Manchester 2019

nicko1981

Staying with some friends who live in Manchester so will ask them for recommendations but I remember a couple of good pubs from working at Old Trafford last year. (one called Dockyard maybe)

I'd be surprised if there were no toilets in the start area itself as it looks seperate from bag drop (also won't be using that - far too much hassle).

Hill1

StevieWh, Im stopping at Holiday Inn Express Trafford City too, I think the best option is checking with the hotel the best way there as I suspect there will be a lot of road closures around there??

george_

Thanks for sharing Steve-Pen B looks like a complete scrum then!

Nicko, if I were you I would take advantage of your Pen A position and run 30 seconds in front of the pacer at least until the initial crowd thins out 

nicko1981

I'm just wary of going off too fast as I usually do; but will take it into consideration when I see how busy the start is, thanks for the advice.

Ian5

Steve-Cheers for that,I'm hoping for 3:10 so near the back of pen b for me.
From 2 years ago there were definitely toilets in the start area,hopefully the same again.

Stockholm Syndrome

I´m a bit confused by the pic of where the pacers will be. When I signed up I wrote 3:15-3:30 as my expected finishing time, which according to the pacers position should have put me in pen c. However, according to the starting list I am in pen b which would be way too close to the front considering I am targeting just under 3:30 (3:29 or something like that). So either the pacer information is wrong, or (more likely) the organizers have put me in the wrong pen.

StevieWh

Stockholm - I'm not sure how they worked the pens out. I put 2.45-2.59 and I'm also in Pen B. You can usually move back a pen without a problem at other marathons

philh1969

Hi All,
I ran Manchester last year (and am again in 2019). I get the impression they have reorganised the pens for this year - last year it seemed to me to be a free for all and I got nowehere near my correct pen, though I did leave it a bit late to take my position. If it's any help you are very quickly into wide road and so it opens up. The pacers do a great job, but I just find them so congested and heard that grabbing drinks when with pacers is a scrum.
Ran it in 3:47 last year and currently thinking to target sub 3:40 this time. I haven't got enough for 3:30 and fear it would end in tears to try for it. If anyone fancies a running partner based on pace of about 8:10-8.15 per mile for the first 16 miles, let me know. After 16 miles, I'm going to maintain pace as much as I can.

Gladrags

 I'm also too far forward for the pacer I'd like to run with so will probably move back. (Am I the only one on here aiming for a time starting with a 4?!)

I ran with the 4h15 pacer all the way last year and it was fine -but can remember seeing some of the earlier pace groups loop back past us (in Altrincham?) and they were heaving. Drinks stations are also pretty short so the London technique of just swooping in at the end doesn't really work.

But yes, wide open roads and pretty good crowd support.

nicko1981

I think if you talk to the fellow runners in your pace group and make a plan for drink stations it'll probably be OK. In a lot of races I have shared my water / been given water by other runners near me when the drink stations have been difficult. It also reduces the amount of bottles taken so better for environment / water available for runners yet to come.

rutherglenrunner

Looking forward to this now. In terms of spectators getting about the course to catch runners st different parts, best bet be the tram? 

alipat1990

<blockquote class="Quote">
<div class="QuoteAuthor"><a href="/profile/Gladrags">Gladrags</a> said:</div>
<div class="QuoteText"><p> I'm also too far forward for the pacer I'd like to run with so will probably move back. (Am I the only one on here aiming for a time starting with a 4?!)</p><p>I ran with the 4h15 pacer all the way last year and it was fine -but can remember seeing some of the earlier pace groups loop back past us (in Altrincham?) and they were heaving. Drinks stations are also pretty short so the London technique of just swooping in at the end doesn't really work. </p><p>But yes, wide open roads and pretty good crowd support.
</p></div>
</blockquote>
Gladrags I'm aiming for a 4:15 finish, but I'm all the way back in Pen H. When I signed up for the marathon I had no idea how long it was going to take me to finish with it being my first one so I put down an estimated finish time of 5 hours. I definitely regret that now but oh well, what can you do? 

Jonny Beach

i am aiming at 5th attempt to go under 4, i am in Pen ahead of all the 4 hour pacers but plan is too go around 3.50 pace anyway...

did a 9 mile yesterday with a 3 x 1 mile intervals thrown in and legs seem to be recovering pretty quick from Sundays 20 miles. 2 rest days now and then 8 to 10 miles easy Saturday then just couple of 4 to 6 milers next week.

Overall injuries seem minimal apart from some muscle tightness but have booked in for a massage this Friday to sort that out.

Everyone else all ok ? 

rodeoflip

Reverse taper from Barcelona marathon 2.5 weeks ago into taper for Manchester. My legs are still tired, I ran a 10K at marathon pace yesterday and the thought of doing that x4 is horrible. Still a few aches and niggles, but hopefully nothing that cocodamol won't sort out on the day. 1.5 weeks of reduced activity (shorter LSR this weekend) will hopefully put some life back into the legs.

It's been two years since I last did a marathon where the temperatures weren't roasting. I need to be careful what I wish for I know, but looking forward to cool conditions for this one.

Gladrags

Alipat - no idea how strictly everything will be patrolled this year, but last year you just vaguely got into the right area and then you all shuffled forward. It wasn't at all like London so was easy enough to move forward/back as desired. Would definitely recommend the pacer - slowed me down to start with and then gave me something to aim for towards the end.

