a third time this time dressed as a cookie monster. I can’t remember why I thought this was a good idea but it seemed completely reasonable at the time, in retrospect one of those ADHD moments of impulsivity which I did not follow thorough with devising a good costume. Most people watching thought I was dressed as a Smurf which was quite understandable as I was covered in blue face paint and apart from a cookie monster hat no other cookie monster identifiers. My long suffering family came down again but this time things did not go as well. I don’t know if the weather was hotter or I was affected by the face paint but I started struggling early on. My Brother-in-law and his then boyfriend (now husband) came along to support me too and ran around the course handing me salty snacks and water at various intervals as they, unlike my husband, were not incumbered by children. This was amazing of them but unfortunately not enough to stop me falling over several times with cramp. At one point, approximately 21 miles into the course I fell over and couldn’t get up. Every time I bent my leg to get to standing my muscles cramped up and I fell down again. Seeing this some runners came to help me and while I lay completely straight they levered me up into standing. One amazing guy was not happy leaving me and insisting on walking with me until he was confident I was going to remain upright. We walked and then started jogging slightly until I finally persuaded him I was ok and he could leave me. Only at this point did I realise how much he had sacrificed his own race time, we were in a “there and back” section where there were runners going in both directions. He had been a couple miles behind me when he came to my aid and crossed over to help. He had then walked the best part of a mile in the WRONG DIRECTION, just to help me. I only realised this as he crossed over to the other side when he left and I never got a chance to properly thank him.

Years later when I ran Brighton marathon I stayed with my Brothers in law and I got to watch my nephew run the Brighton mini mile. I was so proud of him, he ran so well and and I hoped that maybe my running had encouraged him to take part. The good part of Brighton marathon being a much bigger event is that there are so many satellite events making the whole experience more inclusive.

I have done Brighton a few times since but it’s increasing popularity has made it busier and busier and I just would rather smaller events to this end in 2015 I discovered the New Forest Marathon. This was perfect, it was trail (although quite easy trail), I could camp the night before and it is relatively local. The added bonus was that my daughter could come along and bring a selection of our dogs to camp making it a mini holiday for us too. I think I have done this marathon a total of five times and always enjoyed it. It changed venues during covid but each time it has been well run and had a calmer feel than Brighton.

Every year just before Christmas Portsmouth hold their costal marathon, some years they have an ultra option as well. This is always a fun event with lots of people dressed up in Christmas outfits. I have run it as an elf at least once and this has been much more successful than my Cookie Monster effort It is partly off road and which is a plus for me with an infamous “muddy beach” section where you have to be careful not to lose a shoe. The aid stations are very well equipped with jaffa cakes, mince pies, mulled wine and the occasional bit of whisky. There is also beer and mulled wine at the end. I no longer drink alcohol but I greatly appreciate the effort to make it a unique marathon experience.

Southampton is my home city and so I usually do the Southampton marathon. I can run or cycle to the start so that saves on travel expenses and is a bit of extra training. I have lived in Southampton for 25years now but I still managed to get lost this year cycling in and I got lost the year before running home. I think in both cases it was my optimistic “short cuts” that let me down. This marathon is two loops with most people running the half marathon. This can be quite frustrating as from 10miles in you have supporters shouting “nearly there” which is never helpful unless you are in the last 200m but doubly unhelpful when you are not even half way and regretting the fact that you made the decision have to run/cycle to the event. By the time I started running Southampton any enthusiasm my family have had for spectating had evaporated so that second lap can feel a bit of an ordeal. I do like the fact that the supporters mostly disappear by the second lap and there are far fewer runners too so it is much less crowded than typical city marathons. You get to run through St Mary’s stadium which would be exciting if I was a football fan but even as someone with no interest it’s a bit of a diversion. This is also the site where I have seen the most abuse given to marshals about road closures and delays by motorists. Most of these marshals are volunteers just trying to do a nice thing for people so I feel very badly that they have to put up with this.

The only other marathon (that was not part of another event) was a day when I was planning a training run on the South Downs Way. I had a 20mile run scheduled when I came across a marathon that was about to start from Queen Elizabeth Country Park called the QE Spring Marathon. I wandered over to the tent and as it was not fully subscribed I could enter on the day. I thought 26.2 isn’t that more than 20 and it would be a different route and so I just entered and ran it. It took me over 5hrs 25mins and 28 secs but on a hard trail route on a spur of the moment entry I was happy with that.

I love the fact that with my normal level of training I can fairly confidently know I can run a marathon. It will no longer be fast and it has never been pretty but knowing I can do it feels good. I am glad of all my marathon experiences, every one has taught me something, even if it is that I can still make a wrong turning on the second lap of a marathon that I am running in my home city for the 4th time.