The 3:15 marathon – a 6 year journey

When I first entered the London Marathon in 2004, I had no idea what to expect. All I knew was that 3:45 gave me a ‘Good for Age’ time and a guaranteed entry for the next two years at London. Four weeks before, I ran the Trimpell 20 in 2:26. Suddenly my target was changing – if I could run another 6.2 miles in 49 minutes then 3:15, (and a place on the championship start in future years) was achievable. Easy.

How completely naïve I was.

Since I had got my place through the ballot system, this meant that I would be on the Blue Start. I hadn't anticipated the difficulties starting in the middle of a huge mass of people. I spent most of the marathon overtaking and veering round people, getting very frustrated. Also, it was the beginning of a learning curve of how to adapt my food intake for a marathon (and reduce the number of trips to the toilet), discovering that running in the rain when tired made me cold and how to get through the 20 mile “hit the wall” barrier.

I could see 3:45 getting very close. Luckily, I crossed the line in 3:39 and achieved my GFA time with its place on the Green Start for the following year.

2004 – London Marathon: 3:39

In 2005, life became too stressful. In February, I realised that I didn't have the heart to do the training and, consequently, failed to make the start

2005 – No show

I don't recall much about my training for 2006 (although I kept a diary which I have continued to do to this day.)

During the race, I failed to significantly improve on my time and wondered where I was going wrong. Yes, it rained again but that wasn't the problem.

2006 – London Marathon: 3:38:34

The year started off well with me breaking the 1:30 barrier at Watford Half Marathon. Then four weeks before London, I did the Coniston 14. Although I did a reasonable time, the pounding down the hills had aggravated my Illiotibial band and as soon as I started to run, my right leg seized up. After trips to the chiropractor Jim Townhill and acupuncturist Anna Krypczyk, the removal of my orthotics and 6 weeks out, my leg started to recover.

2007- Injured

In 2008, a chance conversation with Russ Mabbett gave me the idea of running Dumfries Marathon 3 weeks before London as a training run. That of course never happened and I ended up racing it. 3:19:21: 19 minutes off my PB and only 4 minutes away from my target. Roll on London! Unfortunately, I then caught flu for a week, (from the kind lads in my office). The London Marathon started off well but then 11 miles in, the heavens opened and I was drenched. I started to get cold very quickly and never recovered. Also, that was the last year that I ate a banana at the start, realising that after 3 hours they go through me. 5 minutes wasted on the toilet wasn't going to help my 3:15 campaign. (I also found that I energy gels seemed to have the same effect.).

2008 – Dumfries Marathon 3:19:21

London Marathon 3:28:26

During July 2008, while playing badminton, (my Monday night warm up before running club), I pulled an adductor muscle (groin strain). I then aggravated it again whilst climbing, swimming breaststroke, stepping over a wall..... A couple of trips to the physio made no difference (except to my pocket), rest made no improvement and the doctor seemed uninterested, (normal response – rest). I persevered with my marathon training with just long slow runs, no speed work and no races apart from a poor Watford Half Marathon where I actually walked in the last mile. In desperation in March 2009, a visit to the chiropractor proved a godsend. He diagnosed that I had a tight hip flexor which was preventing the offending adductor muscle from ever healing. After lots of stretching, my groin strain was finally starting to ease. (He also suggested that I needed to give up chocolate but that's another story!) By the time, the 2009 London Marathon came round a few weeks later, I was just glad to get round. (Well, almost).

Arriving at the start, the weather was warm and sunny, (not the rain predicted the previous day). By the time that I had finished, I had an incredible headache and spent the rest of the day being sick. Another lesson learnt the hard way – if I am going to be in the sun for three and half hours then wear a hat.

2009 – London Marathon: 3:23:59

The year started off well with a PB at the Brass Monkeys Half Marathon followed by my best time for the hilly Watford Half Marathon. Although I was running well, memories of 2007 were clear; running well at the beginning of the year then going down injured just before the start. The only setback was buying a new pair of “identical” trainers to my old ones. After a few weeks use, I became aware that my left ankle was starting to ache after running in them. How on earth a change of colour can alter a shoe so much – heaven knows. I soon reverted back to my old ones. Training went well – I even managed to run the full distance 3 weeks before.

I travelled down with my mother who was also going to be on the same start as me as having achieved a GFA time last year. We stayed the night before in Oxford Street Youth Hostel. At breakfast, I watched incredulously as another runner shovelled nine Weetabix into his mouth. His nutrition for during the race was going to be two bags of jelly babies.

My main worry the day before was what the weather was going to be. At 9:00 am arriving at the start, the heavens opened. Luckily, I had picked up an aluminium blanket the day before in a goody bag at the registration. Then at 9:40am, 5 minutes before the start, the rain stopped and conditions became perfect.

I stood on the start line with Mel Koth from Lytham St Annes RC. Then the race started. At one mile, I passed Gordon Ramsay. One bloke in the race who shouted hello to him promptly ran into the guy in front. At about 8 miles, I caught up with Carmel, (who had started on the Championship start), who I ran with for the next 10 miles. We went through half way in 1:32, the quickest that I had done in a Marathon. I still felt good but it is the second half where you are running in no man's land. I could already see our pace dropping. I tried taking on a muesli bar at 15 miles but because I was going faster than previous years, it wouldn't digest. I also had three gel sweets which eventually started to give me a bit more energy. At 18 miles, I parted company from Carmel for a quick pit stop behind a bush. I was constantly calculating and recalculating what I needed to do each mile in to reach my target. Then I needed the toilet again. Oh no. Did I have time? I dived behind another bush. As I emerged, I embarrassingly straightened myself out in full view of a bemused band playing at the side of the road. I recalculated the time I needed to run the remaining miles in and knew that it was going to be close. I put my head down and forced my legs to work. I kept telling myself how disappointed I would be if I was a minute out. 3.2 miles to go, 2.2 miles to go, 800 metres to go, 400 metres. I crossed the line in 3:14:19. Wow!

I was greeted by Carmel who had also finished in a brilliant 3:11:17. She pronounced that she had just been sick and that was exactly how I felt. I spent the next hour curled up in a ball waiting for the undigested muesli bar to reappear along with all the water now piled on top (Sorry to be crude!). By the time I was starting to recover, I estimated that my mother should be finishing shortly. Sure enough she appeared bang on target in 5:00:58 (4:59:25 chip time). She was more excited finishing near Richard Branson than her time!

2010 – London Marathon: 3:14:09 (chip time)

I feel that I still haven't mastered how to run a good Marathon. Fruit and energy gels cause toilet breaks where muesli bars are difficult to digest although the newer gel sweets do seem to be closer to the mark. So, if anyone has any further recommendations then I am all ears. (My mother suggested not running so fast and enjoying the scenery.) Next year, it's time to do something different.

Written by: Joanna Goorney

Submitted: 16^th June 2010

Edited by: Brenda J Earnshaw WRR Editor