Back at MK for the 11th (I think) time! This year, the course has changed (again), and is “Back at the Stadium” with much fanfare (and a little copyright infringement, if you look at the artwork). While I enjoyed last year’s completely new route it does feel good to be returning to the stadium this time round, as it’s always been a big part of the ‘identity’ of this event.
Training went much better this year, I started the year motivated and stuck to my training plan well. By the day of the race I was feeling physically much fitter than the previous year, but maybe not 100% mentally. I wasn’t quite feeling it and found myself quite nervous as the day came closer.
It was perfect weather for a marathon (overcast and a bit crap). I appreciated it not being too warm, and there was a nice cool breeze. I was still feeling quite nervous and uncomfortable early on, and needed to stop for a comfort break by mile 3. I realised I was probably overthinking things and putting myself under too much pressure. I decided to just focus on taking it easy one mile at a time and try to enjoy it. I found a flow shortly after and things started to feel much more comfortable.
The route turned out to be a bit different than I’d expected – this years revised route had the start and finish at MK Stadium as usual, and two laps that involved fewer roads and more of the redways. It reminded me a lot of the Twin Lakes 20 route and was perfectly suitable for the number of runners, and as well organised as ever. Part of me did miss the older route though, which was a big loop around the whole of Milton Keynes, taking you through some of the more rural parts, landmarks like the roman ruins, and more variety overall. I remember it being more hilly though!
The second lap was slightly different than the first, and my legs were getting a bit tired after mile 18. It was starting to feel like a bit of a slog for a few miles, but was sure my 9 minute mile pace would be fine for the rest of the run. I ran with the 4:15 pacer for a while, before slowly running ahead. I found I was steadily overtaking quite a few runners at this point which gave me confidence that I must have been in good shape at this stage of the race, despite my legs feeling rather heavy.
As I started to close in on the last few miles it started to rain which was quite welcome, and I plodded my way back into the stadium for the first time in a couple of years. According to my watch my time was 4:15:51 (official time 4:19:18). Slightly slower than last year, but I think it was pretty good considering I stopped for 5 minutes at the start.
