Run > Race

Milton Keynes Marathon (8th of 2028)

Went into this aiming for a time in the same region as London: somewhere between 2:50 and 2:55. I'd liked to have tried to go for something faster but it was much hotter today and the route is far from being a speedy one due to the undulations, many sharp turns and general unevenness of the paths that form most of the route, not to mention large parts of the paths are completely open to the general public walking their dogs and kids with no regard for runners.

Started off at a good comfy pace but found my HR rose much quicker than usual. Put this down to the heat so wasn't too concerned about it, but still kept it in mind. Managed a good rhythm until we got onto the paths and then found it a little hard to concentrate on my rhythm, pace and form whilst also keeping an eye out for bumps on the paths. Opted to worry about the paths first as one misstep and I'd be sprawled on my belly in no time.

Things went well until about 11.5k when the half marathon runners split off and I suddenly found myself running all by myself. I couldn't see anyone ahead of me and the two guys behind me were a long way back. Someone also called out that I was currently 11th which lit a little "Ooo, I can make it into the top 10" spark in my mind. From this point the number of spectators and marshals dropped significantly so I had to pay attention to the route arrows and paths and I found myself pushing a little bit more than I probably shouldn't. A combination of trying to catch the peeps ahead of me so I didn't have to navigate on my own and the prospect of a top-10 finish led me to push things a little for about the next 7k... not too hard, but I certainly didn't take it easy.

Just before half way I got a little company as someone came up from behind. Ran with me for about 500m and then disappeared off ahead of me. It was at this point that I partly resigned to the fact I probably wasn't going to finish in the top 10 as I was now 12th. I backed off the pace a little and relaxed into the run, that was until just into the long gradual climb between 23 and 28k when I passed someone who was in the top 10 I was chasing down earlier. Not long after passing him I then spot my next target... someone was struggling further up the climb. That was all the motivation I needed. I ticked my way up the hill and passed that guy too. I was now in 10th place and on my way to a top 10 finish and I wasn't going to let this one go.

After a few more k's I found myself completely isolated again. I couldn't see the peeps ahead of me and nor those behind me. The heat was also starting to take its toll on me and I was starting to struggle. And then I saw it: the 9th place chap. I didn't have the inclination to pick up my pace to reel him in but knew if I kept at my current pace I'd get to him soon enough, which I did. I passed him with about 3k to go and then worked on pulling away from him to ensure I wasn't caught.

With less than a mile to go the marathon route joined up with the half-marathon finishers and I had to make my way past these slower runners. On entering the stadium for the final lap around the infield I discovered things were very cramped and congested with no one telling the slower half-marathon peeps to make way or even consider the fast marathon runners coming through. Feeling surprisingly strong I zigzagged my way through these slower runners and finished in 2:53:53 according to my watch. The big screen showed I finished 7th!! Huh? We'd I pass the other two?

On chatting to one of the other marathon finishers, it seems one of the guys dropped out just after 20miles but we couldn't account for the other. I suspect he may have dropped out too. The final results put me in 8th place though. I suspect this may be because the race is run by chip time due to the way they perform the waved start and I suspect someone in a slower wave or further back in my wave ran an over all faster time thus making my gun position 7th but my chip position 8th.

I'm not too worried about my position as I wasn't in the running for a prize but I'm still pretty pleased with my over all time and effort. My chip time ended up as 2:53:49 which is only 1m19s slower than London which is pretty pleasing for a slower course on a much hotter day.