Monday 4 June 2007

Blackpool Marathon - the real race report!

Well, he took so flippin' long to send his report to us - for goodness sake he'd been finished two hours! So, just in case you hadn't noticed, the report below was not from Mike Mackay - but this one is!

"Well, I have recovered sufficiently - mentally and physically! - to update the earlier report of the trip up t'north with the race details.

It all sounded good - fast, flat course and a weather forecast that was close to ideal for the distance. On top of this Blackpool always seems to have more medical specialists around than anywhere else which is always useful for injuries etc., - weird though that the Nurses tend to go around in groups of up to 30 and I have never seen such skimpy uniforms as the ones they wear in Blackpool. Anyhow nice
to know we will be well looked after if the old groin plays up again.

Combine this with a nice weekend break for the family and Blackpool Marathon sounded like the ideal way to get back to the sub-3.15 times for the good for age entry for next years FLM. That was the plan - the actual turned out rather different!

Firstly the old Blackpool course has changed from the single lap which took in the delights of Lytham St. Anne’s (highlight being the Land Registry and the boating lake) and replaced this with a double lap of the half marathon. Fair enough I thought, makes it easy for the family to watch with more going on and how much harder can it be?

Well, the morning started well with some wispy bits of cloud - the forecast was for the rain to come in mid-morning. Off we went on the dot at 9am (anyone else who has experience of Blackpool will know this is a rarity) and the first lap down the traffic free mile after mile of Blackpool prom was quick and free of the Hen and Stag party crowd who were still, no doubt, nursing hangovers or possibly even
not having reached the stage even where you actually stop drinking to bring on a hangover.

Crowd was a bit thin to say the least but those who were there were appreciative and gave lots of encouraging noises - 'would you like a cold Stella, You're going t'wrong way lad' and so on. Then the 6 mile marker came up and the dreaded concrete section. This is a quite remarkable piece of engineering (see below) as it stretched for about 4 miles and consists of a 12 foot high sea wall to one side and the open sea the other. The both separated by 12 foot or so of flat concrete walkway. To say this is a major bore is an understatement and I had to do it twice. Still, the first time went OK and was still averaging less than 7 min miles. Reached the turn and back along footpaths in to a bit of a headwind but reached the end and there was the finish line. Wait, that was for the 1/2 marathon and 2/3rd's of
the runners peeled off to finish to warm applause, a medal and some beef jerky (a first for me!).



The remainder carried on past with envious stares at t'finish line for another lap. By now t'sun (enough of the accent!) was really strong and very hot so bang went the weather conditions that were hoped for!

The second lap was quite surreal with a 4 lane road on the main Blackpool seafront cordoned off still for the few of us remaining.

Along we went but this time with far fewer runners. At one point there was about 100 yards or so separating those of us running at the pace we were managing. Still, the support was there and managed to get to the start of the concrete at 20 miles with the pace only dropping off slightly to 7.40 mile pace. Passed Melinda and the kids for the last of the lucozade and began the 4 mile stretch.



Sadly this was it - a combination of heat, exhaustion and muscle aches started to play havoc with my times. I think the main reason though for stopping was the prospect of running this stretch again which just goes on and on and on! So, I thought a quick walk would be OK and slowed for a breather. Fatal - once you stop your legs seize up and the motivation just went. I tried to get going again as I had lots of time in reserve but just couldn't so resorted to 5 miles of walk run.

Several other runners also doing the same thing. Even managed a couple of 14 minute miles coming back in - I think I can walk faster than this normally!! The last 5 miles took just short of an hour - I ran a 10m this year in 64 minutes!!

Oh well, the thoughts going through my head at the time was 'sod London'! Never want to do another marathon in my life so who cares!!

Still, managed to finish in a time of 3.38 meeting Melinda, Hayley and Amy at the last 200 yards - all of whom managed to race me in which is even worse considering they were carrying a picnic hamper, chairs, a sunshade and a variety of things to do - and picked up the medal, more lucozade and a pack or two of beef jerky (didn't cowboys used to eat this? Strange stuff - it is dried beef with the consistency of tough fabric. Weird but has grown on me and now need more!).

The weekend though was great, Blackpool was much better than in previous years and we all enjoyed ourselves with the sights and sounds of Britain's most popular resort. If, after all of this you fancy a trip up t'north then next years race is on the 29th April - much earlier than in previous years and will loose a few people who run FLM as a result. Still, well worth it as long as you are a fully paid up member of the British Concrete Appreciation Club!

Me, well a day later and feel a bit better and thoughts are now turning to Nottingham..... !!"

Did you not offer any of the hen parties a bit of beef jerky Mike? (WebEd)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Michael

What a tale to tell. At least you gave your all and to think that youtried to persuade me to run with you! Well done for a very spirited run and keep taking the tablets.

Yours in admiration,

Albert
Chairman