I found out about this marathon back in February and was really keen to give it a go - under an hour's drive from home, a small event, inexpensive, and the feedback about it was really positive. Too good an opportunity to miss out on then! I knew it would be the weekend after doing a 26 mile trek in the Lake District for Alzheimer's Society (blog post still to come!) but as I so often think: "oh it'll be fine by then, I'll be super fit..."
Then real life kicks in. I did 16 weeks of training for the Moray Marathon (well, as much of a 16 week training plan as was possible with winter weather, illness, child-rearing, working etc!). Three weeks later I ran 47 miles on the Moray Coast 50. Three weeks later I trekked almost 27 miles round Ullswater. The following week I ran the Strathearn Marathon. I was certainly not super fit. In fact, I was exhausted.
In the weeks in-between all those events, I hadn't done a whole lot of training. I was trying to balance rest from the event that had passed, plus tapering for the upcoming event, and trying to maintain some level of fitness whilst also not feeling great. I was also carb-loading as if it was my full-time job. All of those combined things meant I actually went into the Strathearn Marathon feeling very tired, and at least half a stone heavier than I should've been. Mentally I was tired, physically I was rundown but okay.
It was maybe one event too many in a 7 week period. I felt terrible leaving the house on Sunday morning as Totty blocked the front door and was very upset I was leaving AGAIN (I was away for 2 nights in the Lake District the weekend before, and it's pretty rare for me to be away). I couldn't explain to her WHY I was doing it, and it didn't help my overall feeling that this wasn't a great idea of mine. However, at least with this event I was only away for a few hours, and the plan was for her to be at the finish.
I arrived at the start at historic Cultybraggan Camp near Comrie around 20 past 9. I already had my number, just needed to go to registration and say I was there, collect my t-shirt, and join the toilet queue - thankfully very small as this event had fewer than 200 participants! I saw Michael (brilliant photographer) and Tracy (brilliant runner) who I know from the good old days at Vogrie parkrun (the start of my running journey in 2017 and the place of many happy memories!). They are such lovely folk and they really calmed my nerves.
We started bang on at 10.00am. Start slowly is always the intention, but the first mile involved a loop around the camp and I definitely got swept along in the adrenaline of the occasion, with quite a few people cheering us on. I couldn't keep the smile off my face! It didn't last long...mile two brought the first incline!
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| Photo credit: Richard Hammond, Strathearn Marathon |
"Don't let the first five miles of the race put you off" I'd read somewhere online, and now I was understanding why they might! I'm not a fan of running up hills but actually this marathon taught me something very valuable (that I did already know and I'd had to utilise on the Moray Coast Ultra, but that it was good to be reminded of in a road marathon too) - IT'S OKAY TO WALK!
Everyone I saw that day walked uphill at some point (I'm sure the speedsters at the front didn't but they were well away!) and I started looking forward to the opportunity to walk - it gave some muscles a rest and worked different ones. I always felt better once I started running again. It made virtually no difference to the time it took me (I wasn't running for a certain time on this marathon, just wanting to finish, but I did run it faster than I did the flat Edinburgh Marathon in 2018, despite 1500 feet of ascent, so walking made no difference!).
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| Photo credit: Richard Hammond, Strathearn Marathon |
I looked for mum on the way as she'd cycled out on the route. I can't remember where I actually saw her - somewhere around mile 16 maybe? But she'd definitely cycled a lot of uphill to get to me, because it seemed like it was all downhill from then, that quad-wrecking downhill! I was starting to feel a bit queasy and it felt tiring to chat.
Her car was just outside of Crieff so we said goodbye and I'd see her at the finish. The run into Crieff was nice as there were a few people standing cheering (and a guy offering strawberries, how kind! Which reminds me, the aid station at halfway had watermelon slices which tasted incredible!). There was a long incline out of Crieff which at this point of the day - mile 20ish - felt terrible. I ate some rocky road (very melted) on the walk up and honestly felt pretty shoddy. At the time I felt like the worst I'd ever felt in a marathon (I'm not sure that's totally accurate - Nice to Cannes in 2018 was a bit of a disaster for me tummy-wise, and much of the Moray Coast ultra was spent feeling pretty uncomfortable!).
I'd just had enough really. It was becoming a grind. It was warm and sweaty (had been since the start), my feet felt sore (maybe still recovering from the trek?) and my legs just didn't really want to do it. I don't think it was a fuelling issue, I think it was just fatigue and a mental dip. Those last 6 miles felt unbelievably long and I was desperate to see the mileage signs as they came...21, 22, 23, 24...
I felt bad because I "should" have been enjoying myself but I really just wanted to get done.
We got to Comrie and I unexpectedly saw mum again, cheering in someone's driveway (forgot to ask her the story behind that?!) and hoped she'd make it to the finish in time! (She did, never in doubt).
Thankfully the end was getting closer, and I was ready to see my girl and cross that line. It felt incredible to round the last corner into Cultybraggan Camp and have a straight hundred metres to go. Lots of supporters, finishers and volunteers surrounded the finish line so it was a really special finish, and it is always a pleasure to run that last bit with my bonnie lass. It felt incredible - and I was done. Very done.
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| Photo credit: Gordon Donnachie |
I didn't feel well but I was so happy to be done. Thankfully the post-race buffet really helped, with mum fetching me a delicious tuna roll, banana, and huge empire biscuit. I felt much better after eating all that!
Nice catch up with Michael and Tracy before we left, then hobbled back to the car. My feet/toes were definitely the sorest out of everything. We were home an hour later, feeling tender but pleased. Later that night I actually felt pretty ill which I put down to dehydration and sunburn - my face was burnt as I'd stupidly forgotten to take my cap/underestimated how sunny it would be. I didn't sleep well as I didn't feel well, so Monday was spent in a bit of a zombie-state but I still managed nursery pick up/drop off (a short walk from home!), working, taking Totty to dance class, walking to the shops, and an evening walk to keep moving.
One thing I've been really pleased about is that my physical recovery is so much better these days. I remember being sore for days after a 5k back in 2017, or a marathon in 2018. Nowadays I'm not really that sore the next day or after which is a blessing, but the tiredness gets me. I don't sleep amazingly at times and I just feel constantly knackered.
The other notable thing is that since Strathearn I've felt relief that I have a break from running events, which probably shows I've overdone it slightly. This is meant to be a fun hobby after all!
I'm really glad I did it though. I would've regretted not entering such a fantastic event. It was a lovely touch that all the marshals looked up our race number on their list and subsequently cheered our names - a really personal touch that you don't get at many events and it made a big difference on the day. Everyone was so friendly and the medal/tshirt/food afterwards was so good that I'm sure when entries open next year I'll have forgotten all about those pesky hills! We'll see...
Strathearn Marathon - Sunday 9th June 2024 - 4.26.22 - a toughie but a goodie!
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| Photo credit: Richard Hammond, Strathearn Marathon |
Well in sis!
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