 The continuation of Steve Edwards aim to run 500 marathons by 2012 - Follow his continued progress through 2009 as the goal draws ever closer. 10 in 10 Challege Steve will also attempt the 10 in 10 challenge again this year for a 3rd successive time, I've started my preparation for what is becoming one of the ultimate extreme running events in the UK. I hope I can complete it again, 3 times would indeed be very special and as on previous occasions I will be looking to raise money for the Brathay Hall Trust. 10 Marathons in 10 days, that’s 262 miles and around one of the toughest UK Marathon courses, 'The Windermere Marathon', England's largest lake!. If anyone would like to sponsor me, you can do this online at
www.justgiving.com/steve10in10
Any donation, however small will be gratefully received. Thank you.
 This was a similar 3 lap undulating course to last year, only this time starting and finishing in Quedgeley. My plan was to try and get round in about 3:15 which would have matched my time from last year and also keep my average well under the 200 minute target. However, after completing the first 10km in just under 45 minutes and feeling pretty good, I decided to keep this faster pace going for as long as possible. Going through halfway in just over 1:33, I was still feeling okay so I kept up the same pace. As I approached the 40k mark in 2:58, I really put the hammer down for the final 2K to see how much I had left in my legs. Unfortunately, the course was slightly long and therefore the last 2Km did indeed take a little longer than anticipated!. However I ran hard all the way back and managed to cross the line in 3:07:42 and finish in 7th place overall out of 188 finishers which I was very pleased with.So, a good start to the year, I'm feeling pretty good and fingers crossed I can keep this all going. I've also decided to attempt the 10 in 10 challenge again this year for a 3rd successive time, I've started my preparation for what is becoming one of the ultimate extreme running events in the UK. I hope I can complete it again, 3 times would indeed be very special and as on previous occasions I will be looking to raise money for the Brathay Hall Trust.
10 Marathons in 10 days, that’s 262 miles and around one of the toughest UK Marathon courses, 'The Windermere Marathon', England's largest lake!. If anyone would like to sponsor me, you can do this online at
www.justgiving.com/steve10in10
Any donation, however small will be gratefully received. Thank you.
Regards
Steve
 This was the same 5 lap undulating course around Draycote Water as last year organised by Kenilworth Running Club. I arrived expecting the mild sunny conditions we had on Saturday to continue today, however I think everyone was in for a bit of a shock. It was blowing a cold gale right across the water and over an exposed mile length of the course which was far from ideal knowing that we had to run across this stretch 5 times. However I started off at around 3:10 pace and gradually got a little quicker as the race progressed such that I managed to cross the line in a time of 3:06:16 which was over 6 minutes quicker than my time here last year. To my surprise, this was also good enough to get me 3rd placed male out of a field of just over 100 runners. I ran a pretty evenly paced race today with a halfway split of just under 1:33 and 2:23 for 20 miles. I had an idea I was in 4th place at 24 miles, so picked up the pace in the final 2.2 miles to move into 3rd place and kept going to finish over a minute ahead in the end. So, the good start to the year continues, the training is going well as I start to increase my training miles for the 10 in 10 in May. As always, I just hope that I can maintain my average times without getting injured, must always be keeping one eye on that bigger picture
This was the 33rd running of the Duchy Marathon, the same 2 lap course starting and finishing in Redruth as in previous years with undulations and a couple of significant hills on each lap. However the coast road from Portreath just north of Redruth is notorious for its headwind and you run along it for nearly 4 miles on each lap!. This year, it was the probably the worst I've known it, on the first lap the headwind was almost gale force with hail storms thrown in just for good measure. Not ideal if you have no hair .. no protection and it hurts! So it was a case of running in a pack and swapping front runners every minute or so for respite. On the 2nd lap however, the field was so spread out ,you were on your own and the headwind was even stronger, definitely gale force as there were moments when you could hardly stay on your feet let alone run, it certainly put paid to another sub 3:10.
