Loch Ness Marathon 2014 & The Robin Hood Marathon 2015

My first ever marathon was the Loch Ness Marathon in September 2014. Strangely I didn’t do a special blog post for it at the time (I’m not sure why), so I'm going to doing a mini post here. I follow it by a more in-depth one about my experiences at the Robin Hood Marathon in Nottingham in September 2015.

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28th September 2014

Loch Ness Marathon  - 04:50:10

(Results)

Lochanhully

As this marathon was taking place during a local Glasgow holiday (The September Weekend) me and my support team of Clare, Antonia and Scarlett decided to spend our long weekend in and around Aviemore, staying at the excellent Lochanhully Woodland Club in Carrbridge.

We had a great time staying at one of the cabins there although, apart from the wifi available in the clubhouse, the place is a bit of a digital desert.  This inconvenienced Antonia somewhat, but she coped admirably!

Marathon Day

On the day of the marathon I had to get to Inverness 30 miles away for 7.30am, so all the runners could be bussed to the start, which was in the hills above the South east end of Loch Ness. This meant getting up very early, but it also meant there was adequate time to fuel for the run. Nutrition was never a problem at any point for me during the marathon. 

At the start there could have been more toilet facilities, but the organisers were probably taking into account that there were plenty of trees around, and that the men at least would take advantage of that. This was indeed the case.

The weather was almost perfect for running, and the first couple of miles went downhill, so plenty of opportunity to make the mistake of setting off too fast! Fortunately, I was very disciplined and stuck to my pre-race plan, which stood me in good stead throughout the 26.2 miles. (Wish I had been as disciplined in Nottingham, but we'll come to that!)

Objectives

I had 3 goals in mind before setting out for my first marathon.

1. Complete the distance

This was my primary goal, and on which the other 2 goals were dependent. It was also the only one that I achieved. 

2. Finish in a time of around 04:30:00

The Loch Ness route is 'undulating', and although I had trained very diligently for the race (unlike for Nottingham, but again, we'll come to that later!) I had made a strategic blunder in that all of my long run training was on the flat. After about 16 miles I realised that this was having a cumulative negative effect on my ability to keep to my target pace. However, I accepted that this was the case and just got on with achieving goal 1, and possibly goal 3. Overall I was psychologically in a good place for the whole race.

3. Run the entire 26.2 miles (no walking)

Things were going quite well on this front until I came across an unfeasibly steep hill 18.5 miles into the run, just after the town of Dores. Although I attempted to maintain a 'running' approach, I noticed that others had chosen to walk up the hill and, crucially, weren't progressing any slower than me! So, I decided to walk too. I've subsequently found out that many Ultra Marathon runners choose to do this as it more efficient over the long distances they run. Nowadays I'm much less bothered about walking if I feel it's the efficient thing to do, even during a half marathon. 

The Finish

In the end I managed to complete the course in 4 hours and 50 minutes. I really got quite emotional when crossing the finish line, and to be honest I thought at the time that it would be an experience that would be ticked off the bucket list and that would be that.

However, when I sat back and considered the achievement, and the whole experience, I decided that I would attempt another marathon, and try and make a weekend of it too.

Unfortunately, there were a couple of false starts. The natural event to aim for was the Edinburgh Marathon at the end of May, but I was too late in entering. Doh.

Then I did actually enter the Warsaw Marathon in September 2015. In fact, I had also entered the Half Marathon there in February 2015, but circumstances meant we couldn’t travel on either occasion. Maybe one day it will happen.

Looking closer to home I finally came across an event that not only took place on a convenient date (again during the Glasgow holiday weekend in September), but also allowed us to put together a wee road trip over a long weekend. All roads led to Nottingham!

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27th September 2015
Frank – Robin Hood Marathon  - 04:44:45

(Results)

Another September Weekend, and another Marathon! 

The Journey to Nottingham

Four of us set out on the journey to Nottingham. My support team of Clare, Scarlett and Emily, and myself. We decided make the trip south a leisurely one, and not necessarily go via the most direct route. This allowed us to take a wee detour west on the way, to the market town of Oswestry.

