Finally it was time to do the Brighton Marathon - number 3!! I signed up for April 2020, it was cancelled of course. I did the virtual version and signed up for April 2021. It was moved to September 2021. By the time we got there I’d been too busy with other stuff to do a whole lot of marathon prep, so I just thought I would turn up and see what happened! 😊
We were given arrival times this year, but I had no idea how long it would take me to get up to Preston Park (which is about 5k from my flat), it was my first time using a combo of walking and bus. I’d previously got a lift from my husband part of the way, but we’d just recently decided to get rid of our car. On the way to the bus stop I met a rather spaced-out looking couple who asked me if I was walking to Preston Park, so I told them my plans expecting that they would follow me. They didn’t - I hope they made it! I got off the bus at Brighton Station and enjoyed watching some of the 10K runners pass me as I walked to the park. 😍
I was half an hour too early, but it was pleasant hanging around in the park, a warm sunny morning, and I enjoyed the privileges of having paid with my Amex card (no queues for the loo, plus tea AND chocolate biscuits!). In the past few weeks I had come to the decision that it was just going to be too warm for my original plan of taking my Salomon vest with lots of flapjack and crisps, and my own drink. I had been finding that I struggled to run well with the vest, just felt far too hot - and running without it was such a joy by comparison! So I was dressed in vest and shorts, and a running belt round my waist stuffed to bursting with gels and a few pickled gherkins! More on those later…
There was a pulsed start to help keep us spread out, and I enjoyed watching the earlier waves file quickly up the funnels and off - apart from one major booboo I’m sure you’ve heard about, the whole day was really wonderfully organised. I’d opted for the Yellow Wave (4:00-4:30 finish) this time, with a loose plan to try and finish in under four and a half hours. I was feeling pretty nervous and not sure I wanted to run at all to be honest! But anyway, pretty soon the decision was made for me and I was off past the loudly blasting music from the DJ (toooo loud!!). 😆
Off I went, too quickly as usual! In my defense there’s a nice downhill bit followed by flat, all before the first mile marker, so it’s easy to go a bit too fast at the start. As continued I was averaging a faster pace than planned - but it was an easy conversational pace so I just thought I might as well go with it. Later I found that my heart rate told a different story, not sure what was going on there! Anyway, it was pleasant running through central Brighton past the lovely new gardens and the groovy Pavilion, and really peaceful! The crowds in that section were sparser than I remember from previous years, but I was enjoying myself and I liked the extra space that the Covid contingencies had given us.There was a fabulous drumming band we passed a couple of times, and I must say that the live music throughout the day did not disappoint! 🎶
Up St James street we went, and off out to the next chapter of the BM book! Up the coast road towards Rottingdean and back, this is always the quietest section of the course. You can see a river of runners up ahead of you, and this time I felt already a twinge of tiredness - all I could do was keep my head up and move on. We did the out-and-back into Ovingdean, and I got a boost when I hit the turnaround (having encountered the first of a few run-through showers - lovely!) and started back the other way. At that point I noticed that I was ahead of the 4:15 pacer group, which was also nice, although I knew that they would be overtaking me later! ⏲
We turned East at the roundabout, and started to head uphill for the next little out-and-back. I heard a few people say hooray the last hill!! I thought to myself as I went up, there’s more of this hill than there was last time! I just assumed that it was another change to the course, and looked forward to turning round and coming back down the hill again (which was lovely when it came). Sadly I was so focused on putting one foot in front of the other that I completely forgot to admire the view out to sea! 😎
Heading back into Brighton, I noticed on my watch that I had run about 16.7 km. Ah, 10 miles! I thought. I must have missed spotting the 10 mile marker! I thought. But then I passed the 10 mile marker. Hmmm…
Anyway, no time to ponder, there’s running to be done! I picked up my pace as I headed towards the halfway hoop, trying to improve my dwindling average. Off we went into the Hove section of the course, out-and-back to Portslade. I had set my watch to alert me every half hour to eat a gel (a no messing nutrition strategy which wasn’t especially pleasant, but seemed to do the trick!), and I was starting to run out by then - couldn’t fit enough in my belt for the whole journey. There were a few water stations that were handing out High 5 gels, and my plan was to grab one on New Church Road, and another on the Prom at the start of the final 5k. I had a few SiS gels, which were OK, and a chocolate Kendal Mintcake one which was actually surprisingly good! I’ll give you the High 5 story later…
Church Road/New Church Road and Portslade were the highlights of what was really a pretty good marathon day! The crowds along these streets were amazing, sliced oranges everywhere!! And there was some great music too - my favourites were the sound system blasting the theme from Rawhide! and the steel band playing ‘Get Lucky’ (both on New Church Road), and the guitar band playing the Ramones’ ‘Blitzkreig Bop’ on Boundary Road in Portslade (which has a lovely downhill incline and I put on a burst of speed there in time to the music and wore the biggest most joyful grin!).
