I have just registered for the Belfast Marathon in May 2011, what the hell have I done to myself. Im 32 not very fit at all but thought why not!! I have 239 days to go, so is it possible?
I had been looking at the beginners training guide for the London Marathon so thought I would use that as a rough training schedule. I went out for the 15 min jog and to my surprise was able to do it. 15min and 1.5 miles so at least thats something.
So my question is am I nuts to have put in for the full marathon or is it a doable challenge?
PS I have told as many people as I can and said im raising money for the local hospice so that will keep me from backing out
Comments
good on ya mate am thinking of doin it myself (belfast) to give myself a goal to work to.am a beginner aswell 1.5mile my best was 13.40 so were basicaly the same. wher bouts you from ?? am from whitehead
marc
havnt entered yet myself but have been training for about ten weeks so far, work a lot of shifts so i wanted to see how training would fit in around the workload. it's actually been better than expected so i'll be entering properly in the new year!
as far as im aware the course is farily flat with the exception of the Antrim Road which is a rather large continuous hill! i'm going to have another look at it here and give it a bit of study
When is the Belfast Marathon? - I may try and wangle another trip over here to participate if poss.
I've run about a dozen marathons over the past 5 years, but starting over again really really does feel like I'm starting all over again.
It's the 2nd of May this year, so you'd get you spend your bank holiday running around Belfast.
I thought that "recovering from the Belfast marathon held the day before" would be a good bet, but apparently some other people weren't so keen on having it on a Sunday. The organisers don't seem to have given up though, there's a mandatory "do you think it would be better to run on the Sunday?" question on the entry form.
Hi all! I did the BM last year. I found the Antrim Road stretch to be very tiing. It's a long slow hill from about 7 miles right the way through to the half way point. If I was doing it again I'd eat a banana or slurp some gel at about 6.5 miles to get my blood sugar levels up and then just get my head down and not panic. Maybe crank up your ipod if you are listening to one. Basically when you can smell the zoo you are nearly there! After the half way stage it's downhill or flat mostly (nothing like the Antrim Rd again anyway).
Indo77, I agree in and out of Ormeau was a bit disheartening! Running through residential streets of Befast was weird! Also all the relay runners got on my nerves but I always get really grumpy when I am tired. . .
Overall I really enjoyed it. The crowds were great, especially for the last few miles when you need it the most! Growing up I always used to watch the marathon on the bank holiday weekend and I couldn't believe I was actuall running it! Am doing Paris this year for a wee change but I would def do Belfast again some day.
Good luck everyone!
I have entered this yet again, anyone else doing it?
Heading out for a lovely gentle 6 miles in the evening sunshine tonight, this tapering is nice. Here's hoping for a cool day in Belfast in 13 days time.