Our dear friend Tina was originally from Oswestry, and when she passed away in 2010 that's where she was laid to rest. As it was very near to her 5th anniversary, we decided to pay our respects at her graveside. It was very sad as you would expect, but it also helped us remember some of the great times and laughs we'd had with her over the years. 

After Oswestry we headed down to Telford. Firstly, because we'd found a very reasonably priced hotel with a pool that Scarlett and Emily would appreciate, and secondly because the hotel was situated next to the start line of the Telford parkrun. This would be Scarlett's 10th parkrun as a Junior, which would qualify her for a milestone t-shirt. 

So, on the Saturday morning Scarlett and I headed to the parkrun start line in Telford Town Park, ready for this momentous occasion, and also looking forward to our first parkrun outside of Scotland. It was a beautiful, if slightly nippy, morning and we were encouraged to see other runners near the start. However, they were suspiciously few in numbers, and there was no sign of any organised run. Alas, the parkrun had been cancelled due to repair work taking place in the park. Scarlett was gutted as you can imagine, but hid it fairly well. (Scarlett ultimately completed her 10th parkrun at Strathclyde Parkrun very soon after.) 

Something we did notice in the park in the lead up to our unsuccessful parkrun attempt was a thing called Closer To Edge . This involved lots of very high ropes and high jinks! After a hearty breakfast both Scarlett and Emily did the full high rope experience, and the mood picked up all round for the rest of day.

On the Saturday morning we headed from Telford to Nottingham, and got settled into our digs.

It suited me, and fortunately everyone else on the eve of the marathon, to have a restful night after our exertions on the journey to Nottingham. So we stayed in and cooked spag bol, and watched the England v Wales Rugby World Cup match. (Well, Clare & I did. The girls watched Bob's Burgers!)

Then it was early(ish) to bed, dreaming about the 26.2 miles to come the next day.

Marathon Day

On the morning of the marathon I got up without (hopefully) disturbing anyone, had my pre-run breakfast, did some stretches, kissed Clare goodbye, and headed towards my carefully planned tram based public transport route to the start line. Not planned carefully enough as it turned out, as the trams were all cancelled! Fortunately tram replacement buses were in place, and although they dropped us off about a mile's walk from the start, it gave me a chance to snap this roadsign for three iconic Nottingham sports grounds.

Reaching the start line I could see it was a very well organised event, and two things in particular got my attention. Firstly, this was the most well appointed and numerous set of toilet facilities I have seen at any race to-date. Not only were the queues almost non-existent, but they were even hygenic! These two facts probably correlated. Secondly, I spotted this facility, which was an additional incentive to finish.

As I had told the organisers I was targeting a finish time of 4 hours 35 mins, I was unsurprisingly placed between the 4.30 and 4.45 race Pacers. I set out determined that it would stay that way and to stay in front of this guy!

When you've trained to run a full marathon the initial miles feel like an absolute breeze. In fact I was breezing along so well that even when they hit us with the first steep hills at Nottingham Castle, and again just after it, I didn't care a jot. However, I did notice when we got to top of the second hill, just after 3 miles or so, that there was a 20 MILE MARKER! That meant we were going to be back up this hill again later, and probably not in as good a condition. 

Nathan & Pete

No matter, I felt bloody great at that point and I was springing along the route when I bumped into these guys, Nathan & Pete, who were raising money for Guide Dogs. I had already come across them on Twitter before the race and it was great seeing them in real life about 7 miles in. Nathan is a blind runner, and Pete is his guide. They do lots of events like this. They are amazing. 

Gorilla

My buddy Chris, who I do the monthly half marathons with, will tell you that, unlike him, I like running with lots of supplies. In fact, even for half marathons I’m like a mobile corner shop, with various liquids, foods and medications on my person. This additional weight probably doesn’t make things any easier for me, so I should probably review that strategy! This particular marathon provided a plenty of other stuff for me to add to my own supplies. In particular, as much Lucozade Sport as your body could process, and these natty bags of water, instead of the usual bottles. Cool design.

So, I’m still bounding along, nearing the halfway stage and I pass this guy!

I was feeling great, was away ahead of my planned time at that point of the race, and I hadn’t even trained as diligently for this one as I had for Loch Ness! Life was good.

