Race Date: Sunday 27th April 2025

Background

I have a hate/hate relationship with the Manchester Marathon. In 2017 it was revealed that the course was 400m short whilst the following year the bag drop was a disaster with a two hour queue to retrieve kit. The portents for the 2025 event were poor when the finish was changed after entries opened and hotel already booked whilst a change in the registration provider, which corrupted data for many entrants, was only discovered second hand on Facebook.

For this event however there was a bit of extra punch involved. After disposing of Dave Beech’s 20 mile club record at Ashby in March, albeit by only a few seconds, sights were set on his 3:46:33 club record which should have been well within my grasp.

Training

I write my own schedule, fitting in 50-60mpw around life, the universe and that but with the basic elements of long reps/hills on Tuesday, track on Thursday and the long run at the weekend. For sessions, to jazz things up a bit, I like to travel out to the local trails such as TPT, Upper Don Trail, Monsal Trail etc. The ones with a cafe at the end are best.

There were four races in the training block: Dewsbury 10k, Stamford 30k, North Lincs Half and Ashby 20. In retrospect this was too many, getting in the way of the project, especially Dewsbury which was largely irrelevant when another long run would have been more beneficial. One long run ended with a large blood blister under my big toe parting company with the nail a few weeks later. (Editor: I have deleted the photograph.) Along with the prolonged period of snow and ice in January, training was also affected by a cough/cold in December which returned in January and March. Warm weather training on the Algarve in March was cold and wet.

Overall not a great training block although there were some decent sessions. Not brimming with confidence, the long run had been a particular problem.

Manchester

Our hotel at Trafford Park actually proved to be perfect with easy tram access for both start and finish. The deal was I would race whilst Margaret went shopping at the Trafford Centre. A couple of weeks before we had tried to find a decent Italian restaurant. Unsuccessful, we ended up at a franchise at the Trafford Centre with a meal that was quite frankly disgusting. We should have sent it back but by then we just wanted to get out of the place. (Will pm the name on request.)

Race Day

Things were looking up at breakfast which had kindly been moved forward by the hotel to 06:00 but the porridge on offer was the cardboard flavoured pot porridge type. It was already beginning to unravel.

The forecast correctly predicted that initially it would be cool getting warmer as the day progressed so Friday and Saturday included plenty of electrolyte dinks. Only a few stops on the tram, short explore then sit in the sun by the bag drop chilling out and trying to keep a lid on the nerves. The crowds at the start area were immense with massive queues for the facilities but luckily there were urinals for the men. Essential after all that electrolyte.

The light green start was off at 09:40 and it already felt warm, especially in the holding pen. The first mile was quite relaxed trying to dial into the pace but after that it just didn’t happen, yo-yoing between too quick and too slow. By 10k should have been cruising but things were just not right. Taking a gel resulted in gutsache. At this stage in the race I should have been chugging along at what should feel like an easy pace but this wasn’t the case. It felt so hard and the bridge over the M60 felt like a mountain. The heavy legs were a symptom of going off too fast but this isn’t what the watch said. It was too early for so many to be coming past and I was simply waiting for the 3:45 pacer to arrive. I hate pacers. With the heat it was clear that this was going to be a long day and could easily end up walking round in 4:30 which I was not prepared to do. Trying to think clearly, if I dnf’d instead of trudging round and breaking myself I could bank the training and race next week if I wanted to instead of needing four weeks recovery. The distance is no stranger to me and just “getting round” wasn’t an option.

A 13.3k I stepped to the side of the course and unpinned the number. It was a relief.

Yo-Yo Splits when all should be calm

The Walk of Shame

One of the spectators directed me to the nearest tram stop. I should have kept the watch running to get the extra half mile onto Strava. Squeezed onto the tram I was chatting with Tony from Hillingdon AC who had dropped out with cramp/tight calf at 15 miles. He was on for 2:40 and was bitterly disappointed. I tried to tell him that he had made the correct decision and watching him hobble across the road later it was clear that he was going no-where fast.

The next issue was finding Oxford Road, getting to bag collection at the finish just as the leaders were coming in. Fortunately the lorries with all the bags had arrived  but my lorry hadn’t been sorted into order yet. I was a bit early I suppose and it was about half an hour before the Scouts discovered my bag. With this in hand I was still able to get my tin of 0% Erdinger, a carton of coconut water and my t-shirt. It said finisher but would I ever have the audacity to wear it?

The Aftermath

I’ve been pulled from an ultra for failing to meet the cut off time but the last time that I actually dnf’d was January 2000. Two days later I received a letter from the club secretary saying that they didn’t want people like me in their club. They later relented instructing me to appear before the committee to “explain my actions”. That’s when I joined Steel City. My biggest concern however was dragging Margaret out of John Lewis as she wasn’t expecting me until at least 14:30. She realised that I would be disappointed after putting so much into this enterprise and was quite good about it.

At training on Tuesday I was unkindly reminded how I should always run through the line but a stiff set of 3xmile at 5k pace helped to put the record straight. Trying to work out what went wrong, confidence is a valuable commodity and it’s a pity that you can’t get it in tins at the supermarket. Preparation hadn’t gone well with only five 20 milers under the belt with other events during the training period and immediately preceding the race taking their toll but the heat and the being unwilling to adjust the target time and pace was the coup de gras.

May go again next year but have definitely gone off big “city centre” races.

Results can be found on Jemma Anderson’s tale of a far more successful outing  A Pacers Perspective