40 and Beyond.....: Marathon No.55 - MBNA Chester Marathon

Sunday, 6 October 2013

Marathon No.55 - MBNA Chester Marathon

Setting off from Chester racecourse on the 26.2-mile route, which crosses over the North Wales border.

Over 4,500 runners participated......... This year was the fourth time the event has been staged.

Was an amazing day indeed.... I hit a PB time of 4 Hours, 42 Minutes and 02 Seconds! Just under 10 minutes off my Berlin 2010 time of 04:51:04. Berlin was my 2nd Major and my 4th Marathon. I had yet to beat this time until now!

Marathon	Year	Times (Under 5 Hours)

Chester Marathon	2013	04:42:02

Berlin Marathon	2010	04:51:04

New York Marathon	2009	04:54:04

Dublin Marathon	2012	04:58:16

I didn't sleep well in the busy Chester City Centre Hotel I stayed at the night before. Apparently they had a parade going on the previous day and it seemed the whole community was out to celebrate. I was staying on the first floor with Jenny Cassey, also another Marathon runner from London.

After my morning Porridge and Mug of Coffee, we headed off to the Chester Racecourse at 8am prompt for the 9am start. It was a fairly cold start to the morning, until the glorious Sunshine came out later in the day!

CHESTER Racecourse

Several roads were closed between 09:00 and 15:45 because of the race.

The event could not be faulted, it was very well organised.

I originally set my goal for Chester at a time of 5 Hours or below... My intentions was to run with Kate Jayden who was the dedicated 5 Hour pacer for this years Chester Marathon. This course was Kate's first marathon, her 6th marathon and this year Kate was running Chester as her 60th Marathon. Chester was her hometown!

I set off at 9.03am following Kate Jayden. After 15-20 minutes in to my running I'd found myself a steady pace and somehow lost Kate in the back. Davey Green (10 in 10 runner) was running slightly ahead of me. I manged to lose him at one point and met a gentleman named 'John', I met John in May at the Brathay Windermere Marathon this year. He recognised me and we exchanged a few words, until we caught up with Davey. I introduced Davey to John and somehow I started to run behind them both. This was the stage I started to lose my steady pace as I'd set off way too fast in the first half. I bumped in to Ruth on the course, took a picture and continued on running.

The route took runners past the town hall, cathedral, the Eastgate clock and amphitheatre, out into the Cheshire countryside then over the border into Wales.

It returned to Chester along the River Dee, back to the finishing line at Chester racecourse.

The BBC Coach

Festival Village

All GO at the start...................

Ruth and Me before the Marathon!

Me and lovely Kate Jayden (Dedicated 5 Hour Pacer for Chester Marathon)

From Left to Right - Dave Niblock, Sarah Turner, Me, Paul Nicholls, Kate Jayden and Gary!

Photo taken by Nozza - Courtesy from his Fickr Site....Thank You Nozza!

My legs were very strong, and as I was running a lot faster than my usual pace I ran so hard that the miles just flew by. I met Paul Nicholls at the start of the course and again at around Mile 20, every time he saw me, he kept repeating encouraging words at me. Paul if your reading this - 'Thank You'!

LAVISTER - The fast and largely flat route is on closed roads covering 19 miles in England and 7 miles in Wales.

Mile 11

The Half Way Mark - Mile 13

The Half Way Timing Mat

I reached this Timing Matt at : 2 Hours, 15 Minutes & 35 Seconds

It's a nice gentle undulating course with just one hill at the end

The beautiful Countryside of Chester

Mile 15

The support in the villages and communities along the course were amazing!

Welcome to Farndon

Drink stations were located at every 2.5 to 3 miles - At one drink station they had no bottled water left, but had plenty of bottles of lucozade.

With my FINISH Medal!

I wore my 'Run For Fun' T shirt for the very first time at the Chester Marathon and the amount of support from the crowds were absolutely incredible. I bumped in to Anne Williamson who'd recognised me as a RFF group member towards the final few miles but didn't see her after.

Me and Lesley Coulton

It was 4 hours in to running when I realised I had 3 more miles to finish the marathon. 3 Miles was nothing (a Saturday morning parkrun was what I originally had in mind). At this point I was totally going for it, with a few walks in between running I pushed myself so hard. Those last 3 miles must have been the hardest miles for me, they went on forever. I wanted this PB so badly I just kept on going.... Not caring about anything happening around me and just focusing and concentrating on getting the job done. I didn't even realise until towards the end that my iPod ran out of batteries and I was not running to Music at all.

Just under a quarter of a mile to go I noticed Lesley Coulton running right in front of me, I called out to her and she saw me struggling... She held my hand a few times, pushing me to continue on. At this point I had absolutely nothing left in me. The time was around 1:40'ish pm and I knew if I'd pushed myself that little bit more it would be a PB (If it wasn't a PB time, it was very damn close to it).

The best part of the course was the end stretch, so many people were clapping and cheering (names were on our numbers so people were shouting names). That was great and gave me a real lift when my legs were tired and aching. Organisation was great and we were ushered through the finish quickly.

On arrival back home, the official results were already up on the marathon site. I was overwhelmed to confirm 'Chester Marathon' FINISH Time was my new PB - 04:42:02 .... A day I will never forget! Thank you to all the people of Chester, the supporters, marshalls and the organisors...

The Usual Suspects - Ruth, Davey, Me and Jim Meta

My Colleague Katherine Johnson was also out on the course supporting friends, she gave me a shout around Mile 13 and also towards the last stretch coming in to the finish....

Goodie Bag - Nature Valley Crunchie Bar, Mars Bar, Mornflake Superfast Oats, 4 x HARIBO - (Happy COLA, Super Mix, Tangfastics), Long Sleeved T-Shirt & a 50 ml Mint and Tea Tree Shower Gel!