Manchester Marathon

 16/04/2023

Manchester Marathon

Only a short jaunt away from my hometown, the Manchester Marathon has always been on my doorstep but not an event I had planned to do.  With my Iron Cuzzer and swim buddy Tom both competing in the event it seemed like the right time to take on this local challenge and claim my double-digit marathon.

Manchester Marathon is one of the largest running events in the country and this was definitely evident with the crowds round the event village and starting filters.  On the way to the bag drop area, I spotted a group of runners with "Mile Shy" t-shirts on.  Back in training for my first ever half marathon (Blackpool), I started chatting with a fellow blogger Jane who had completed the event the year before.  A great inspirer and subsequently, I got to send her some interview questions (Jane's Interview) in preparation for my first marathon (Malta).  I have always said I wanted to meet her and thank her for the inspiration.  Unfortunately, Jane was not with the team at the start line, but a lovely lady rang her for me, and I said hello.  I know she did not have a clue who I was, but it was nice to make a connection after all these years.

We slowly filtered through to the start line and moments later we were off.

Although it is titled "The Manchester Marathon" there is very little actual time spent in Manchester.  Our journey began with a few loops around the Trafford area, before heading into the City centre at mile 5.  I was holding a steady pace, feeling strong, and the crowd support on Deansgate and Peter Street were absolutely awesome.  It was then back out onto the main drag back to Trafford.  A few years ago, I have worked around the Salford Quays area and regularly went out for runs on my dinner.  This section brought back old training memories and my pace quickened for a little bit, I can put this down to muscle memory in my legs.

Coming out of Manchester I recognised a runner ahead of me.  Back in 2020, I had been messaging a fellow Dopey Instagrammer called Emma who was just full of energy and enthusiasm.  Bright, bubbly, and full of Disney, Emma has continued on with Marathons in Berlin and Rome to name but a few.  At 21 weeks pregnant, this was going to be Emma's last run for a while, but I am sure she will be back running Disney next year!  Great to see you out there! (https://www.instagram.com/_runningdopey/)

Then came the dreaded Chester/Washway road section.  One long road for 6 miles (10k).  I had not brough my fuel with me as I knew that the course would have sufficient supplies and I wanted to keep the carry weight down.  As I approached the 12 mile marker I was running low on fuel and needed a serious pick me up to get me through the tough sections ahead.  My prayers were answered and a water station with SIS gels appeared on the horizon.  I used SIS gels for years, but whilst training for the Dopey Challenge I stopped using them as they were having repercussions with my stomach.  I think it was the amount I was consuming.  As I passed through the gel station, I loaded my back pack up with supplies and took my first gel.

Now folks, each marathon is completely different, different training plans prior (I hardly did any due to current life commitments - but that is for another day), different conditions, different atmospheres.  I was feeling pretty strong at the 12 mile marker having just taken my gel, but my marathon brain convinced me that another gel would get me back on pace, so I did, I took another.  At mile 14 my stomach churned, at mile 15 I was in a considerable amount of pain, at mile 16 with 10 miles still to go I felt like I was going to be sick. (check the guy behind me on my BeReal and this sums up how I was feeling!)

My brother had commented only a couple of days before that he respected my resilliance. I may not be the quickest marathoner, I may not be built like a marathon runner, but I will push through whatever it takes to achieve my goal.  This comment stayed in my mind for the next 10 miles!

I decided to adopt the Jeff Galloway Run/Walk strategy for the remaining miles.  If I could run 0.1 mile and then walk 0.1 mile that would mean that over the mile distance, I would be running half a mile and walking half a mile.  That is only 5 miles to run and 5 miles to walk, not that bad!

I was not really fussed on finishing times on this run, and I know the level of training prior was very sub-par, but crossing that line was my goal and I was not going to miss it.

The annoying thing this time was that my legs still felt quite strong, but every time I started to run, my stomach had words with me.

Reaching Sale, I knew I was on the last 5 mile of the journey, and it was going to be tough.  The crowds were handing out Jelly beans, haribo and hi-fives.  The crowds are a definite upside to the (Not)Manchester marathon, they never seemed to dwindle and the support given on every corner or long stretch of road was immense.

Crossing under the M60 at mile 23 meant only a park run to go.  There was a DJ under the bridge absolutely pumping out the bass, I grabbed my first batch of Haribo here hoping that the stomach would be happy of something and not give me as much grief.

On the last mile of the event heading back towards Trafford you could hear the music pumping and the crowds cheering.  I pushed and ran for the last mile to the finish line, admittedly at this point it was far from a run and more of a pained shuffle but I held my head high, wiped the grimace from my face and headed towards the glorious finish line.  I had just completed my 10th marathon.

I collected my medal, finishers Tshirt and took a moment to congratulate myself.  I then recognised a runner, Jane from MileShy! Again, she did not recognise me as we have never met in person, but it was great to have a little catch up with her, congratulate her on the awesome MileShy club and grab a quick selfie! (good luck in Leeds in 4 weeks!)

I love the marathon community, people you meet along the way and stories they all have to share.  

Sitting down with my Erdinger Isotonic Non-Alcoholic beer, I was ready for home, and bed and all the food.