Kielder Marathon

Let’s start with the stuff for the anoraks: Gun time 4:41:49, my chip time was 4:40:26 and my finishing position was 611 out of 934. Half way split 2:06:10. It means I have completed 3 marathons this year, (London, Fletwood and now Kielder) – that’s nine in total and London 2011 will make it 10.

But this was much more than a race; it was an experience, and it is one I will certainly repeat – I hope you’ll join me next year.

I could offer a myriad of “reasons” why I believed I wouldn’t perform well on the day. A lack of mileage, long journey to the race, poor nutrition in the build up. The list could go on but the truth is I only ever wanted to complete the first Kielder Marathon. You get one chance to do the first of anything and I cared not about how long it took; taking part and completing were all I wanted.

After a pleasant trip up the M6 and A1 I arrived in Newcastle around mid afternoon and took a wander around the city centre. Oh how I wished I had more time to explore this vibrant city. It’s changed a lot, (and all for the better), since my student days back in the 1980’s.

I stayed at The Old Repeater Station on the old Military Road between Carlisle and Hexham. A very clean and comfortable hostel with a warm and friendly welcome. I made a mistake by not booking an evening meal – it looked excellent. After a good night’s sleep and a good breakfast I set off for Kielder early on the Sunday morning, and it’s just as well I did.

A sharp overnight frost made for a cold start and left fog sitting in the valleys as I made my way towards Kielder. We’d been advised to leave plenty of time for the journey – sound advice as the roads are not conducive to fast driving round there and with little opportunity to overtake we were in a procession of slow traffic. Buses took us from the car park to the race start/finish area at Leaplish Water Park with its spectacular views over the biggest man made lake in Europe.

Greeting us on the public address was none other than Sally Gunnell, welcoming us to “Britain’s most beautiful marathon”. I’m not sure what they’d make of that statement at Langdale and Loch Ness, but the course was nonetheless spectacular and beautiful.

I took the opportunity to have a chat with Steve Cram and regretted not taking my camera for a photo with him. It was clear he wanted the event to be a success and after running the race himself, (seems I’m not the only race director to run his own race). He stuck around afterwards to welcome people back and to take feedback.

Sally Gunnell did the honours at the start line, generating a really good atmosphere and asking people their pre-race thoughts. Naturally she wanted to speak to me…….. and, when asked what time I was hoping for I replied “Tuesday!” This prompted the follow up question of why I was up at the front “Because it’s the closest I’ll get to the elite athletes!” Simples……….

The course could be described as downhill because the start is further up the hill than the finish……… The surface is hard paths and some tarmac, most people, like myself, wore road shoes.

But I’m not going to kid you: this is a tough course. It is beautiful to run, but it is also challenging. It starts with an uphill first half mile and it never lets up. There is only one flat part: across the Kielder Dam wall at around 17 ½ miles. The rest of the course is either up or down. At first I thought the words “steep decline” on the signs was a reference to my running career…………. It seems they were describing the next bit of the course. And of course what went down would go up, preceded by the words “steep incline”.

There is a new suspension bridge just after the 3 mile point that made for some interesting running. What happens when you get a lot of people all moving at the same pace over a suspension bridge? Yes, it sways…….

The pre- race information suggested a couple of places for “tactical walks”

In the second half of the race I, along with many others, resorted to these and a fairly regular basis.

The atmosphere around the course was very good. Although there were less than 1000 runners I was never far from anyone, and there were lots more spectators than I expected, who added to the atmosphere. And where there weren’t people there were wonderful views over the water.

There was an abundance of water stations, and PowerAde at regular intervals too. First aid stations and toilets had also been “shipped in”. A major feat of logistics given this race takes place in just about the middle of nowhere.

I didn’t feel great in the middle third but after a full bottle of PowerAde at 17 miles I started to feel much better by 18 miles and although I was still using walks in some parts I was starting to pass people. Always a good feeling in the latter stages of a race. There was a chimney sweep who brushed past me at 7 miles but at 20 I swept past him! And I felt really good in the last 4 miles and started to push on a bit. I’ve never been able to do that in a marathon before.

A wonderful welcome at the finish greeted us, and I couldn’t hide my delight at finishing this wonderful run. A decent goody bag and a free massage after the race were gratefully received by all and there was a really good atmosphere on the bus going back to the car park, even though no-one was keen to go on the top deck of the bus! Naturally the talk was one of achievement, and the general consensus was “more hills than I expected.” But we didn’t go for a picnic…………

I’ve learned a lot by doing 3 marathons this year. The first being I can run more than one in a year. So I’ll keep looking for some more. I also know now I can run tough marathons.

I thoroughly enjoyed my weekend in the North East and I’ve got room in my car if you want to join me next year.

Written by: Brian Porter

Submitted: 19^th October 2010-10-19

Edited by: Brenda J Earnshaw WRR Editor