The MK marathon takes place on early May bank holiday. It starts and finishes at MK stadium, with a big loop that runs through the town and out into the more rural areas of Milton Keynes. Over the weekend there are various running events and there is plenty going on at the stadium which creates a great atmosphere. This definitely isn’t a low-key event but I really like the lively atmosphere and family-freindly activities that caters for people of all ages and abilities.
I take part in the MK marathon every year as it’s local and very easy to get to. This time round I really wanted to beat my 3:35 PB set in 2015 and stuck to a sub 3:30 training plan. However it seems the elements had other ideas. Training was hampered by a bitterly cold winter, sub-zero temperatures, snow and ice. My first event of the year was cancelled due to snow and now, on the day of the marathon it was looking to be a blazing hot day (it turned out to be the hottest May bank holiday on record). I don’t run well in the heat so that morning I knew there was little chance of getting my PB this year.
The race started off at 10am at a ‘manageable’ 20°C as I ran towards the town centre. My plan was to run at a slightly slower pace than planned, take it easy and hopefully get finished in a reasonable time. I wore a hydration pack which is something I don’t normally use for marathons, but didn’t want to take any chances, even if there are plenty of water stations along the way. The first 10 or so miles were actually pretty comfortable despite the weather, and I was happy to have decided to take it easy, keeping to the shade as much as possible. By this time the temperature had climbed to around 23°C and I was starting to feel it. At each water station I had taken to tipping some of the water over my head in an attempt to cool down. A massive thank you goes out to all the generous MK residents who were kind enough to set up hoses, sprinklers and kids armed with super soakers outside their homes to offer runners a chance to cool down too. The spectator support at this event is fantastic, and today was no different.
Next came Willen Lake which was a nice change of scenery followed by a stretch along the canal and onwards to Great Linford which is my favourite part of the course. It’s a historic village that caught me by surprise the first time I took part in this race – not what I expected to find in Milton Keynes! By this point I was really feeling the heat but still pushing on reasonably well. That all changed at around mile 18. It was coming up to around mid-day and the temperature had risen to something like 26°C. With no breeze the air was stifling and it was getting very uncomfortable. I resigned myself to knowing this will have to be a gruelling walk and run effort for the last 8 or so miles as the heat was starting to get to my head. I was still in the habit of tipping water over my head to cool off (I maybe went a bit overboard with this as my clothes were soaked!) and this kept the insane temperature at bay as I plodded along with other runners who were doing the same thing as me by now.
I was counting down the miles, just wanting this race to be over and my pace was slowing down more and more. The temperature eventually reached 27°C now by the end of the run I must have passed around 4 runners who had finally succumbed to the heat, close to passing out and being tended to by medics. Finally the stadium was in sight after the longest last mile I’ve ever run. I had had enough now and was so happy to have finished, much slower than my sub 3:30 that I was hoping for with a time of 4:11. This was the hardest marathon I had ever taken part in!
As it was the fifth time I’ve completed the MK Marathon I was on the ‘MK Legends’ list, and received not only the usual finishers medal but also the Legends medal which is huge! MK Legends also have access to a VIP room with balcony at the stadium (which was air conditioned), so I was very glad to get away from the hustle and bustle and relax for a bit with my wife and daughter who had taken part in the superhero fun run, and friend Tom who completed the half marathon. Despite the insane weather we had a great day and took home quite a haul of medals!
