From Marie Watson…
I started my running journey two years ago in March 2021 after being inspired by all those that took part in the 2019 Ilkley Half Marathon. It was a fantastic family event filled with happy faces cheering on their loved ones which inspired me to start running.
Unfortunately, Covid hit so the next race wasn’t until July 2021 but I bought my trainers in March of that year and began training.
After doing that race, I got the bug. Next on my bucket list was a marathon. After doing a handful of half marathons and a couple of 10k races, it was my next target.
I tried to get into the London Marathon by way of the ballot but wasn’t lucky enough to get a place. After doing the Manchester half marathon in October 2022, the fantastic crowd support inspired me to do the full 26.2miles.
And Manchester didn’t disappoint.
Claimed to be one of the flattest marathon courses, I would say that’s about right. Strava calculated it to be 420ft elevation in total. There was a slight hill at Mile 5 and another at Mile 16 in Altrincham.
It was a busy start line and I couldn’t see any pacers. I believe there was a pacer for every 15 minutes.
Each wave had a different start time. There were five Harriers running, myself included. I saw Matt Cox pass as I was about to start. He was looking very strong and super speedy at around what I think would have been the 5-mile mark. The next opportunity to see the faster guys was at Mile 10. At that point, I saw Michael Odell blasting his way through what would have been his mile 23.
The water stations were well set out. I knew I had to keep well hydrated. I don’t like wearing hydration vests so I decided to slowly sip the bottles given out at the stations. There were opportunities to pick up SIS gels at some of the stations as well but I had brought my own. I had trained taking a gel every 4 miles. I alternated between caffeinated and non caffeinated gels. This was something I had not done in training runs but I did not regret this last-minute decision as I managed to avoid having stomach cramp, so it seemed to work. However, I had not tried the orange gels before and I wasn’t keen on the taste which was unfortunate as I had three in my pocket to get through!
The crowds in Altrincham were nothing short of fantastic. They really helped pull me through what was deemed to be one of the “trickiest” parts of the course. However, I felt the hills helped break up the race and in fact, it was one of my fastest miles and I felt good at this point.
Mile 18 onwards, I started to get cramp in both my calves. Something I had never experienced before. I knew I had to be careful not to push it otherwise it would be game over before I knew it. I tried to keep to pace, sensibly, but started to slow up come mile 20 onwards.
My family were at Mile 21 which made me smile at a time where I most needed that lift. I kept going. I saw lots of people walking and stretching out their injuries and I could feel their pain. I knew if I stopped, there was a chance I might not be able to pick it back up. I looked at my hand where I had written “you can” and remembered personal reasons why I was running this race. I kept going.
I saw my brother at mile 25 and could feel his voice behind me for another half mile as he ran alongside saying, “keep going, you’ve got this”. One mile left, just one mile. I could see the finish line, I waited to have about 100m left in sight and stepped up the pace. The roars from the crowd were unbelievable. I will never forget it.
Crossing the finish line felt amazing. I smiled and cried and saw another runner do the same. We congratulated each other.
Outstanding and eye watering results from my fellow team mates. See below. I completed the course in 3hr 53min 12 secs. My bucket list of having a sub 4hr marathon was under my belt.
Would I do it again? Of course. I have signed up for next year!
(1 Ignas Brasevicius 2:16:26)
113 Michael Odell 2:39:20
203 Matt Cox 2:44:09 (a new club record for M45)
2,021 Pete De Sanctis 3:12:13
3,031 Dave Reynier 3:22:17
7,428 Marie Watson 3:53:12
18,579 finished