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Halstead & Essex Marathon
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Very excited and mainly due to an impulse decision. Im running the Hastings half this weekend so am hoping that this will be a good base to increase my training runs for marathon distance.
Great reviews and read ups on this forum so am very encouraged and looking forward to it!
Will keep in touch on this board with how my training is going and gain any tips from some of you more experienced runners.
WOO!
Rich Campbell
A few questions though.
How hilly is the course?
How fast is it (in terms of field) - I aim for 3.30
Will it be hot? Hope not as Windsor half nearly killed me due to heat.
Jon
I'm pretty confident I can get 4:30 or less but if something went wrong in my training or throughout the race I'd hate to think I was going to miss the cut-off - do you even get a medal if you go over 5hrs?!
Come on...it's a marathon afterall - marshals expect to be standing around for a good few hours - should try marshalling an Ironman race - now that's a long hard slog!!
Flynn, I think you need to update your entrant listing as it's been nearly a month ;-)
P.P.S
is anyone doing any warm up races, i.e. half marathons... in the next month or two preceding this race?
I know. I know. I'm a little behind on keeping that updated. I'm actually doing the latest postal entries as I type and will get an update onto the website on Sunday evening.
Glad you've both picked us as your first marathon. I ran this race as my first 4 years ago. Hopefully you'll find all the support you need to complete your first marathon.
Richard Campbell
Good luck at Hastings. Remember not to race it though. The goal is the marathon and fast half-marathons in the build-up can be detrimental to the marathon training.
Jon McKellar:
How hilly is the course?
Not hilly at all. There is one hill quite near the start and you only go up it once. The rest of the course it either flat or undulating. Whcih is another way of saying, gentle ups and gentle downs. Some steeper than other but it's a loop and what goes up must come down right?
How fast is it (in terms of field) - I aim for 3.30
Many people get PBs at Halstead. There should be plenty of people finishing when you are.
Will it be hot? Hope not as Windsor half nearly killed me due to heat
Some years it's been very hot. Other years not. Who can tell. May is the start of the summer after all. If it's hot then hydration becomes even more important. If the weather takes a turn for the hot then in previous years our race doctor has recommended additional water stations which we have set up at the last minute.
Tara.:
It's not a hard and fast 5 hour cut-off. It's a guideline and it's there to support our volunteer marshalls.
You're not going to be either pulled off the course or left on your own with no marshalls after 5 hours. At 5 hours the marshalls begin to be withdrawn. Runners are never ever left on the course without support. Yes, you get a medal as well regardless of what time you finish.
I personally don't leave the finish until every single runner has completed the race. (as do all the other members of the marathon organising team) At the very worst you'll cross the finish line to find me standing there with your medal grinning like an idiot and making sure you're ok.
Is there any interest this year in organising pacing groups?
For the past two years we have successfully organised some pacing groups to allow runners who plan to run the same time to run together and to support each other.
If you do want pacing groups this year then show your interest by posting your name and projected finish time.
Thanks for the reply - the will it be hot question was a rhetorical one really. My sons birthday is in early May and I have lots of memories of it being very very hot. I don't cope well running in the heat. 10.00am start should help though. 18 miles today in 2:20 - feel great.
I'm absolutely thrilled...I've just run my longest run ever...well, when I say 'run' it was more of a gentle lope...but it was a 16 mile gentle lope! I managed to get the Thames, plus a few parks in so I'm mighty chuffed, see: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=759427.
It was also one of my fastest slow runs run at the lowest constant HR ever (my resting HR today was 55bpm but gets as high as 200bpm during races… my average HR throughout my run today was 153bpm, it’s usually around 160bpm or just under for LSD runs). Hopefully that indicates I'm getting fitter or perhaps it's just the lack of alcohol over the last week and the huge chinese takeout I consumed last night!
Either way I'm really made up, especially given that I actually started to feel better after I got over 13 miles despite that being the longest I've run previously! Legs felt soooo heavy towards the end though I think that could have been mainly psychological as I knew I was nearly done.
Okay so I know that at 10:30 m/m I finished in around the same time that a lot of my friends finish marathons but still, it looks like if I keep training sensibly I may yet get under 4hrs 30...fingers crossed!
Oh and also, great to hear that the course isn’t hilly…undulations I can handle but hills simply kill me!
oh yeah and re the pacing groups thing...yes I think that's an interesting idea but not sure if it'd be for me... I know that this race is going to be the toughest thing ever and I doubt I'll be able to stick to the same pace throughout, although today's run didn't leave me out of breath in the slightest I doubt the same will be able to be said for Sunday May 13th! If there are pacers though it would be fab as could tag along when I started to feel off-pace... provided that they're running as slow as I am!
So yes, I'm sure I'll see you...speeding off into the distance :-)
As far as I know there are only 2 other people from my club running so look out for the red and gold tops!
My dream for the day would be to hit the target time, really enjoy the race and then watch West Ham on Sky beat Man Utd at Old Trafford to avoid relegation.
OK maybe I'll just settle for 3.45!!
I'm looking to do my first marathon and been impressed by the postings here and wonder if this one could be the one to choose. I not sure if I will be fast enough though! Just done the Hastings half in 2:03:57, my 4th half and a PB :-), but not sure what marathon time that predicts.
It's also Mr M's 50th birthday so I'm working on persuading him that me doing a marathon is a good way of celebrating!!
Latest entrants list has now been uploaded.
Assuming I've guessed your surname correctly there are 3 Serpies entered into the race so far.
I seem to have done a good job selling this marathon to Mr M as he's thinking of doing it too!!!
Just popping in, (I lurk) no, did this last year as is the best Mara I have done yet......
Looks like the same fantastice service is being provided again this year.
Have not registered as doing FLM, but may go for it afterwards all depending, as have lost 3 weeks to suspected viral infection (now well and truely over and trg well).
Flynn, keep up the great work and may or may not see you at halstead.......
PS are you anywhere near max entry levels yet..... or plan to be?
Take care all and keep going with your trg.
Currently training for this (seems like a great race) but not yet entered. Not because I'm tight (how much? £18.50? Jeez), just dont want to tempt fate and inevitably get injured.
Flynn, as you seem to be heavily involved with this race how are the entry numbers progressing. I was intending to enter at the beginning of April if my second 20 miler doesnt leave me in the same sorry state as my first. Not too late I hope.
Kevin...will be hoping for that sort of time (3:45) but it's my first marathon so may not risk that pace...plus hoping that we beat the Hammers to win the title in the afternoon so may not be the best company for you.
How on earth do you decide what marathon pace is anyway. My mile times increase exponentially as I go beyond 16-18 miles.
http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/rununiv/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm
Sorry can't do fancy links.
Pete
3:31 then (based on 1:40:26 half). Think I'll add 20 minutes onto that as I did 20 miles in 3:15 and was struggling.
3:50 and I'll be very happy.
Course profile if anyones interested. Looks like a lot of small ups and downs and the odd longer climb:
http://www.runningahead.com/maps/cab801c0d07e43a7a74442558053cf65
here's the RW race time predictor: http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/news/article.asp?UAN=1681&V=1&SP=;
and here's the RW training pace calculator: http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/news/article.asp?UAN=1676
they're both quite accurate for me but not sure about others, the training pace thingy is pretty much spot on