After the Hovian razmatazz, we turned West and serious for the the next section - along Kingsway and down onto Basin Road for the out-and-back to the power station, the place where people hit the wall.
On Kingsway the course passes my flat, and I looked out for neighbours who had asked me when I would be passing (I had no idea what to tell them!). I saw neighbour John looking out from his balcony, and shouted and waved wildly to no avail. “He’s not even looking” said someone behind me. Oh well. Off we went down Basin Road, past the industry of Shoreham Harbour, and events took a darker turn. I saw a woman fall up ahead of me (thankfully she was OK), another woman was vomiting. People were lying on the ground being tended to by St John, and when I was coming back up later I saw five ambulances trying to get past the runners. Not good. It was a warm day, with welcome clouds from time to time, but at that point the sun was fully out and it was HOT! I was carrying on running, only rather a lot more slowly now!! Quite early on in the run my legs started to feel really tired, and I thought a lot about Courtney Dauwalter and her “pain cave” - and that was where I lived for a few hours on Saturday, September 12th! 😊
On the ‘out’ section of Basin Road I took the High 5 gel out of my belt and pulled at the top with my teeth. Eek! I shrieked - a stream of gel squirted across my cheek, and also down my right thigh. In trying to control it I also got both hands sticky too! Somehow I managed to swallow some of it, and to be fair it actually tasted pretty nice - but I was so cross and sticky!! At the next water station I took an extra cup of water to try and clean myself off, and then I carried on, looking in vain for another run-through shower. 😝
On the way back up Basin Road I started to experience some abs cramp, and took a little walk to eat some of my pickles! Y’all have read about pickle juice being good for cramp, right? Well, for me the jury’s still out, but those pickles tasted goooodd! 🥒
Onwards to the last chapter, the “final parkrun” along the prom then back up on the Kings Road, past the Palace Pier, and down onto Madeira Drive to the finish! I spotted Nick and Becky from Lagoon Watersports on the prom and yelled at them “Woohoo!!!”. “Woohooo!!!” they responded, giving me such a boost! After that, head down I kept pecking away at the path, determined to keep jogging. We had a nice Westerly breeze to help push us along, for which I was so grateful! At the end of the prom section, by the Peace Statue, there is a slight upward incline, which has defeated me at both of my previous Brighton Marathons. I was determined to run all the way up it, and I jolly well managed it - ha ha!!! 😁
After that, I just slogged along. I’d given up on my pace by then, and had flipped my watch face for a regular watch. I passed some people, some people passed me. The crowd were ROARING!!! It was pretty great actually. At last I could see the finish line, it looked small and far away, but surprisingly I was moving towards it!
Juuuuust before I crossed under the finishing arch, I felt a punch on my left arm! I looked around sharply, and discovered that my assailant was a man dressed as a teddy bear!!! 😲 He mumbled a muffled apology, and I laughed as we crossed the finishing line.
