This is the third time I’ve run the Dunstable Marathon and I have to say I really love this one. I think this this was my first ever trail run when I first ran it back in 2015, and also my first ‘unofficial’ ultramarathon as remember taking a wrong turning somewhere and ended up running close to 28 miles! I didn’t have a gps watch back then and this is very much a self navigated event. I used to have printed map and instructions with me which are only partly useful.
This year I came prepared with the course saved to my Fenix watch so there are no excuses for getting lost this time (although I still manage to go wrong even with a gps).
This event is another great local option for me, only 15 minutes drive away and very straightforward. It’s a rather tough hilly marathon with some breathtaking scenery and very well hosted. Plenty of parking and easy to pick up my number at the start before the race briefing.
I booked this a couple of weeks ago without really training. It’s been an extremely hot summer by UK standards and while I’ve kept my running going I haven’t been following a formal training plan.
I’d planned a very easy 9-mile pace for this one, partly for my lack of training, and partly because I’ve been getting some unpleasant palpitations cropping up throughout the day and while running. Doctors don’t seem to be too concerned about my health however so I’m putting this down to something anxiety related. As running helps my mental health I decided to book an event I enjoy. I’d be prepared to stop if I got worried at any point.
The weather was good, there was some welcome hazy cloud cover but was still quite warm and humid. The start of the race has us running out of Dunstable and onto the downs where there is a fair climb before hitting the main course. There were some serious looking runners here who got to a great start, and for a while I could see very few runners in sight ahead of me. I thought I might be quite far near the back of the pack, but that didn’t bother me as I felt good and was very much enjoying the view over the Chilterns.
I kept to my conservative pace, and found myself catching up to some of the other runners at about mile 15. It was still quite humid and it looked like some of the other runners were slowing down about now.
The last section of the race comes back over the downs and onto a small-ish loop around the chalk cliffs in Dunstable. I was still feeling pretty strong, and had a nice surprise at mile 23 when I was told I was sitting around 12th place!
The last loop became a bit of a hard slog – it was quite sunny by now and had warmed up even more, especially where there was no shade. Later I learned this section was all slightly uphill too, which explains it. It was quite hard going but I was very motivated to press on though to try and keep my position.
I ended up coming in at 4:26, and 11 place! Not bad for a tough, hilly marathon and a result I was not expecting. Amazing!
