Abingdon Marathon 2024

PBs Galore!!!

 

Alex Dugard, Jude Wood, Ashley Day, Phil Stevens and Richard Allan took on Abingdon Marathon in the middle of Storm Ashley, see what a few of them had to say about their experience….

 

 

From Richard…..

 

 

 

After a pretty solid 4 month training block with the usual ups and downs of minor injuries and illness it was time for race day. The long runs had gone fairly well so until the week before I was feeling fairly confident about being able to do a decent time on the day. Then along came Storm Ashley… Constant checking of the weather reports didn’t change the fact that we were facing what could be pretty terrible weather conditions of high winds and rain; definitely time to adjust race goals for me.

 

After a night in Abingdon and a pretty decent sleep I woke up as usual a bundle of nerves and the wind was definitely starting to get stronger. We all got to the Race HQ after a nice little walk up from the parking to stretch our legs and the realisation set in that the weather wasn’t going to miraculously go away. After sheltering for a while, it was time for a warmup, nice to be able to do this on the track that we would start and finish on.

 

We all lined up in a bit of a crush on the track and then it was bang, off we go, with so many people grouped together it was a bit tricky to get into a rhythm for the first half mile but then it all started to spread out as you’d expect. The course starts off with a loop out around the country just outside Abingdon before coming into the town around mile 5 and at this point there was a really good support from the crowds, much more like you can expect from a big race which was a nice booster. Then the race goes into a route that is done twice, encompassing a mix of countryside, a short trail section and going through a pretty big business park, doing the same part of the course twice did take some mental strength especially passing signs for 16 miles when you know you’re only at mile 7! The route takes you back into the town again at about mile 24, and even with the bad weather there was still good support to give us all a little boost for the final push to the finish. If you are thinking of doing the race, there are a few spots to look out for… At about mile 24 there is a little subway that the route takes, the downhill part of it was evil and probably the slowest part of my race, my calves felt like they were on fire, but surprisingly the incline on the other side was bliss to stretch them out. There are a couple of relatively short “trail” like parts with a few tree roots and muddy puddles, probably would be ok if the weather was dry but, on our day, it was a bit muddy and slippy in places! In the main the course is fast and flat and in good conditions, definitely a PB course.

 

Throughout the course there were quite a lot of supporters out there cheering the runners on, and as we did the same section a couple of times, we got to see the same supporters at least twice, and as usual, having your name on your vest helps to get a few shout outs! Also, on the course there were plenty of water stations (probably about every 5 k), with paper cups so always worth practicing your technique before; also provided at some of the stations was a ginger energy drink, I didn’t dare try that mid race…

 

The race must really take some organising, with loads of really friendly and helpful marshals out on the course, encouraging everyone while keeping us safe and on the right course, so definitely a big shout out to the organising team.

 

So how did the race go? Well, the weather definitely didn’t help, it was high winds for the whole of the race (it felt like a headwind for most of it) and that was incredibly strength sapping, the rain was there for a big chunk of the race, making for puddles and heavy, wet kit! Then again, it was just one of the contributors to the race day experience… For me, the race was tough (but then again when isn’t a marathon tough?) and the last couple of miles in particular I had to dig really deep and turning onto the track for the final lap was a great relief and I was very pleased to get a PB out of the race.

 

Some great results from TRAC team mates, Alex, Phil and Jude all getting PBs and huge commiserations to Ashley who got major leg cramps and had to pull out of the race.

 

 

From Alex…..

 

 

I have said it before but the marathon is a distance, a race you have to respect.

 

Having ran well at Manchester earlier in the year, I felt confident going in to Abingdon and my training had been good.

 

I came away from Abingdon with a new PB, improving my time by over a minute however, the race was hard and a few mistakes from myself meant that I feel I did not run it as well as I could have done. I ran a positive spilt which was really painful, feeling myself slow down over the last half. My legs feel absolutely destroyed, far worse than how they felt after Manchester.