I found out later on Strava that Brian was at the finish line and he saw me getting biffed by that bear! 😂
So happy to finish, I got my lovely medal, a banana, a couple of energy bars, and a reusable water bottle (very nice!). I retrieved my bag and ambled along wondering how I was going to manage to get my chocolate milk out of the bag while holding all that stuff. I bent over to put it on the floor (tricky with stiff, tired hamstrings!) and got bustled by a marshal who didn’t want me hanging around! I carried on and stopped again out of her sight to sort myself out. 😏
I made my way to the beach and sat down to eat some crisps and drink some grapefruit af beer they'd been handing out. I took a selfie and looked out to sea for while feeling contented.
At the finishing line my Garmin registered 43.25 km in 4:31:01, and told me that I had done a marathon in 4:24:12. I was pleased with this as it meant I had achieved my goal of sub-4:30, and in fact had been a shade faster than I was in 2018! When I finally saw my official result of 4:30:58 I was very disappointed, but as we all now know there had been an error that had resulted in the course being 568 metres too long! It turned out that we HAD been running a bit too far up that hill at Rottingdean 😁
Written by
roseabi
Ultramarathon
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Congratulations on your SUB 4:30 marathon roseabi, that extra 568 metres made the news headlines so you did run sub four and a half hours, once again well done 😀 🏃🏾.
Huge congratulations! Sub 4:30 is just amazing! Right on the back of the triathlon too. When you break it down like that it sounds such a long way,exhausting. Having covered myself in a SIS gel during the GSR a few years ago I haven't been brave enough to touch one since - sticky gel hands are the worst!
Terrific report, Roseabi. Sounds like a very challenging run – especially with those extra metres. I hope you are very proud and that you have fully recovered.
What a brilliant race report!! You captured the atmosphere really well and I felt as if I was there with you (without the running bit of course 😂) Full of sights and sounds and even a teddy bear! What’s not to love?
That’s a fab time, really well done to you and congratulations. See, I told you you’d be awesome 💪
That teddy bear, I had no idea he was there! It was a shock to see him suddenly at my elbow like that 😂 I looked at my race photos and there's loads with him coming up behind me getting closer and closer - he must have managed quite a good sprint finish, which is pretty impressive in a costume like that!
Was it one of those costumes with something that covers the head? Maybe the peripheral vision was obstructed and teddy simply couldn't see you to his side.
I can't imagine how hot it would be to run inside a bulky costume, either!
Oh yes, I'm sure he didn't mean to do it, poor old bear.
Yes it was one of those costumes - I really don't know how they do it. I also saw a man carrying a full-size tiger, the obligatory rhino, and a chap pushing a wheelbarrow full of weights! And Pikachu in the 10K 😊😊😊
MASSIVE CONGRATULATIONS!! I loved reading the report, so interesting and entertaining and I felt I was there (from my couch). And is it me or are the medals getting bigger and bigger??
Amazing run, well done and thanks for sharing it all. Sub 4:30 is fantastic!
I really like the high 5 gels, taste wise they actually feel like a treat. although I often end up sticky (had assumed this was just me ) so end up pouring water everywhere to clean up!😜
Hi Roseabi what a day eh? You did amazingly well. After my 10k and a shower I went out to cheer on the marathon runners who were running in front of the house. I must have missed you at that point. Were you tracking one of those pacer balloons? I saw them all go by up to the 5.30 one. It was SO hot even standing there I was surprised at the strength of the sun and felt so sorry for those runners who were clearly struggling. Next year I’ll buy some jelly babies and hand them out 👍 I did watch your progress on the app and went down the road to see you getting hit by that giant Teddy bear and crossing the line. I did call out to say well done but I was up on the pavement in Madeira drive and with all the noise down there I’m not surprised. Anyway, you were so calm crossing the line and strolling along to pick up your medal 😂 barely any evidence of having just run a marathon. 😅👍 The finish line looked like a war zone with runners being sick and collapsing and taken to the the medical tent. You did remarkably well in those conditions and to get under 4 hours 30 is just incredible. Super well done Abi!!