However, once out the wind, I did manage to claw back some time over the last 6 miles and record a time of 3:11:03 for 12th place out of 208 finishers, which was also good enough to get the 3rd V45 prize. Looking back, it's well over 2 minutes quicker than my time last year and in much worse conditions, so overall I'm pleased with the performance. The Cornish Pasty they give you at the end has never tasted so good!
So number 464 done, but I suppose the most significant statistic for me today was recording my 400th sub 3:30 marathon which is definitely a British first but could also be a world first.
This was my first Connemara marathon and in fact first visit to Galway. The marathon route follows a very scenic but undulating course around the Connemara National Park taking in some lovely views of the rugged Galway coast area. There are significant climbs of about half a mile at halfway and a longer drawn out climb of over a mile at the 23 mile point which they call 'The Hell Of The West'. I finished in a time of 3:11:36 having passed through halfway in just over 1:35. This gave me 24th position overall and 4th V40 which I was really pleased with given the nature of the course. Even more pleasing was being at the finish to see my wife Teresa crossing the line running in only her 3rd half marathon, (but 1st international race) and by far the hardest course she's done so far in a time of 2:11.
Overall, this is a fantastic event with a half, full and ultra (39m), so something for everybody. It's well organised, you have beautiful scenery, great support and they even got the weather right, nice and sunny. http://www.connemarathon.com/
I decided at the beginning of the year to put in this back to back marathon weekend as part of my 10 marathons in 10 days preparation, not only would it be good training but it would also be a good gauge as to where I was with my fitness. I'm pleased to say it went far better than I would have imagined.
Crawley involved running just under 106 laps of the track at the K2 centre, a fantastic venue, where they filmed the last series of Superstars. Fascinating event as you know exactly where everybody is and how far behind/ahead you are. Anyway, having gone through halfway in 1:36 and in 3rd position (out of 20 starters), I was just over 2 laps (about half a mile) behind the 2 front runners but I could see that one of them was slowing, so I increased the pace in the second half to gradually move into 2nd place by lap 65, (about 16 miles). Then with 25 laps to go (about 10k), I decided to pick up the pace still further to try and whittle away the 2 lap gap to 1st place. It worked, with 3 laps to go I moved onto the shoulder of the guy in 1st place, waited for half a lap, then made the move and sprinted the remaining 1000m feeling like Bekele to record a finish time of 3:04:43, a 2nd half negative split of just under 1:29, a season's best time and 1st place! A very good day, would I pay for it tomorrow though?
Taunton was the usual undulating 2 lap course with a fairly significant climb 3 miles out from the end of each lap. The legs were a little tired after yesterday's harder than expected effort so I took the first couple of miles very steady, then gradually got into my normal rhythm. Surprisingly, I went through halfway in just over 1:35 again and I started thinking I could perhaps sneak a sub 3:15. In the second half though, I just seemed to get stronger as the miles went by and my pace increased such that I was able to finish strongly in 3:05:30 for 22nd place out of over 200.
With just over 4 weeks to go now before the Brathay 10 marathons in 10 days challenge, this weekend proved to be my 3rd best ever back to back time, my other two were in 1991 when I was only 29 years old, proof you can still do it when your getting on a bit!!
This was my first ever Lochaber marathon and in fact the only British Marathon I'd never got round to running for one reason or another. Starting and finishing in Fort William, this is an out and back course along Loch Eil, a lovely route taking in superb views of the loch and on the way back, a stunning backdrop of the Ben Nevis mountain range. So with what seemed perfect weather conditions, sunny with a light breeze and the way my preparation has gone for the 10in10, I thought I would try and run as close to 3 hours as possible. Setting out at just over 7 min/mile, I reached 5 miles in 35:20 and gradually increased the pace to reach 10 miles in 69:30. Still feeling okay I kept a similar pace going to halfway which I reached in 1:30:20 so bang on where I wanted to be and more importantly still feeling good. As this was a fairly flat course with only small undulations, I had it on my mind that if I was still feeling good at halfway I would try and up the pace on the return leg, so I picked up to run the next 7 miles in 46 minutes to reach 20 miles in 2:16:20. This left me around 44 minutes to do the last 10k which is when I thought why not go for it, the magical sub 3 hrs! So I continued running a similar pace, slowing slightly as the last few miles had most of the undulations, but still managing to complete the final 10k in just over 41 minutes to record a finish of 2:57:33. This gave me 2nd in the V45 category and 15th overall out of 350 finishers, it was also my best time for 13 years and I'm absolutely delighted to complete a sub 3hr marathon as a vet 45.
