Race information

• What? Brighton Marathon
• When? April 15th, 2018
• How far? 26.2 miles
• Where? Brighton, UK
• Website: www.brightonmarathonweekend.co.uk

Goals

Pictures

• Ooh shiny

Splits

Training

I took up running last August, and soon decided to sign up for a marathon. The entries re-opened for Brighton in November, so I went for it! I roughly followed Hal Higdon's Intermediate 2 (despite being nowhere near an intermediate), because I liked the fact it had 3 x 20 mile long runs. I ended up missing some of the shorter midweek runs, but I did all the long runs. I also managed to fit in 2 halfs in January and March.

Pre-race

My mum was running the 10k, so we both went down to Brighton (about a 1 hour drive) on the Saturday for race pack collection. Despite being warned of possible long wait times, we arrived around 11am and both collected our packs in about 5 minutes. This was also the point to collect the free competitors T-shirt. The shirts are weirdly short for some reason... kind of like a crop-top, so I'm not sure how I'm going to wear mine.

Race

We arrived on the Sunday, parked the car and caught the bus to the start area at Preston Park. The 10k set off at 9am and the full at 9.45. We were running a little late, so there was a few moments of panic getting my mums bag dropped off and joining the enormous queue for the portaloos and getting the corral. After she had set off, I dropped off my own bag. There was some confusion around the bag drop which involved joining 3 different queues and eventually getting rid of the bag. At this point I kind of felt like I needed to pee again, but the queues were so ridiculously long that I would have missed the race.

Miles [1] to [5]

Mile 1 was a lap around the outside of the park. At this point I realised it would've been a good idea to run with my new gel/ phone belt before the race. The whole thing was kind of rising up my middle in a rather uncomfortable way. I spent the first few miles trying to find a position to keep it still. The course then went down into the town and up a slight hill into a residential area. There was a guy outside his house with a massive DJ deck which was pretty cool. At mile 5 we came out onto the seafront and passed the finish area for the first time, so there was lots of crowd support around here. The first water station with gels was here, and I ended up grabbing one. I wasn't planning on gelling so early, but I was hungry (breakfast was so long ago), and gels are kind of food I guess. The strip between 5 and 6 seemed to be where a lot of charity cheer points were, so moral was high.

Miles [6] to [10]

This part was a long out and back section along the seafront. Lots of the guys were running off to the side to pee here. My early need to pee was nagging at me, but the queues at the portaloos were too long for my liking, so I pushed on. A long convoy of motorbikes and classic cars came by on the opposite side of the out and back, which was cool and nice boost. Around mile 6 the elite runners were coming back on the other side at mile 11, which wasn't at all depressing. However, my splits were looking quite consistent, so I was feeling good. In the distance I could see runners going up a long hill, this was sold as a flat course! As we approach the hill I realised we were actually going off down another short out and back before returning to this hill, so that was fun. But, my luck was about to change! There was a row of 5 or so portaloos, and only 2 people waiting, so I peeled off to pee (no prizes for guessing which mile this was at). As I emerged from the portaloo I was momentarily disorientated as I joined the runners again. After this section it was time to tackle the hill. Turned out, once I was on it I realised it wasn't actually that steep. And it was also really short. Suddenly I found myself turning around and heading back down. I ended up next to Batman here which was pretty cool. One of the spectators here was jogging down the hill, and some guys next to me made the joke "I wouldn't like to do a marathon in denim, think of the chafing", which made me laugh way more than it should have. I think delirium was setting in. At mile 10 I sent my mum a text to tell her where I was. I grabbed a water at the next station. I'd been grabbing drinks at pretty much every opportunity, which was odd for me as I don't usually carry water in training. I guess the slightly warmer conditions than I'd been used to, plus the faster pace meant I was constantly thirsty.

Miles [11] to [15]

This section was fairly uneventful. I spent most of the time watching the other runners who were coming up on mile 6/7. At the next water stop I grabbed a cup of unspecified sports drink. It wasn't that nice and I ended up spilling half of it down my leg. Mmm.. sticky. I was a bit concerned with the amount of water I was drinking that I was maybe lacking in electrolytes and not absorbing it. So this was the point that I started grabbing jelly babies wherever I could from kind spectators. Around mile 12.5 we passed back through the finish area to start the second big out and back down the seafront the other way. My mum was standing somewhere around here but I didn't see her in the crowds of people. Thankfully, she saw me and sent me a 'keep going!' text. About here we passed the part where mile 5 emerges, and I saw the tail end of the runners coming up here. And wow, I hope this isn't extremely patronising, but I have massive respect for the slower runners. Being out on the course for 4 hours was bad enough, but doing 6 hours must be incredibly tough. I passed under the halfway arch in 1hr54, so I was on course for sub 4 hours, providing nothing went horribly wrong. More water and the first of my own gels. At 14 the course went off down yet another long out and back section up a residential area. Lots and lots of crowd support here, and many jelly babies were consumed.

