When I first saw the pictures of Martin and Liz Yelling in the Bournemouth Echo announcing that they were hoping to bring a marathon to Bournemouth in 2013, I knew from that moment that I wanted to run it. Having run so many marathons throughout the years that have required so much travel, it was going to be lovely to finally run one on my doorstep.
Having been interviewed for the brilliant Marathon Talk podcast early in 2013, I also got the chance to discuss the course and plans briefly with Martin Yelling and got a sense of the undertaking required to organise a new marathon event. It really excited me. I was not disappointed.
The online booking system was marvellous, all the details and documents delivered online were easy to access and very comprehensive and my race number arrived with no issues. having run Edinburgh marathon previously, the system used is the same and I was familiar with it. The build up this year since I applied was magnificent. Lots of support, encouragement and fun shared via Facebook and twitter accounts for the Bournemouth marathon festival and I had lots of friends, family and followers of my work stating that they’d be looking out for me on the day.
On a personal note, I had undertrained this Summer for a wide number of reasons (explained in my previous post here) and in the weeks leading up to the marathon I had run another challenging marathon that I was struggling to recover from, I had run a 9 day intensive training course and then with 2 days to go, my son kindly shared with me his stomach bug. Although I did not sleep very well the night prior to the marathon, I felt fine in the morning. It was beautifully sunny. I travelled in with my brother-in-law who was running his first marathon and we walked around Kings Park, checked out the start pens and put our bags in. We got snapped by a photographer at the start area and it appeared in the Bournemouth Echo’s pull-out marathon supplement:
I stopped and chatted to friends running the race and a number of Bournemouth AC club runners who were marshalling on the day and felt great. The start was smooth, the air was cool, I had my pre-race nutrition spot-on and we were off.
Mike (my brother-in-law) was carrying a knee injury and I had promised I’d run with him to see him through and though he winced and grimaced his way through some of the early miles, he settled into his stride and we enjoyed the first 10 miles going at a steady pace, enjoying the atmosphere. The race was filled with runners in very high spirits, enjoying the occasion and there was lots of banter, and the support along the way, even in the first 10 miles was superb.
When we then dropped down onto the beach at the far end of Southbourne just by Hengistbury Head, Mike had to walk a little while and I had to leave him and head off on my own. By this stage, the sun was shining brightly, especially for an October day, and I was struggling to maintain pace. The crowds at Boscombe kept me buoyed and the jaunt on the pier there was good fun. As we climbed the hill into Boscombe Chine, my legs started to wobble slightly and I had to partially walk up part of the hill.
For those not into detailed accounts of running exploits, you might want to skip this paragraph. I darted into the toilets at mile 16-17 and noticed that it (my wee!) looked like it was radioactive and I was clearly very dehydrated as a result of the tummy bug I had had for the previous 2 days. So when I got out, I downed in one the next bottle of water I could find. This was the start of a troublesome period for me to go through. I then threw up the entire bottle of fluids along with everything else that was sloshing around in my stomach.
We passed by the start area at mile 18 or so and I was flagging, as we hit another hill at the back of Bournemouth pier. I had to walk a little part of this hill too. By now I realised I was getting sunburnt (I had not prepared for October Sunshine of this type and was wearing no cream) and I was worried that I had thrown up and would not have enough fuel on board to finish. So I decided to neck an energy gel and a couple of Haribo. I then ran 20 steps before throwing it all back up again. I did this a third time before deciding that I was going to have to get home on an empty stomach. I found the miles from 18 to 21 along Alum Chine cliff tops tough and a bit lonely as my tummy gurgled, and the idea of another 8-5 miles was daunting and I had to really get my mind on track. I spent a couple of miles just being mindful before deciding upon a dissociative cognitive strategy to distract myself for another mile and all the time punctuating my internal dialogue with as inspiring mantras as I could muster up. I ran very slow 10 minute miles pace for miles 17-20.
We descended down to the beach through Middle Chine for the final 5 miles or so and the rolling down the hill eased my legs and I was met at the foot of the hill by my wife, son, father-in-law, friends, colleagues and other cheering members of the crowds and I felt marvellous. As I headed past them blowing kisses I started to pick up my race pace and spent the next five miles passing people who had previously passed me. It felt good. I managed to swig some water down at the mile 24 water station, ignore the high sun exposure and get to the finish line. I saw loads of people I knew which really energised my legs and thanks to this I actually managed a negative split for this marathon (ran the second half faster than the first half) due to speeding up on the home straight miles from Sandbanks to Bournemouth.
The finish area was brilliant. Lots of crowds cheering very enthusiastically. I was so relieved to have made it to the finish line in 3hrs 50 mins, my 3rd slowest marathon to date. Regrouped back at home, we drank bubbly and enjoyed the impressive medals.
It was a brilliant event, I am going to be back next year and I have already booked my place, I want to offer up a more impressive performance and enjoy my preparation. The marshalling was excellent and incredibly enthusiastic, the crowds were top-drawer, the atmosphere of the entire event really was “as running should be” – I am so happy to have been at the inaugural Bournemouth marathon. This year, the miles will serve me well as I begin my quest for a Spring 2014 PB time at London Marathon. The schedule starts now and we are rolling back into action on this blog again.