http://www.lochaberac.co.uk/newpages/marathon.html
 I wasn't really sure how to run London to be honest bearing in mind my sub 3 finish time last Sunday and the fact that the 10in10 starts in just under 2 weeks time, it was also likely to get a lot warmer throughout the race. However, I decided to try and get to halfway in about 1:30 and then see how I felt. Halfway arrived in exactly 1:29:50, so exactly what I wanted, but then I had a big decision to make? It went through my mind that another sub 3 would be really nice so I continued to push on thinking if I were to get too tired, I could always drop off and still hopefully finish in a reasonable time. I did go through a bit of a tired patch at around 18-19 miles but not enough to worry me so I thought I'd keep pressing until 20 miles and see what I'd have to do for the final 10k. At 20 miles I was 2:16:30, similar to last week and still feeling okay, it was then that I knew I had to try and keep this pace going. Seeing the Bourton Roadrunners supporters on route spurred me on, their support was fantastic. Finally at 25 miles (2:50), I had 10 minutes to enjoy that last mile and a bit, down birdcage walk and into the finish for a time of 2:57:54 and my 2nd sub 3 hour marathon in a week, something I haven't done since Feb 1992! I was very pleased and it also gave me 810th place (90th V45) out of over 35000 runners, so that’s almost in the top 2%. I'm viewing this as the last long hard training run and am now looking forward to a much steadier 12 days of tapering training before the 10in10.Anyone wishing to sponsor me or follow my progress can do so at www.justgiving.com/steve10in10
 On Sunday 17th May 2009, three athletes made history after running 10 consecutive sub 3hr 30 min marathons over 10 days in what has become the UK's ultimate endurance running event, the Brathay 10 in 10 Challenge. In doing so, they completely obliterated the world record total aggregate time of 35 hours 20 minutes set just 12 months ago at the 2008 event. Adam Holland aged 22 representing Tavistock Athletic Club finished in 1st place out of the 15 challengers and also claimed the overall world record with a total time of 32 hours 47 minutes over the 10 days. Potentially more remarkable however were the performances of the other two athletes from Gloucestershire who finished a close 2nd and 3rd. Steve Edwards aged 46 (more than twice Adam's age) representing Bourton Roadrunners completing the challenge for the third consecutive year finished just 29 minutes behind with a total time of 33 hours 16 minutes. This being over 2 hours quicker than his own world record time from 2008 and also good enough to be credited with a new world best in the Vet Category. Tim Charles aged 40 representing Cheltenham Harriers finished in 3rd place, just 34 minutes behind in a total time of 33 hours 22 minutes. The fact that from two miles to go on the final day, they agreed to finish together after battling it out for the previous 260 miles says as much about the sportsmanship and sheer respect for one another as the performances themselves. Adam Holland, Steve Edwards and Tim Charles arguably deserve full recognition as do all the 15 competitors for a fantastic performance that has captured the hearts and imagination of the whole running community over the last 10 days. It was a fitting finale for those fortunate to be present at the finish line as they were treated to what can only be described as a true master class of endurance running. 10 Marathons, 10 Days, 262 miles in total.
Full Analysis Of Top 3 1st Place - Adam Holland Total Aggregate Time - 32 hrs 47 min 3 secAverage Marathon Time over 10 days - 3hrs 16min 42secAverage Mile Time for 262 miles - 7 min 30 sec 2nd Place - Steve Edwards Total Aggregate Time - 33 hrs 16 min 34 secAverage Marathon Time over 10 days - 3hrs 19min 39secAverage Mile Time for 262 miles - 7 min 37 sec. 3rd Place - Tim CharlesTotal Aggregate Time - 33 hrs 22 min 5 secAverage Marathon Time over 10 days - 3hrs 20min 12secAverage Mile Time for 262 miles - 7 min 39 sec.