Miles [16] to [20]

This was probably my least favourite section. Although my pace was consistent I was mentally starting to flag a bit. I think the number of out and backs was taking its toll. At 19 I grabbed another gel from the aid station as I dreamed of the finish line. I think I mentally zoned out during these miles because I can't really remember anything of note. The residents of this section did a great job handing out sweets and fruit though. I grabbed an orange section from a little girl, and spent the next mile trying to get the bits out of my teeth, which I guess at least distracted me from the whole running thing. Around 18 I could feel my quads getting tight, and I guess other people were having the same issue as I saw a fair few runners stopping the stretch. Just after 18 we got back to the start of the out and back and continued west along the seafront. More water. I was starting to get too hot, and begun throwing half the cup of water down my legs.

Miles [20] to [End!]

Around mile 20 we entered what is notoriously the most depressing part of the course, the power station out and back. This area is basically an industrial area and quite bleak. There isn't really anywhere for spectators to stand, and being at the dreaded mile 20 bonk zone it's a little rough. However, my uncle and grandparents were at the turn around point, so I tried to focus on that. My legs were still feeling tight and this was uncharted territory for me as I'd never gone beyond 20 miles before. In this last zone I passed about 5 people who were collapsed at the side receiving medical attention, so that was a little demoralising. The sea of runners ahead of me seemed to go on forever and I wondered if I'd make it to the turn around. Mercifully, I did. Just after the turn I saw my family and gave a feeble wave. My pace was dropping off a little here, and I could see 3.45 slipping away from me. At 23 we exited the industrial zone and started to head back along the seafront to the finish. Motivational signs popped up around here, saying things like "pain is temporary, glory is forever". This was the first part of the race where the was a significant number of people walking. I vowed not to walk. Partially because I feared that if I stopped running my legs would tightened up even more and I wouldn't be able to run again. So I pushed on. Everyone around me seemed to be suffering and the pace was dropping overall. I took my final gel somewhere around 22 I think. The last few miles were basically a long straight line along the seafront. I saw boats. Around 24 we passed through a cafe area, which was plain rude honestly. I also sent my mum a text that simply said '24'. Crowd support was high along here. At 25 there was a guy, who I assume was a runner himself or maybe a personal trainer, who was shouting "YOU ARE STRONG, YOU ARE POWERFUL, YOU CAN DO THIS!!!", etc, which was much needed at this point, so thanks random shouty guy. At 25.5 I grabbed my final jelly baby of the day, shout out to that boy, I needed it. I tried to push my pace on a bit for the final mile, with minimal success.The finish line emerged. Thank God, this was nearly over! The last 50 metres or so I kicked into a "sprint". Somehow the tightness in my legs disappeared. Perhaps it was because the muscles were being used differently in this '"sprint" than they had been for the last few hours, or maybe it was a rush of adrenaline. Either way, I crossed the line as the clock was approaching 4 hours. A lady to my left collapsed just after she got over the timing mat, basically at the feet of a waiting medic. I stopped my garmin at 3.48!

Post Race

As I slowed to a walk I begun to do the 'marathoners hobble', which everyone around me seemed to be doing. I was very glad I didn't stop to walk as there's no way I could've got back into a run at this point my legs were so tight. I collected my medal, goody bag and a free beer, before remembering I don't like beer, and this was hardly the time to start drinking it. I met up with my mum and we sat on the beach to compare race notes. Anyone who knows Brighton 'beach' can probably appreciate how uncomfortable that was. We got on the bus back to the car and drove home. Sadly the only seats left on the bus were on the upper deck at the back. Just what you want moments after your first marathon - stairs!

What's next?

After regaining the ability to walk down a flight of stairs in under 45 minutes I'm seriously considering an Autumn marathon. I wasn't a million miles off going sub 3.45, and I reckon with more training it's achievable. Having only been running for 8 months at this point as well, I think if I can keep running consistently and get more miles behind me I'd be in with a shot of going faster. Other than that, I think I will do a few 5 and 10ks over the summer and work on going sub 1.40 in the half.

I'd thoroughly recommend Brighton for anyone in the UK by the way. It's a nice, flat course with only a few miles without crowd support. The out and back sections are the only downside (for me anyway), but no laps which is something. It's a little pricey to enter, but I guess that's to be expected for a race that markets itself as the biggest marathon behind London.

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