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Brighton Marathon 2013
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Thanks for the excellent info John..... much appreciated.
Hi all
Sorry have I missed something but are we not setting off from Preston Park!
Alex
There is an elite start from Withdean but i should point out i'm really not that elite !!! but supposedly in the top 250 / sub 3.00.
We get an easier / quicker start which i wont complain about.... 1 less hill
hi adjw
Yes the mases are starting at Preston park. This year the elites are starting in different place so they dont have the hill at the begining to do.
ADJW the like like of you and me are it's the Elite runners they have a different start this year i don't no whether it makes it flatter for them after the moaned it was to hilly for them
the elite start means they don't have the hill that goes around Preston Park - they effectively have a downhill from Withdean Park to where they join the main course as the rest of us come onto the A23. no doubt they'll get their brows wiped en route as well....
thanks for the prompt replies..... I really didn't want to get harried by these ultra elites barging past me as I jaunt along!
This will be a bit early for most of you coming for the weekend, but we're having a test run for Preston Park parkrun, at 18.45 on Thursday 11th, anyone welcome, particularly parkrunners with barcodes as we want to do a full test of the process in readyness for the first real run on the 20th.
Meet by the Chalet (Square) cafe, followed by a visit to the nearby Park View pub for refreshments. http://www.parkrun.org.uk/prestonpark/
Elite start probably worth 20-30 seconds for an average runner? Will be interesting to see how many of the "elite" starters get to Preston Drove before the first runners from the mass start.
Red Nine - the wind on Brighton seafront can make a massive difference, makes you think you are flying when it is behind you, but then you turn back into it! Have had many a run down to the power station and turned back into it and the 5 miles back to the pier have been very hard.
The wind today is a similar direction to what is forecast for Sunday - I ran a mile at MP west and was easy and then turned and ran a mile back east and it was much harder - and that is with it mainly from the south with just a touch of east.
BUT...Brighton seafront doesn't run exactly east/west, it is more SE/NW - so a wind like they are predicting is actually more of a head wind for the last 5 miles than I would like. Of course it is a tail wind before the final turn so just have to adjust pace accordingly.
Sounds like a ready made excuse as to why my pace in the last 5 miles slowed dramatically ...
I was fortunate enough to get in with the elite starters this year. I was unaware until recently that it was a compleltely different start point. I was more than happy to just start nearer the front rather than starting way back last year and struggling my way through the crowds for the first 6 or so miles.
As I'll be trying to stick rigidly to a consistent pace it will be interesting to see what happens when the two starts merge as I will be at the back of the elites but no doubt there will be a great deal of runners from the Preston Park start who will be ahead of me at the merge.
I think the wig may have to go this year due to the heat!
if i'm in a little group i'll make sure i take my go at the front before the turn at the power station then tuck in for 5 miles and cling on for dear life !!
Red Nine - Neil Spicer and I on here are aiming for 2:59:59 so may well be grouped up for the last stretch.
MetOffice are giving 26mph gusts SSE, so pretty much a head wind from the power station to the finish!
I'm going for 2.49.59 but think i could go under 2.45 if everything went perfectly but slight leg niggle + the wind might scupper all of those plans...... i just want to get on with it now!
probably the best wind forecast for coastal places is Windguru which is used a lot by kitesurfers so they can head to the best wind spots
http://www.windguru.cz/int/index.php?sc=104&sty=m_menu
that link shows the Shoreham forecast which forecasts 20mph SSW gusts at 10am, 18mph att 1pm so that means more of a crosswind for the home stretch.
I'm just going to stick to my game plan of consistent mileage and hope if I have got anything left at the end it'll be enough to keep to that plan and offset the wind.
Some great advice for those running on Sunday. (ad free external link).
Plan well, have a great race.
http://natrun.co.uk/the-night-before/
Lombster - are you aiming for even splits the whole way round..... i just dont seem to have the self control to do that (which could be my undoing) i guess i'll aim for an 81 / 82min first half then see how i feel.
Thanks Fat Buddah - Windguru is my new best friend until Sunday
i know you're right but the thought of doing 6.15sec miles after the 20 mark doesnt appeal. I feel i need some breathing space just in case the wheels fall off.
Am i just being really dumb here but is a ssw wind not slightly in our favour on that home stretch - i know its more like a crosswind but i thought we run east at the end so a ssw will be ever so slightly behind. It may be at its worst heading back down into the town around 10-13 miles - like it said i may be reading it wrong.
ad free but still spam as you're a contributor to the site....
no - you're reading it right - it will be very slightly behind but will feel more like a crosswind with the strengths shown. but I'd leave the final check on what the wind is doing till Saturday - much like any other weather forecast
AndyC - yes the wind will be worse heading back into town...but that bit's slightly downhill
so find the biggest person possible before the turn and tuck in behind
.
not a happy bunny atm as did a gentle jog yesterday and now have a really sore hamstring - hope its nothing serious - ice and my roller are being used right now.
Also, do you get any protection from the [supposedly vast] crowds in the last few miles, or does that pesky wind just blow in over them ??!!
Lombster you remind me of my cross country runs at school, when I was always one of the slowest. The course was one lap round the football pitch, out of the school gates across the road to the river bank, along it and then back for approx. 1.5 miles, finishing with another lap of the pitch. I was usually only half way round the first lap when the leaders (like you) were out of the gate, and I had barely got half way when they had finished.
Sounds like "the merge" could be the new buzz phrase for the Brighton marathon ... some of us can only dream of seeing "the merge" .. perhaps we will hear it instead from where we are ...