Its been 10 weeks since running a marathon, purposely done to give myself a rest from the distance after completing the 10in10 in May. So having only done a half marathon and 10k since then, it was going to be interesting to see how I got on running 26.2 miles again after this break.
Faversham is a fairly small but extremely well organised event, just 30 runners in the marathon and about 20 runners in the accompanying 6 hour race. The reason for the limited entry because it is run at the recreation ground which is just over 1km long around the perimeter footpath. Therefore just over 40 laps and the need for lap counters! I remember how difficult this was from when I did it before, not only the mental aspect of repeated laps, but also the fact there's a small climb on the route which of course you do 40 times, so it seems to get steeper every time you go round!
I set off at my normal 3:15'sh marathon pace for the first mile and felt pretty good, I was in second place and so increased the speed to around 3:05 - 3:10 pace trying to maintain my position. Then somebody else joined me and between us, we passed the first runner to move into joint first place. This we kept going for another couple of laps until I speeded up ever so slightly again and moved into the lead. I gradually pulled away such that I got to halfway in 1:32, over half a lap ahead of my nearest rival and nearly 2 laps ahead of 3rd place. It was getting a little warmer now and although I was starting to feel the pace a little, I kept banging out the laps at the same pace trying to maintain my lead until just over 30 laps where I went through a bit of a tired patch and slowed slightly. However, when I saw the 2nd placed runner just ahead of me, it meant I was about to lap him and this spurred me on again. Once I passed him I knew all I had to do was to stay near him and there would be no danger of not finishing first with the 3rd place runner being nearly 4 laps behind at this point.
However, I then remembered the course record of 3:12 which I was also on course to beat by a big margin if I kept going strongly, so I picked up again and tried to continue lapping at the same pace. Apart from a couple of slower laps towards the end, I finished strongly in 3:05 to not only finish 1st but also set a new course record. This was my second marathon win of the year, so I was very pleased and to get a course record is always a bonus and not something I've ever done before.
So including this year's 10in10 which I'm now going to include, that’s 480 marathons done, leaving just 20 to go. All will be revealed.
The plan was always to finish the challenge in 2012 and that is still the plan. As I have no intention of slowing down, I have now added a small factor to that plan which I will be announcing in the coming weeks. It will make the challenge a whole lot more difficult but also more rewarding if I were able to achieve it. Watch this space.
 Inspired by the news of my Bourton club mate Dennis Walmsley who won the V45 category at the World Masters Marathon championships on Saturday, I was determined more than ever to try and retain my Isle Of Man Marathon V45 title on Sunday.
Setting out on the 2 lap course at around 3:07 pace, I gradually speeded up to pass through halfway in 1:31:30 and 10th place. As always the testing climb at the 3 mile mark is always a crunch point on the 2nd lap at 16 miles and usually sees changes in the field positions. Continuing to run strongly, I moved into 7th place by the 17 mile point and the chase was on. While its easier to find out your overall position in a race, you can never really tell where you are within your age category, which in a way is good as it means you have to keep working hard.
While I slowed a little for the next 3 miles with a bit of cramp in my foot, from 20 miles onwards I picked up the momentum again chasing down and passing a further 3 runners, one of whom turned out to be the leading V45 runner which similarly happened last year, although this time I didn't leave it until the final mile. With no-one else in my sights for the final 2 miles and having established a comfortable gap in front of the 2nd placed V45 runner, all I had to do was keep working and try to finish strongly which I managed to do.
I eventually crossed the line in 3:03:31 (almost even splits) to not only retain my V45 title, but finish 4th overall and record my best ever finish time on this course in 7 visits. As it turned out, I was only just over a minute behind 3rd place but I know I had worked as hard as I could so was pleased with my performance out of a field of 130 finishers.
