Leciester Marathon, Saturday 14th October 2007

Report by Kelly Paterson

I originally entered this race in May with the aim of finally breaking the 4-hour barrier. However, following a summer spent mainly on my bike and very few runs over 11.5miles, late September was here before I knew it, and so was my race number. This left me with 3 choices - drop out, run the half, or plod around slowly and hope for the best. With these thoughts in mind I laced up my shoes, plugged in my ears and set off for a 17.5-miler. I was labouring towards the end but on the positive side, I was still moving so, I decided to "give it some more thought." 4 days later, and with 14 days until the race I set out for a 21-miler - it hurt, my thighs raged, my calves cramped and I felt sick, so, decision made.

On the Saturday I drove down to pick up my number one fan (my Mum) and then drove us up to Leicester. Scotland had won and I only got us a bit lost in the one-way system, so, all was well with the world. We'd booked two nights in the Travelodge - just in case my legs didn't work after the marathon. Mum, helpfully kept me awake most of the night with her snoring (next time she can sort her own accommodation!!), so I was already awake when my Murder She Wrote theme phone alarm shrilled to welcome in the morning. Feeling a bit tired but otherwise ok I boiled the kettle and prepared my portable porridge and all important raisins.

We asked the receptionist for directions to the race start at Victoria Park, and she informed us it was "miles" away, and promptly ordered us a taxi. When we arrived at our destination, literally a few minutes later I had a secret hope that maybe she'd marked out the course, in which case, we'd probably only have to run about 18 miles to run. Still, on the positive side, it did save my legs and we arrived with over an hour to the off. I decided it would be fun to spend this time queuing and re-queuing for the porta-loos. The queues were reasonably short so I managed to fit in 3 visits (well, you can never be too careful!)

The race started and I jogged along repeatedly telling myself to keep it slow. I knew I was very under-prepared and just had to keep it slow to give myself any hope of finishing. There were probably around 1800 runners, although the majority of these were competing in the half. The routes separated at the 3 mile point, which meant the field size was reduced fairly early on. With around 600 marathon runners congestion was definitely not a problem and it was very easy to run your own race, with none of the temptations of big-field races to get pulled along by the crowd. I plodded along on my own for most of the race singing along silently to my music and enjoying the scenery. The route headed out into the Leicestershire countryside (not that I knew where I was at any point) but it was certainly very scenic in places. There were a few hills here and there, which made things a bit more interesting, but nothing too drastic. A few people came out of their houses along the way to watch and support, which was much appreciated by the runners. The were also a large number of fantastic marshals, with virtually all of them with encouraging words and smiles for all the runners. There was water every 3 miles, and at the later stations Hi-Five gels and drinks were also readily available, and the miles seemed to be passing with relative ease.

I slowed a bit after the 20miles but I was still jogging along, and a couple of miles later we were heading back into town, encouraged now because I could sense the end. That was until the 24.5 mile mark. As we turned a corner suddenly we were faced with a cobbled court yard. I didn't think anything of it at first and just jogged on - but ow!! My hamstrings and thighs, which were already feeling quite achey had very strong objections to the running surface, and they certainly let me know it. At this point I was reduced to walking and I began to have some understanding for why they took the cobbles out of London, and perhaps also why there was no mention of them in the Leicester course description. Fortunately I was back on the jog a couple of minutes later and there was no stopping me then as I headed towards the end. After a bit of confusion about which gate to run through to get to the finish I managed a little burst of pace (not quite speed!) to cross the line in 4:36:17.

Ok, so the time was over 25 minutes slower than my best, and even further away from my 4-hour dream, but it was comfortable - so much so that I wasn't sick during or after the race - which really was a first! Leicester was a very well organised race with no fuss, a great course and fantastic marshals - even the weather on the day was perfect. I'd highly recommend this race to anyone. In my end of race happiness I resolved (again!!) to beat the 4-hour mark. Maybe next year, maybe at Belfast - and next time I will implement a proper training programme.

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