On Sunday 18th November I set out to Luton to run
my first marathon in preparation for my Arch to Arc Challenge. I arrived in
Luton early and went to the race HQ to get an electronic chip that would record
my lap times. At 10am the race started and we began the three lap course.
Having not run a marathon before I took it out a little fast on the first lap
and paid for it on the second and third laps! The last 6 miles were so painful
I had to walk for a fair bit of it.
Fortunately the weather was lovely so the run was pleasant.
We also had regular water stations along the course, which broke up the
monotony of a 26.2 mile run. All of the other runners and the marshals were
extremely friendly. I found myself running alongside a man dressed as Superman
who told me that this was his 285th marathon! This spurred me on to
complete the race even when I was feeling at my lowest. If somebody could run
285 of these things, I could run 1!
Eventually I crossed the finish line in 5 hours and 4
minutes. This was much slower than I would have liked, but as I have had to
split my training between the other two disciplines I have run not nearly
enough miles in training as I need to. Hopefully with a bit more hard work I
can improve on this time. I have learnt a lot about pacing from this race and
this will be invaluable as I am going to need to do three and a half marathons
in one go by July!
All in all, it was a successful day, as I achieved what I
set out to do: FINISH! I am now walking like a penguin because my legs are so
stiff and I have a blister the size of a boiled egg on my foot, but nothing can
quash that amazing feeling you get when you cross the line and they put a medal
round your neck. I just can’t wait to do it all again!
