Edinburgh 2010 - Sunny Days !
Sean Kelly posts this report on his first Marathon attempt in the heat and sunshine of Edinburgh...
Didn’t the first-ever marathon runner have a pretty hard time? He was running from Athens to Marathon with news of an epic battle – he was sent back and forth with messages and, in intense heat, he collapsed and died!
Who would have thought that the capital of Scotland in May would have seen the temperatures soar to 25°C? The BBC weather forecast predicted that the morning would be overcast with light showers beginning at 9am, to be followed be heavier rain. Well, David and I were delighted to wake up in our Edinburgh guest house at 6 am and look out to overcast skies.
As we walked the two miles to the start, I said, looking toward the mist and rain over the city-centre, “It’s just getting better and better.” David was quiet, possibly wondering if his ‘unconventional’ preparation for a marathon (running a 35:34 10km - four days previously) would cause a problem. I was excited and looking forward to a new running experience.
We bumped into the other Wallsend gladiators in the baggage bus area. Dave Rowe was the most relaxed and he seemed to keep that up for the whole of the race. Kylie was wondering what to do while we were racing… that’s Mark Hall’s wife – not Ms Minogue (Mrs Hall is a lot younger than the Aussie warbler and a lot more tolerant to people puking out of her car – more of that later).
After a final visit to the portaloos (during which Mark ‘encouraged’ people to hurry up by banging on the doors) we joined our section of the start. Liz Yelling started the race and I set off at my planned pace of 6:40 mile splits. For the first sixteen miles I ran in a group with Mark and David. We enjoyed a lot of shouts of “Go on, Wallsend” which we continued to acknowledge. It really did keep you going. I thought that the first ten miles went very smoothly, you know, this marathon lark didn’t seem that hard at all!
The predicted rain did not materialise and the day became hotter and hotter. We all made full use of the drink stations and the heat did not seem too great a problem at this stage. At sixteen miles the three of us were all still running at around 2 hr 54 min pace but I decided to slow a little. I found out that it is very hard to deliberately slow your pace in a marathon. However, at twenty miles (reached in 2 hr 15 min) I experienced the infamous, ‘Hitting the Wall’! It was as much a mental as physical experience. At that point, I simply couldn’t imagine running another six miles and my legs were more tired than I can ever remember. I managed to walk, jog and run to the finish but those six miles took almost an hour!
I was delighted to meet Mark and David in the ‘reunion area’ and found that they had run exceptionally well in the heat to record 2 hr 54 min and 2 hr 55 min respectively. Dave Moir finished a minute ahead of me but still had enough energy to sprint for the beer tent. Apparently a pint of beer is better for re-hydration than a pint of water.
I didn’t see any of the other Harriers but they all recorded great times and, most importantly, completed the 26.2 miles despite the scorching heat. Well done to Catherine, Dave Rowe, Julie, Ruth and Emma. I hope that you all managed to get back to Newcastle a bit sooner than I did.
The next marathon task was walking a couple of miles to catch a bus then changing buses after the driver of our bus finished his shift and left the vehicle! Then we walked through Edinburgh city centre before reaching Mark and Kylie’s car. By this point I felt quite ill – as we drove through the city centre I amused the locals by vigorously puking out of the window! We were dropped back at the guest house where David’s car was parked. We then had to travel back down the A1 but were stopped for about an hour in a traffic jam near Alnmouth!
I arrived home at about 7pm and had a bath, beer and takeaway.
Reflecting on my first marathon experience, I was a little disappointed with my time but not too much. It really is a steep learning curve and I am putting this one down to experience. I am already planning to run on September 12th in the Robin Hood marathon in Nottingham.
Surely this report will encourage others to try the experience and, if so, I look forward to seeing you in Nottingham!
Selected results:
Catherine Willis 3h 36m 39s
Dave Moir 3h 12m 24s
Dave Rowe 3h 46m 41s
David Daniels 2h 55m 48s
Emma Osbourne 4h 41m 10s
Julie Hind 4h 28m 10s
Mark Hall 2h 54m 47s
Ruth Marshall 4h 17m 22s
Sean Kelly 3h 13m 08s
Full results can be found here;
http://www.edinburgh-marathon.com/?2010full_results
Dave Daniels adds: on a personal note, I can’t decide whether my greatest achievement was either recording a PB or receiving a seal of approval from music aficionado, Sean, with regards to my latest music compilation CD. I knew you couldn’t go wrong with the The Beatles, Rolling Stones and The Who.
Congratulations to all who took part.
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