This was my first time running the Longford Marathon and had heard it was a mainly flat course so I decided to set out at just under 7min/mile pace with the intention of perhaps finishing around the 3 hour mark. I reached halfway in 1:30:10, so far so good and therefore continued at the same pace. Having got to mile 20 in exactly 2:17, a sub 3 was still not out of the question, but with a slight incline along a busy main road for the next 2 miles and a bit of a headwind, I lost vital seconds which although I tried to make up, by mile 25 I was left with exactly 8 minutes to run the last 1.2 miles.
In the end it was very close, despite running the last mile in 6min 35sec, it wasn't enough and I narrowly missed out by 11 seconds crossing the line in 3:00:11. At first I was quite disappointed, but having reflected back, it was in fact my 3rd sub 3:05 in 5 weeks, so perhaps being a little hard on myself. In terms of positions, I finished 2nd in the V45 category and 17th overall. That’s another one done well inside the target average finish time, so can't complain and just got to keep hoping the current good form continues.
Regarding my 500 challenge, it now looks very likely that I may hit the 500 in 2010 unless I slow down my schedule. However, 2012 was always my target, so having now had chance to think through the logistics of a slightly revised challenge of 500 sub 3:30s by 2012, I've decided to go for it.
All being well, I hope to reach the 500 total by April/May 2010, (current average finish time, still 3:17) and then will push on to attempt 500 sub 3:30s (in what will be a faster average finish time) with a target date around April/May 2012. For the record, Longford was my 419th sub 3:30 out of 482, so there's actually little margin for error and I can't afford an injury either as to achieve the revised goal means running on average a sub 3:30 marathon every 12-13 days from now until May 2012. Then I'm definitely having a rest for a while!
I have now included my 10in10 from this year to my overall total, so yesterday was in fact my 483rd marathon. Reason being they will ultimately count towards my 500 sub 3:30 challenge.
This was my 10th and fastest Wolverhampton Marathon time as I clocked 3:04:50 to finish in 3rd V45 position and 17th overall out of 300 finishers. I initially set out to run around 3:05 knowing that this course was a lot more undulating than last week at Longford. So having reached halfway in 1:32:30, was spot on where I needed to be. Fortunately I was able to keep the same pace going throughout and finished just inside the 3:05 for a slightly negative split and nearly 2 minutes quicker than my time here last year. That's 420 sub 3:30s now, but there's no rest as next week is the Robin Hood Marathon in Nottingham and while I'm really pleased to be posting finishing times well inside my target time, I can tell you they don't get any easier. I would say that I'm as mentally drained at the end of each race as I am physically. I guess it would be easier just to ease off a little and run a little steadier, but that's not something I find easy to do. At the end of the day I know I would feel guilty if I hadn't raced it to the best of my ability. Its also what makes this challenge all the more interesting as every time I run well inside the target time the average is coming down little by little each time making it that bit harder for somebody else to beat in years to come.
I hadn't done the Robin Hood event since 2005 and the first half of the course had changed significantly being more undulating than I had known it previously. However, having ran the event 15 times prior to yesterday, I still managed to record my best ever time on this course of 3:01:55 finishing 3rd V45 and 43rd out of a field of over 1300 finishers, so top 4%. Again, it was so close to that 3 hour barrier, (must try harder!) Seriously though, I was never really on for breaking 3 hours having gone through half way in 1:30:40 and hitting the notorious headwind along the water park at 19 miles losing a bit more time, I reached 20 miles in 2:19 and although I ran pretty strongly right to the end, it was never going to be enough. However I'm still pleased to be keeping this consistent run of results going and all well under the target time. So that's 421 sub 3:30s now and 5 sub 3:05s in the last 7 weeks, just hope I can maintain it, Anglesey next Sunday