 

Having said all of that, I absolutely loved the experience and I cannot wait to take on the marathon again. I know going forward there will be good days and bad days, good races and bad races, but I am ready to embrace it all and ultimately never forget that you have to respect the marathon!

 

 

From Phil…..

 

 

This was my 2nd attempt at a Sub 3 marathon. Together with Ashley Day we followed the Ben Parkes Level 4 / Advanced plan. I’ve done his plans before and have always come away with a PB.

The plan was 15 weeks long and I have to admit was the hardest one I have done. At the peak week it goes up to 64 miles, which at the age of 57 I found really exhausting. Having said that, it all went well and it wasn’t until the 1st week of the taper that I picked up an injury to my right foot. I swapped a few of the tough runs for bike rides and then just stuck to the last 2 weeks of the taper using Voltarol, ice and self massaging to get to the start line.

 

A few days out it was clear that it was going to be a windy day and when they decided to call it a storm and give it a name, my heart sank.

I was worried that it was going to be cancelled, as after all that hard work I just wanted to have a good go. Luckily it wasn’t.

 

Because of personal circumstances I had to leave home early on the day and with a race start of 9am, that meant leaving my house at 3:30am (poor Alex Dugard had to get up even earlier to come to my house as we were lift sharing).

Strangely enough there was no traffic on the road and several hours later I found myself on the start line with Ashley, Alex, Richard Allen and Jude Wood.

 

 

I was much more nervous than I usually am and I think it was because of the mind games Storm Ashley had been playing on me for the past few days.

It was raining and the wind was picking up when we were off, completing the start from the running track at Tilsley Park.

It was a bit crowded and difficult to get into the right pace dodging people and big puddles. After a while things opened up and the job began.

I’d already decided that Plan A was to shoot for a Sub 3 and see how things went.

The water stations although plentiful were paper cups so I made sure I took a cup at everyone as you usually manage to get about 1 mouthful of water if you’re lucky.
I was finding it hard to keep to my target pace of 6:49 per mile and although the wind wasn’t really gusting it was obviously having an effect.
I usually take 6 gels on a marathon, 1 every 4 miles but I’d been treated on my birthday to Maurten gels (I wouldn’t pay £4+ for a single gel lol) and had decided to take 1 every 5 miles (as they were bigger).

At mile 10 after taking the 2nd gel my stomach started to cramp a bit which it has never done before (usually I have a cast iron stomach).

 

I went through half way at 1:30 and thought to myself I could do it with a negative split but had never done that before in a race.

 

At mile 15 I took another gel even though my body didn’t want it.
When I got to about 15/16 miles I realised that today wasn’t the day so changed to Plan B, a PB attempt. 
I knew I was on course for a PB but still thought that it may slip away.

At 20 miles, the half way point in a marathon people say, I was starting to hurt and the mental battle began.
My stomach again was giving me a few issues too, I skipped the gel at mile 20 and took it at 22 instead.
At 24 I was really hurting, my breathing felt ok but my legs were loosing all their strength.
I looked at my watch and knew I could get a PB if I could just hold around the 7 minute mile pace.
The last 2 miles was right up there with the hardest I’ve ever had to race and it was such a mental struggle.

 

When I saw the 26 mile marker, which was at the start of the final track lap I knew I had done it as you can always find just enough to cross the line.

As I went around the last bend I tried for a sprint finish but both thighs cramped up and I nearly fell over.
I crossed the finish line with a mixture of exhaustion and elation. I had just got a PB of 3:01:32 in the middle of Storm Ashley and couldn’t quite believe it.

 

 

Jude Wood was most probably the performance of the day with his first Sub 3

 

 

 

 

 

Results out of 1003 competitors (it was sold out at 1500 but I guess Storm Ashley put a few off..)

 

Alex Dugard – 24th – 2:43:02 (NEW PB)

Jude Wood – 115th – 2:57:17 (NEW PB)

Ashley Day – DNF (major cramping issues)

Phil Stevens – 171st – 3:01:32 (NEW PB)

Richard Allan – 304th – 3:15:57 (NEW PB)