Taunton Marathon

Richard’s report:

Adverse weather was predicted for the Taunton Marathon on Sunday and there was indeed some laying snow when we drew back the curtains with a degree of trepidation. However everything turned out perfectly for the duration of the race, although it was still a tad cold. All the snow was soon gone, there was only a light breeze, and the bright sunshine gave a real feelgood factor. Dave C looked in good shape with two arms for the half, while Phil was confidently boasting that he would do no good as he’d not done any training! Lesley, for a change seemed cool, calm and collected and had even remembered her front and rear numbers for her first Taunton Marathon. I didn’t feel too good and in fact hadn’t felt right since the Four Trigs. I had aborted my last 800m rep. Session and walked home in confusion. On the plus side Lesley and I had both done four long runs in the last six weeks.

For the second year Taunton had “proper” chips with mats (cf. the Grizzly) so I made a determined effort to start off in very last place. Everything went well with consistent 8 min/miles and a 3.5 hour target. The sun must have brought out the best in me as I actually talked to a few people, which I never do when running. Fred Hagan from Minehead was supporting on a bike and we chatted for some time. There was a revised route this year: 1) Miss off the French Weir Park bit, staying on the main road. 2) Take the left “leg” at Bradford on Tone to the A38. 3) Turn left into Bishops Hull, through the village, exiting at Netherclay, then right onto Silk Mills Road and left into Heron Drive and through the car park to the finish. Beware half-marathoners who park here wanting a quick getaway!

Halfway I was right on schedule as I collected my special drink from the water station (orange juice, salt and sugar). I was joined by Mike Berry from Minehead and we ran the next six miles or so together. His last marathon had been in Prague, in a temperature of 29 degrees C. We passed Jonathon day of Axe valley and although I was starting to feel less good, pulled away from them. Not much conversation now. Strange snippets of talk: someone I can’t ever remember seeing before asked if I was doing the Seaview again! By 21 miles my 90 seconds in hand had gone and I could feel liquid moving around in my stomach; this meant that although I was a bit thirsty everything I drank would just sit there getting more and more uncomfortable. I must admit to walking a bit on the small hill at Bradford and the longer one at Rumwell. However the new route does have some good downhill bits through Bishops Hull and I was well enough to go past a few runners. Finished fairly comfortably in a gun time of 3:39:08 with Nicky Taylor of Yeovil one second behind – I had no idea she was there. My chip time was 3:36:39 just a tad slower than last year. Took my medal and, at the time it seemed a good idea, a cup of Bovril. Sat down in the warm sun, recycled my chip, and cheered home J Day and M Berry who came in together. Also spoke to Alan Littlejohns who raced the half – winning a category prize - the week before London!

I went to the car and felt very sick – it’s so not fair. Had the camera ready to take a picture of Lesley as promised. However she finished so quick I wasn’t ready. She saw me laid out in the car as she ran past! Anyway she looked fresh as a daisy with a new PB of 4:06:35 knocking 12 mins off her previous best. We got home, I went to bed, she dug holes in the garden planting things and once again her vest didn’t need washing. I think I’d better let her pace me at the Dartmoor Discovery.


Lesley’s report:

Not that organised – I forgot to put tape on my left foot where it rubs on my shoe, and was hobbling for the next two days. However this was the first marathon where I was able to even think about a pace rather than just reaching the finish. I though I was taking the first half at a very leisurely pace until I heard a runner behind me mention he’d done the last mile in 8:40, way too fast for me. But I plodded on going through halfway in about 1:57 and chatting to Clinton Rogers - a reporter on our local TV channel. Suddenly it got very lonely. Runners in front were several hundred yards ahead and barely visible as I picked my way through Taunton’s shoppers. Then out onto the long drag up through Norton to Oake, where some less than welcome company that had appeared spurred me to push the pace a bit. From Oake to Bradford I was back on familiar training ground, and the miles slipped away. I even managed to “run” the hill at Rumwell on the second lap, although it could better be described as “falling forward slowly”. The approach to Bishops Hull meant the finish wasn’t far away. I negotiated the car park, road humps and uneven ground etc. to make the finish line without falling over. That was a slight exaggeration from RW about digging holes in the garden, as not long after we got in there was a white out with snow. However one of us did stay on our feet to do the cooking, washing, etc. (including the vest!!)

RW:

Well done to Dave who did a good half and to the Ironman who in spite of his lack of training finished in 3:19.16. Of course all this pales into insignificance compared to Lin and Martin’s epic 50 mile adventure in snowshoes, battling through hostile terrain and 20foot snowdrifts.