This was my 3rd time running the Anglesey Marathon which I finished in 3hrs 52sec knocking nearly 11 minutes off my previous best time on this course and good enough to finish 1st V45, (6th place overall). Again, it was so very close to breaking 3 hours having gone through halfway in 1:30:20, 20miles in 2:17:28 and but for some long uphill drags from 22miles to the end, might have made it. No excuses, but being stung inside my mouth by a wasp which flew in at 19m didn't really help and I panicked thinking it was going to swell up and cause me problems. Luckily, although sore, it didn't slow me down too much and in the last couple of miles I was rapidly closing down the 4th and 5th placed runners, but they saw me coming and dug in. Although still closing, in the end I ran out of road and had to settle for 6th place literally seconds behind. I was pleased with 6th place but even more pleased to find out I was 1st V45. That's 422 sub 3:30s done, yesterday was also my 60th sub 3:05. (I reckon I might have the record for the most missed sub 3s!!) New Forest M next week,
For some reason, I've never managed to run well at New Forest, not making excuses but it is fair to say its not the easiest of courses by any means, very undulating in parts and it always seems to be held on a warm day. Yesterday was no exception despite it being two weeks later than normal, however I set out with the intention of giving myself every chance of breaking 3 hours just in case. I went through halfway in 1:30:15 in 21st place and everything was going well apart from the fact it was definitely getting warmer. As the miles progressed, I remembered just how much more difficult the second half of this course is than the first. Along with the exceptionally warm conditions for the time of year, it was starting to take its toll and I began to slow at 19 miles not reaching 20 miles until 2:18:30, a minute down on last week at the same point. With all hopes of a sub 3 now virtually gone, I decided to settle into a steadier rhythm to see off the remainder of the inclines up to 23 miles after which I knew the final 2 or 3 miles was relatively flat. Although running at a steadier pace, I was still picking off runners and moving through the field which really helped. Obviously the warm conditions and harder 2nd half was taking its toll on other runners too. At 23 miles, I picked up the pace again and managed to get back to sub 7 minute miling for the final assault. Passing another couple of runners, I concentrated on trying to get well inside 3:05 for the 7th time in 9 weeks and although very tired eventually crossed the line in 3:02:56 for 11th place out of a field of over 800. I rather hoped this might be good enough for one of the V45 prizes but alas, with the 2nd and 3rd finishers overall being V45 it wasn't to be and I ended up 4th in my category. All in all, I was very pleased with my performance though, I finished well up the field and bettered my time on this course by over 10 minutes at the 6th attempt. So, 423 sub 3:30s down, 77 to go!
Having ran the first Loch Ness Marathon back in 2002, I have never got round to going back until this year. Luckily the 1000 mile round trip was another successful one with the gale force winds blowing around the North of the country on Saturday giving over to leave a perfect sunny but cool day for the marathon on Sunday. Despite having a niggle in my lower back (not helped by the drive up) I still decided to set out at just under 7min mile pace in case a sub 3 was on the cards. The route is a point to point running North along the East side of Loch Ness along the B852 back to Inverness, a beautiful course with stunning scenery across the Loch but a very undulating one with lots of little inclines and declines making you work that bit harder as you keep having to adjust your pace.
Having passed through halfway in 1:30:20, (a very familiar pattern beginning to emerge!) but not running as comfortably as normal, I knew that a sub 3 was again going to be a tough ask today and with a pretty significant climb at 18 miles, I had no choice but to slow a little reaching 20 miles in 2:18:50. From here though and again as last week, I did pick the pace up as the course became significantly less undulating, finally entering the Queens Park Stadium to record 3:01:41 for 61st place out of over 2300 starters, so top 3% of the field.
Very happy with this time considering how I felt running, I knew I'd worked hard and it was a good feeling to get another sub 3:05, my 8th in row over the last 10 weeks and although I've narrowly missed out on a sub 3 with some of them, its certainly the best run of marathons results I've ever had. That's 424 sub 3:30s now done.