Thank you!! And thanks for tracking me 😍 I don't like running with pacers, it's stressful for me! Did you?
Huge well dones to you too, you had a corker - you were long gone by the time I got to London Road! How's the ankle now?
I was a bit worried about keeling over at the finish, it happened to me once! So I was keen to keep walking, and to get to my choccy milk! 🤣 I felt OK though, as it turned out 😊😊😊
I really must write up my race report! I’ll do that today hopefully. 😅 Anyway, we didn’t have any pacers on our run, but that was ok as I’ve never run with them anyway even on a park run. I found it really tough after 6km. 🥵 but I’m really happy with the time considering the ankle and having to ease back on the training.
I went to physio yesterday and he’s banned me from running for 7-10 days and strapped it up. 😞 He was optimistic though and said I have a mild case of posterior tibialis tendinitis. I’ve got strengthening exercises to do and, provided I behave myself, I should be able to get back to some gentle running within 2 weeks. Yay 😁
I’m going swimming as there is a deep water training class on today which will help with fitness I hope.
You're a fast swimmer too, aren't you!?! What's this deep water training class?
10K or Marathon? I want to try out some new things next year, so no Brighton Marathon for me - semi-tempted by the 10K, but I've also been thinking about volunteering...
I’m signed up for the 10k again. 😁 It would be so cool if you did it too. 😃
Mr Garmin is very generous when I go swimming for some reason. I think he has me confused with a dolphin. 😂
The deep water classes are basically aqua fit but in the deep end of the pool. I haven’t done one yet as I got the timing wrong today 🙄 so went for a swim instead. I’m hoping they’re going to be tough but fun! They’re running them at the Regent’s pool. 👍
Thanks for asking! I'm back to C25K and building back from zero/ the sofa. I learned enough getting to the marathon distance injury free the first time, to just do it all again from scratch to build slowly. Target is Tallin Marathon in autumn 2022 😀 I've obviously forgotten all about the pain from 30km to the finish 😂
I used to watch Rawhide as a kid. Great stuff. Loved Clint even then 🥰. The writer of the theme tune was Dmitri Tiomkin who also penned the theme tune for the very famous High Noon, another tune that’s on my playlist “Do Not Forsake Me” Belter and great to sing along to 🎶🎵 “oh to be torn twixt love and duty, ‘sposin I lose my fair-haired beauty, look at that big hand move along, nearin high noon”. 😃
We need a mix of run tunes don’t we. Some tunes that we’d perhaps not consider turn out to be perfect
I’ve just downloaded Colour My World by Petula Clark. It bats on beautifully 😁
It really made me laugh, as when I was running along the road to it I saw a shop window which was a sea of beige 😳. Yep, everything in that window was wishy washy beige 😫. Heartbreaking 😁. I wondered who would shop there. Howard and Hilda perhaps, with their matching beige slacks. Kept me amused for ages ☺️ It’s the small things that keep us out there 🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️😁🏃♀️ “sunshine yellow, orange blossom,laughing faces everywhere, yeeeeeah”. Boom boom boom, twang, twang
🏃🏼♀️🎉 Such a good account! Now that I have relived this along with you, I am definitely saved from ever having to run a marathon on my own. 🤣 Awesome! 👏🏼👏🏼
Well done roseabi ! What a wonderful write up - I saw this earlier in the week and have only just got round to reading it!😳 Yes, I read about the overlong course in the press - how annoying! However, you can definitely claim this as a sub 4:30:00 marathon I reckon - what an achievement!😄👍💪🏅
Wow! Amazing run, how fantastic many congratulations 👍👏😊. I know the road to Rottingdean very well (used to live in Saltdean) - that must have felt a long slog especially seeing the long line of runners ahead!
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