Well Boston UK at least….
As a background, I ran Brighton Marathon in 2023 with a target of sub 3.30. It did not go well, felt ill, didn’t fuel and ended in the medical tent with a 3.34 finish. Deciding I hated road marathons but loved running, within 2 weeks i had signed up for London to Brighton 100km (loved it)
Unfortunately failure didn’t sit too well with me and 3.30 needed be beaten before I fully moved on from road marathons.
I asked around and Boston Lincs came up as the flattest in UK and pretty low key. I was sold.
Travelling up on Saturday the weather was good, move on to 2am Sunday morning the rain was so hard the roof of our AirBnB felt like Michael Flatley was in town Sunday morning , cold , raining , wind
My strategy had changed at least 10 times during the week, 3.20 pacer , 3.15 pacer 3.10 pacer ? Negative split?
@Geoff Turner convinced me 3.15 should be my target pace 🙏
Arriving in Boston Market Sq i looked around but there were no pacers 🤔 New plan , run fast but do not exceed 150 HR to half way and reassess.
The first half i felt really strong hitting 13 miles around 1.31 and still managing to hold a conversation . The weather had been drizzling but mainly ok apart from ankle deep puddles.
My 2nd half plan was to run 4.30 per KM until I hit the wall and I should still have enough in the bank to be sub 3.15 (London GFA)
The second half became lonely with no company or cover from the deteriorating weather , it was getting really cold too . One hand in the sleeve the other frozen in place so I could read my watch.. but my legs still felt good.
That all changed at 21 miles as we turned into a completely exposed section with sleet like rain and wind in your face , it seemed like every time we made a turn the wind moved with us and was never behind.
This is the moment we know is coming and can do nothing about. It is also the moment that largely decides the outcome of your race .
Having run Folkestone 10mile , i dug into my recent memory bank and remembered coming back into the wind and thinking at 8 miles I wanted to stop.
The solution was the get on someones heels , stick your head down and do not let the gap grow . This worked well until 25 miles even though i dropped off to 5 min per Km . I completed the last mile on pure emotion, in the knowledge i had run faster than I ever thought I could .
Ladies Winner Amy Southam, Ryston Runners – 3.04.07
Mens Winner Jamie Hall , Hallamshire Harriers, Sheffield – 2.25.20
55-59 Winner – Me , TWH , 3.09.59
Other TWH, Fred Ayre , 3.13.56 amazingly consistent splits for a young runner 💪
It is not a coincidence that my improvement over the last year coincides with me joining TWH . The community, advice and inspiration are amazing 🙏
Thanks for reading, best regards Eren