After the long drive back from Loch Ness last Sunday, I was feeling pretty tired all this week and come Saturday was wondering if I'd be recovered enough to run sub 3:05 let alone push for sub 3 again. At the race start I thought the conditions were good, cool and overcast, I also knew it was a fast start going slightly downhill so decided to push out a couple of 6min 45sec miles from the off before settling down into my normal rhythm and see what happened. The course is undulating but has no significant climbs so I kept to sub 7s going through 5 miles in 34min, 10 miles in 68min and halfway in just under 1:29, perfect. Then into the second half which I knew was slightly tougher than the first but not feeling too bad I pressed on maintaining the same pace and going through mile 20 in 2:16:15. So 10k to go and exactly 7min/mile pace required for a sub3, surely this was a good chance? I was beginning to get tired though, certainly feeling the miles in my legs from the hectic schedule over the last 10 weeks and as each mile ticked by I was just about managing to keep the 7min miling going. At mile 24, I was 2:44:15 but as I knew the last mile was all uphill, I thought I might need some leeway, if I could just find another sub 7min mile I might have a chance. Mile 25 came, bang on 2:51, I'd found an extra 15 seconds, so exactly 9 min to do the last 1.2 miles, nearly all uphill, it was certainly going to be a tough finish but I was determined to not let another sub3 pass me by. 26 miles - 2:58, so 2 minutes to do 385 yards, I knew I'd cracked it so was able to relax a little and enjoy the run to the line for a finish time of 2:59.37, (27th place) job done. To break a barrier is very special and I was thrilled to complete a lifetime 25th sub3 marathon, this was another good day. Next week Abingdon, the quest continues.
Abingdon was my 30th marathon of the year so far and although the hamstrings were still a little tight from last weekend, the weather conditions were good so I decided to set off at the same 6.45 mile pace as I did at Leicester and try to emulate my back to back sub 3 performance from April. I knew it was a flattish course with only mild undulations so was able to maintain this pace to reach halfway in 1:28:30, things were looking good and I felt okay. However at about 18 miles, my hamstrings were really starting to tighten and I became aware I was losing a little ground. Trying to stay relaxed but focused, I continued to work hard until I found my rhythm again to go through 20 miles in 2:15:25. From here I knew that 7 min miling would see me through but I kept plugging away at the sub 7s to eventually cross the finish line in 2:58:19, my best time on this course by 11 minutes in 11 visits. With an average time of just over 3hrs 1min for the last 10 marathons ran in a 12 week period, not to mention the two back to back sub 3s in April and now again in October, this has been by far the most successful spell in my running career to date. Today marked a 26th sub 3 and 426th sub 3:30, things seem to be going very well at the moment and my fitness is probably as good as its ever been, but I'm aware that the last few weeks has taken a lot out of me so for the tough Snowdon Marathon next week, I might be taking things a little steadier
Its fair to say that Snowdon is in the top 3 when it comes to the toughest road marathons in the UK and this was my eighth visit to the event. I had two aims, the first to try and better my pb for the course, the second to attempt sub 3:15 which in hindsight was probably a little optimistic only 6 days after Abingdon. Last year the weather was pretty atrocious with cold gale force winds and lashing rain, surely we were due for a better day this time? Well it was certainly warmer but the winds were almost as strong and with horizontal rain showers, I knew it was going to be another tough day at the office. Having reached halfway in just over 1:38, I was always going to be up against it for the sub 3:15, however I pushed on after halfway and picked up the pace still further to reach 20 miles in a little over 2:29. But with the toughest climb of the course to come at 21 miles and subsequent steep descent back down to Llanberis it wasn't going to be enough. I eventually finished in 3:18:46 for 8th V45 and 54th place out of nearly 1400 starters, so top 4%. I should be pleased as I broke my best time on this course by nearly 4 minutes and it was another sub 3:30 on the total, but it would have been nice to go under 3:15, must do more hill training!
The following day we swapped places as it was Teresa's turn to burn some tarmac! Chasing a PB and a first ever sub 2hrs, she was absolutely thrilled to achieve both goals at Stroud, her 5th half marathon, knocking over 6 minutes off her PB for 1:59:27. She now has her sights set on a marathon debut at Windermere in 2010.
With a 4 week break now until the next marathon, it will be nice to recharge the batteries a little and of course catch up with a few jobs around the house!
