The first was the Regency 10K in Leamington on April 19th. This was the fourth time I’ve run this race and it’s always a great event to do, with plenty of local support especially for those of us from the local club, Leamington C&AC. The event is put on by Leamington & District Round Table and is generally really well organised, with plenty of marshals and great spectator support all round the course. However, only 8 toilets for nearly 2000 runners inevitably resulted in massive queues, well-watered bushes nearby and a delay to the start time. This was exacerbated by the fact the toilets hadn’t even been set up until about 50 minutes before the start! Something for the organisers to improve on next time, I think.
Once we got started, and I’d managed to avoid trampling the
poor runner who fell just after the start, the race was really enjoyable. The first 5km are off-road, around the golf
course of Newbold Comyn, with some undulations but nothing too testing. Luckily the recent lack of rain meant the
dirt path was bone dry and I was able to settle into my early pace. Once we came off the golf course and onto the
roads, passing back through the start area at around 6km, I immediately picked
up the tempo. Although I love running
off-road I always feel more at home racing on the tarmac where I can settle
into a constant rhythm. At this point
the crowd support was amazing, which really gave me a huge lift. The last 4km took in the town’s finest parks
- Victoria Park (home of Bowls England), the Royal Pump Room Gardens and
Jephson Gardens – named in 1846 in honour of Dr. Henry Jephson, a famous doctor
who promoted the town as a spa. Despite
the twists and turns of the last 4km I kept pushing on as hard as I could and
was rewarded with 1st place in the women’s race (43rd
overall) in a time of 38.34. Considering
my current fitness and lack of 10k-specific training I was more than satisfied
with this. To put the icing on the cake, my Leamington C&AC team mates also put in some great performances which meant we took the women's team prize. Well done girls - proud to be Leamington C&AC!
The 10k set me up nicely to have a crack at the Rotary
Shakespeare Marathon in Stratford-upon-Avon the following weekend. Although I’d done the half-marathon option of
this race several years ago this was the first time I’d done the full marathon,
which is basically two laps of the half-marathon with an extra bit added onto
the second lap to make up for not doing the loop through the town a second time. I was really just using this race as part of
my training as I knew I hadn’t been able to get enough work in post-injury for
a fast time. I thought if everything
went really well I might have an outside chance of breaking 3 hours, but
decided a more realistic target would be anything inside about 3hrs 10 minutes. It was also my longest race since I’d won the
bronze medal in the European 100km championships exactly two years before and I
was just extremely happy, and thankful, that I was able to be there taking part
at all after my injury nightmares.
Conditions were almost perfect as we lined up at the
start in the centre of the town. The
race started with a loop round the town centre which had an amazing atmosphere
with cheering crowds and flag-lined streets.
The race is organised to coincide with Shakespeare’s Birthday
celebrations, this year was his 451st, and there was plenty going on
in the town which gave a great ambience.
Because of this fantastic support, and the fact we started with the
half-marathon runners too, I found it quite hard to settle into my planned pace
early on. I was feeling really good and
had to keep telling myself to slow down as correct pacing in the early stages
of a long distance race is crucial, as I’ve found to my cost in the past.
After the first couple of miles round the town we then
made our way out past Stratford Racecourse and into the countryside, through
the villages of Luddington and Welford-on-Avon.
As we approached Welford at around the 7-mile point I started to feel
slightly apprehensive – I’d asked my parents to help out as my support team, to
hand me my personal drinks / gels at three of the drinks stations, the first
one being at this point. Although
they’ve watched me race on many occasions they’d never actually handed me
drinks and, whilst I had every confidence in them, there were thoughts going
through my mind – had they managed to get there and find somewhere to park, would
they spot me / would I spot them in the crowds, had they remembered to bring my
drinks with them?!!! I needn’t have
worried as in the event it all went totally to plan – they were perfectly
positioned at all three of the appointed drinks stations and handed me my
bottles with no problems at all. I knew
they wouldn’t let me down but I guess in a race situation all sorts of doubts
and ‘what ifs’ start to creep into your mind!
I can’t thank them enough for giving up their Sunday morning to help me
out. It also helped Les, my coach, too,
as he was then able to be at the start and finish for me, as well as hand me my
drink at the 12 mile drink station. So a
massive thank you to all my support team – I couldn’t have done it without you
(especially as the race was only providing water and no energy drinks).
As I said earlier, I was really thankful just to be able
to be running. You never know what’s
around the corner in life and I wanted to make sure that I not only did myself
justice by performing to the best of my ability on the day, but that I also
enjoyed the experience too. I remember
coming down the hill after Welford and taking time to enjoy the wonderful view
over the rolling Warwickshire landscape towards the Cotswolds. As we ran along the Greenway – an off-road
section of the course along a disused railway line, now a footpath / cycleway –
I remember listening to a skylark singing its heart out, as if cheering on the
runners. I took time to smile and thank some
of the marshals and spectators who were cheering me on, especially on the
second lap when the half-marathon runners had finished and people realised I
was the leading female in the Marathon.
I even had a little laugh at the 12 mile point when a young child said
to me “go on, not far to go now” when I hadn’t, in fact, even reached half way!
Despite a tight hamstring and calf muscle I still felt
strong in the second half and was uplifted by the fact I was passing men all
through the second lap, but no-one passed me!
The last few miles were tough, running into quite a stiff breeze along
the Greenway for the second time. My GPS
was also measuring short and so I wasn’t quite sure what pace I was on – maths
isn’t my strongest point at the best of times let alone trying to calculate
mile splits and finishing times when my body was fighting just to keep going! I passed Mum & Dad at the 23-mile drink
station and they said I was still on for sub-3 hours, just! So I tried to summon every ounce of energy
and positive thought I could and push on as hard as possible. The last part of the course had a lot of
twists and turns and suddenly I felt my quads go as I ran onto the grass
recreation ground with just a few hundred metres to go. Someone shouted to me “2 hours 59” but I had
no idea how much further it was to the finish!
I just kept pushing, then rounded the corner to see the finish line with
the clock ticking down – I mustered everything I could find, desperate to break
3 hours, and just managed it with 2:59:46!
Apparently I’m only the third woman to break the 3 hour
barrier in over 30 years of this race, and the only over-40 year old female to
achieve it. From a personal point of
view I’ve kept up my record, having now run 15 marathons (not including ultras)
and all of them sub-3 hours. It seems
fitting, somehow, that I should win the women’s Marathon in the town where my
running career first started, 28 years ago, when I was a pupil at Stratford
Girls Grammar School.
I’d just like to finish with a couple more
acknowledgements in addition to my ‘support team’ around the course who I’ve
already mentioned. I’d like to say a big
thank you to X-Bionic for their support and their brilliant Effektor compression
socks which saw me to the finish with no sign of blisters whatsoever! I’d also like to thank Mizuno for their
support – their Wave Sayonara shoes are a dream to run in.
Winning ways - Shakespeare Marathon, Stratford-upon-Avon (above)
and Regency 10K, Leamington (below)
(I wonder if anyone told them their finish was upside down and back to front!!!)
