I was unsure as to how to pace this one. The first time that I ran this distance (back in May), it took me 5 hours and my pace was 7:08/k. A month or so back I did a 36k training run at a similar pace. However, I've been following an NRC training plan which has speeded me up so, as part of my tapering, I ran 26k at 6:02 and then 23k at 5:56. OK, they are shorter runs but they seemed to suggest that I could afford to up my pace a bit on race day. In the end, I decided on a start pace of 6:30 with an aim of pushing that up towards the end of the race to, hopefully finish in under 4:30.
The forecast suggested that it would be dry throughout the event. However, it was drizzling whilst we waited to start so I deployed my “running in the rain" strategy (i.e. “get wet"). I'd given an estimated finish time of 5 hours which meant that I started in the final wave (think I should have gone for 4:59 instead). However, I managed to position myself right at the front of the wave and the rope was removed before the mass start so we were mingling with the next wave anyway. I think it took about five minutes from the start of the race to when I finally started running. There again, I was already running by the time I crossed the timing mat at the start.
Initially, there's a short downhill which I took advantage of (although it was a bit tricky due to the number of runners at this stage. Tried to use my watch to set pace but it was varying between 5:50 and 6:35 which left me unsure about what my pace was. The route went through the centre of York which was good with lots of support from the crowds. Part way through York, I caught up with someone I'd met waiting for the start and we chatted for a while. This made the miles disappear quickly but my pace was then about 6:06 (so, significantly quicker than planned). I suppose that, at this point I switched to setting pace based on perceived effort with some input from the pace shown on my watch. Id say that I ran most of my race like this, just aiming for an effort that I could maintain, easing back on the (slight) uphills and speeding up on the downs. By this point, I'd given up on any ideas of negative splits.
There were two out and back sections which I'm in two minds about. It was good to see other runners who would usually be out of sight and it was useful to see my position relative to the pacers. However, it seemed to be a long way to get to the turnaround point.
Id heard that there was a climb at the end. This turned out to be the slope that I'd speeded up on at the start. I managed this at a reasonable pace. Just past the brow of the hill, I saw the finish arch. My legs were too stiff for a sprint but I did manage to speed up a bit. Having crossed the line, it seemed a bit too quiet and I realised that was the start, not the finish. I was now on a slight downhill and, with about 300m to go I just went for it! The feeling was that I'd focused all my attention on a point some way in front, adopted mad, staring eyes and sprinted. According to Strava, I hit a pace of 5:13 in that last bit, significantly quicker than anything else I'd done in the race. Final finish time was just inside 4h 22m.
After a shower and a meal, I wandered into a traditional wood panelled pub. Had 3 pints of ruby mild and the whole room had a relaxed chat (centered mainly on the marathon). There was a woman in the group for whom today was her first marathon and she'd completed it in 3:07, don't think I'll ever come close to that pace!
So, it's been a good day!
👍🏻
Fission 2023 race report.
Manchester Half Marathon Race Report
Beachy Head Marathon Race Report 