I have the usual taper niggles - currently centring on the left hip. Fingers crossed!

nicko1981

Rodeo - I know what you mean, last 2 for me have been Paris and London both super hot (I think maybe we ran Paris the same year?); currently looking like it's going to be cool and still on the day so fingers crossed.

After a final 16 on Monday with a few fast miles in the middle; and an accidental 5K race PB on Tuesday I'm going to try and remember that in the last 2 weeks it's only possible to overtrain not undertrain!

Looking forward to having a nice cold beer in my hand by approximately 12:30 next Sunday.....

life_in_the_old_dog

Hi...latecomer to the party here. 2 questions really...
1. Does anyone know if the Park n Ride Tram at East Didsbury (car park) gets full very early?... and...
2. Is the bag drop just chaos and a plan B should be adopted instead?

Thanks

saintjason

LITOD - can't honestly answer 1) as I live east of the city so don't know E.Didsbury line.

As for 2) well I got there last year 45 mins from the start and whilst there were big queues, I had dropped my bag and was making my way to the start within 10 minutes of getting onsite. Therefore, I didn't think it was that bad at all.

Caveat to both questions though is plan to arrive earlier than you might think I guess.

philh1969

Life in the... - I don't know about the tram question.
The bag drop in 2018 - when I arrived for bag drop my heart sank and got worried that I'd miss start of race etc (and people chatting had similar thoughts). But in reality the queue went pretty quickly and was fine. That said, I think the number of runners is significantly larger this year so using bag drop early probably best. I handed by bag in but had old clothes on over my running gear and took them off 2 mins before start and just ditched them at the side.

SpartanRunner

Legends Club - Is anyone listed in the hall of fame having difficulty getting the gold race number? I'm eligible but didn't receive one and getting no help from the organisers to sort the problem.

Ian5

Last weekend so no heroics guys.
I'm sure I read somewhere that the event village this year is on the football grounds car park,but can only see things that say the cricket club again.Anyone have any idea?

mtuff

Hi everyone, I started running about half a year ago and Manchester will be my first marathon. I was hoping someone could advise me on which pacer to follow. When I started training for the marathon a sub 4 hour time was my goal, but am I taking too much of a risk with that and would maybe be better off following the 4:15 pacer?

Here's my last three long runs

today: 15k flat, 5:15/km - i felt like both my legs and my breathing could have continued for a couple extra km at this pace
last weekend: 20km trail run with 350m elevation gain, 5:50/km - felt exhausted after this one
2 weeks ago: 32km flat, 5:35/km - my legs were aching for the last half hour on this one but in terms of my breathing I felt like i could go on like this for a long time

Thanks for any advice :)

nicko1981

Hi mtuff - have you done a half marathon race in the last few months? That would help give you a guide on expected result. Also how many long (20ish mile) runs have you done in the last 3 months?

If you have the mileage, based on your 32km run I would say that 4 hours would not be out of the question. Similar to you for my first marathon I had only been running for 6 months and managed a 3:52 moderately comfortably. I don't think any of my long runs had been at that pace, as race day always brings out the best.

mtuff

Thanks for the advice. I followed the Hal Higdon Novice 1 plan except for two weeks of illness and cross training less than I should, so that was my only ~20 mile run so far. My lack of lifetime mileage is what's causing me to hesitate to aim for sub-4. Haven't run a half marathon race as I live in a remote area but I did run a half marathon on my own in 1:53 about two months ago.

nicko1981

ok well if you were able to do a half outside of a race in 1:53 I would say that you probably have the pace to do a sub 4 hour marathon; basing just off my own experience, which is very far away from gospel. 

Just checked Hal's programme, if you've only missed 2 weeks of that; I think you'll be OK. My advice would be to go out at 4 hour pace and see how you feel, you might surprise yourself.

Sol2

nicko1981 said:

ok well if you were able to do a half outside of a race in 1:53 I would say that you probably have the pace to do a sub 4 hour marathon; 

That is true, but assumes enough endurance to sustain the pace for the entire distance of the marathon. Which I don't think MTUFF has, as he writes his legs were aching the last half-hour of the 20-miler. Essentially, not long after the half marathon point, his legs were asking the endurance questions...

I'd suggest to take it more conservatively and go with the 4:15 pace; you can always speed up for the last 10k if you're feeling good 

nicko1981

Fair enough Sol2, that's a valid point - I suppose what we are looking at is the difference between 2 approaches - optimism and conservatism!

I can't remember a 20 miler where my legs weren't aching for at least half an hour.

philh1969

Mtuff - Sol2 and nick1981 have set it out well. Just to add, a general rule of thumb that seems to hold is that you double your HM time and then add 20 minutes. It is possible to take formula of double your HM time plus 15 minutes. So you're in tricky territory with that decision (if any consolation I'm in similar place deciding between sub 3:40 or whether to try for 3:30). The course is pancake flat and crowds are supportive but beware there is not much support for a few miles around the 20m mark and that's where you have to dig in. Good luck, be strong.

BongoBill

Mtuff - I’m in a similar position with my time (1.52 over half distance time trial). I’ve decided to start at 4 hour pace and dig in and see what happens... my first marathon so a PB is guaranteed! (...if I finish)

I was wondering... in terms of keeping warm before the start I’ve read about wearing old clothes/bin bags etc. and simply discarding them. Does this happen? Is it”ok”? 

StevieWh

BongoBill - I'll be wearing some old clothes and getting rid of them at the start. Better for the environment then a bin bag and they are normally collected for charity