Blackpool marathon went well today with a personal best time of 03:18:59, with an average mile pace of 7 minutes 35 and came 73 out of 638. Personally I thought there was a few problems with the organisation. First, no portaloos along the route, no showers, no physio at the end and no marathon t-shirt. For £28 to enter which is half you normally pay for a marathon. The rest was organised well with the roads closed, well marked, marshals and plenty of water stops.
It was 2 laps on Blackpool promenade, so it was quite flat except a 2 mile section which was undulating. The start and finishing point was at Blackpool football stadium. They set off the half marathon runners with the full marathon, which made it hard to pace my miles with the half marathon runners over taking me. After the first lap the half marathon cut away, leaving a string of marathon runners left.
Throughout the second lap there wasn’t much support from the side lines, most people did not even care that there was a marathon going on. Just like I did in the Highland marathon I kept a good mile pace, in fact my first mile was slower than my last. This meant all the runners which set off to fast at the start, started slowing down around about the 18 mile point when it started to get tough. I overtook a lot of runners. I tried to encourage them along, but some of them looked in a lot of pain. In the last 200m there was a small crowd of supporters in and outside Blackpool football stadium. I crossed the line and as always I was overwhelmed with happiness, plus my family was there for me at the end.
Tips • I used 7 jells, one before I started plus Beetroot juice, one every 4 miles after that.
Kit • Adizero Trainers – good for the marathon but had to buy two pair because they do not last. • Nike runner shorts – A good size back pocket to put jells in, plus light weight. • Garmin GPS – really good for keeping my mile pace through out the marathon. • Keeping clothing to a minimum – shorts and vest were perfect, do not wear warm clothing even if you are cold at the start. • Thorlos Experia running socks – really good, worn them on two marathons. I have put my marathon pictures on the Penicuik Harriers facebook page.
Well done Paul, a great time. Don’t forget where we are if you’re back up this way at any time. All the very best for your future running career, to you and your family.
Congratulations Paul on a great run, a personal best and a superb report.