Of course these things are all relative, and not long after that moment I was passed by another runner dressed head to toe in a gorilla suit. Sort of brings you back down to earth a bit.

It All Goes Pete Tong

I soon reached the halfway point, which doubled as the finish line for the half marathon. This was also the point that both my physical and psychological fitness took a massive dive….

Loads of folk whom I had been running alongside for the previous 13 miles were taking the lane that lead to the half marathon finish line. Very few were taking the other lane (the lane to hell), and putting themselves through another 13 miles of joy. I suddenly felt very lonely, and tired.  This all caught me by surprise given the relative euphoria under which I ran the first half, but I just decided to focus on putting one foot after the other and getting through the second half.

The next 4.5 miles were difficult only in terms of fatigue, but I was still in fairly good shape, and was still running quite fluidly. At 17.5 miles in, disaster struck!

I had run a lot of half marathons by this point and one other full marathon, but I have never, ever cramped up during a race. This is exactly what happened to me at 17.5 miles. Absolute nightmare.

I had to stop! There was no way I could continue until I’d sorted it out, which I did after about a minute’s stretching. However, I could feel that the cramp was always there in the background, ready to strike again.

That’s when I made the sensible decision not to chase the time anymore, but to just make sure I finished the 26.2 miles. My strategy from that point on was to run until I felt that cramp may be coming on, and then stop and have a quick stretch, then proceed. I did this about 6 times over the remaining 8 miles and it worked a treat. In fact, because I was taking short rests, I reckon I probably made up some of the stretching time by running a little bit quicker too.

What also helped that was some of the best locations were also during that part of the run. Even though we had to get to the top of that huge hill again, we ran directly through the town centre where there lots of folk cheering us on at the side of the road. It really does help.

The Final Mile & The Finish

As I started the last mile of the race I realised that, even after all my problems, I was hovering around a 4 hr 45 minute mark and an almost certain PB. Given all the trials of the previous 7 miles it just showed how fast I had (foolishly) ran in the first half. I still had some of that time in the bank. So, I put everything I had left into the last mile (including a sprint finish!) and came in just 15 second under 4 hrs 45 mins. Knackered.

In the changing area immediately afterwards I was chatting to a guy who had just ran his 11^th marathon. He said he always takes it easy and runs it in around 5 hours, because “he doesn’t want to be that bloke that ends up in the St. John’s Ambulance tent”. I agreed, but didn’t tell him that minutes ago I had unwisely run like a maniac during the final 200 metres to get a few seconds under an arbitrary target time!

Support Team

I have to pay tribute to my support team of Clare, Scarlett & Emily (the latter two are pictured below). They were right there for me at the finish, cheering me on as I did my crazy sprint at the end, and fetching me (twice) much needed ice cream when I did finish. They were absolute stars!  

Electrolytes

Remember the picture of the temporary bar earlier in this post? It was well and truly open by the time I finished, and I started replenishing electrolytes as soon as I could!

In Conclusion

I learned much more from this marathon than I did from my first one at Loch Ness…

·       Focus on strengthening my core and leg muscles along with actual running training, or cramp may strike when tiring late in the race.

·       Don’t be seduced by how easy the first half of the race is. I found it easy because I put about 20 miles of energy into 13 miles, and paid for it later! Keep the heid!

·       By training properly and taking a more strategic approach to the race I could probably break the 4hrs 30mins mark. (If I don’t get too old first!)

At the finish I wasn’t quite as emotional as when I completed my first marathon, however I felt it was a greater achievement given the difficulties I encountered during the race, and the fact that I still managed a Personal Best time.

Another Marathon?

Between running the Robin Hood Marathon and writing this blog post, I have suffered from a knee injury, which has curtailed my running significantly. Although I’ve managed to keep up the Half Marathon A Month Challenge, I’ve lost a lot of fitness, and have been very uncomfortable due to the injury. It’s only now that I feel I’m ready to train for another one

So… I have entered Edinburgh Marathon, which takes place at the end of May 2016. Undoubtedly the intense training for the previous marathon, and the race itself, contributed to my knee problems, so I will be keeping a close eye on how my body reacts.

It may be that the Robin Hood Marathon in Nottingham will go down as my second, but also final marathon. Watch this space!