The inaugural Town Moor marathon starting and finishing in Exhibition Park consisted of running 5 laps of the surrounding moor on traffic free footpaths. We were warned about what the weather could be like on the moor in advance and they weren't wrong! The course itself was no more than mildly undulating, but the fact that it was so exposed meant we were in for a very hard race as we battled against strong headwinds for over a mile on each of the laps. Mile markers were only every 5 miles so it was a little more difficult to judge pace but having passed through the first 5 miles in just under 35min, I was about where I wanted to be. I started the 2nd lap in 5th place but soon moved into 4th as the first of many runners dropped out. Hitting 10 miles in just under 70min and starting lap 3, I saw that I was slowly but surely catching the guy in front and by the beginning of lap 4 passed him to move up into 3rd. However, I was beginning to tire myself now, the wind was just getting stronger as the day progressed and at times it felt like you could hardly move. My pace had definitely slowed as I passed through 20 miles in just under 2:20 and the shout of 'last lap' from the marshals was indeed music to my ears. With no-one close behind, I knew that a steady pace to the finish would see me hang on to 3rd place. That was until I saw the guy in front slowing rapidly which gave me the extra incentive I needed to give it one last effort over the remaining few miles. Moving into 2nd place I began to think I could perhaps go all the way, but seeing the lead runner pass down the opposite side of a dog leg section on the final stretch, I knew he was about 5 minutes ahead so maybe not! In the end I was really pleased to finish 2nd in a time of 3:04:36 given the conditions. That’s 32 marathons this year of which 14 have been sub 3:05 but with just 2 more left to do in 2009, I'm definitely starting to look forward to my week off running in December.
This was a marathon I'd never run before and it was quite a late decision to go over and do it, however as it fell on my birthday weekend we thought it would be a nice treat with the opportunity to grab some winter sun.Organised by Club La Santa, this is a flat 4 lap course along the sea front of the capital town Arrecife, giving runners the opportunity to chose between running a quarter, half or full marathon.
On race day it was much warmer than I thought it would be with temperatures reaching the mid 70's before we'd even started, so I decided to set off a little steadier than normal. It had certainly been a long time since I'd run a marathon in this heat and a bit of a shock from what we'd been used to back home! However, I ended up running the first quarter in just under 46 minutes and then reaching halfway in just over 1hr 31min which was much faster than I'd planned. The heat was beginning to take its toll and this reflected in lap 3 which was to be my slowest taking well over 47 minutes. I wasn't feeling the best as I made the turn to complete the final lap but when Teresa shouted that I was lying in 18th place and gaining on the runner in front, it helped to spur me on a little. As I passed that runner who was now walking, I realised that one or two others in front might actually be feeling worse than me and this thought gave me the little kick I needed to dig deeper and push on. In the end I passed another 3 runners to finish 2nd V45 and 14th place overall with a time of 3:04:30, certainly not what I expected in the hot conditions, so was very pleased to record yet another sub 3:05.
With one more marathon left this year, my rest period can't come soon enough!
After being called off in 2008, the UKs last official road marathon of the calendar year went ahead as scheduled and although the journey down to Luton was in torrential rain, fortunately it subsided to leave a dry but windy day for the race. There were over 500 runners in the main marathon and as always seems to be the case on this course, the runners had to contend with strong headwinds for about 2 miles on each of the 3 laps making it a very demanding race. I finished in 3:08:49 to take 41st place (5th V45) and was happy to have completed my final marathon of the year. Having set off at 7min mile pace, I think in hindsight this was a little optimistic given the conditions and how I was feeling after a long hard season. Passing through halfway in around 1:33, I lost a couple of minutes in the 2nd half after battling against the headwinds which seemed to get stronger as each lap passed. However, it still proved to be my best ever time on this course by over a minute, so that was good. So, yet another marathon running season comes to an end and one which has probably been the most successful for me in terms of performances. Out of a total 34 marathons (all of which have been sub 3hrs 30min), 19 were run in sub 3:10 and 15 in sub 3:05. I've also run my best time since 1996 and my best back to back time since 1992 with 4 sub 3hr performances in April and October. Hopefully, this all bodes well for 2010 and as I start my short rest period I hope that I can continue where I left off in January when I continue to target my new 2012 goal of becoming the first athlete to run 500 sub 3:30s..
Full Statistics To Date
Total Marathons 493
Sub 3hrs 26
Sub 3:05s 66
Sub 3:10s 121
Sub 3:15s 212
Sub 3:30s 430
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