We arrived to a typically grey and dull Manchester morning which all reports incorrectly said would turn into heavy rain at about 11, in fact, apart from a few spots, it never rained at all.
I found the 3:45 pacer and 15 minutes later we dutifully started shuffling to the line, once we were off it was more a case of being aware of the runners around you as in the opening miles Manchester can be very congested. My running felt pretty good and I was easily keeping up with the pacer (the plan being to use him to stop me going out to fast), I soon saw my family who had found themselves a spot on a corner near the opening stage. Later in the race I was greeted by the site of one of my old Taekwondo coaches holding up a huge sign for me and another of her friends which provided a great lift and a few comments of ‘Wow, you’ve got a big fan there’ from my fellow runners!
From this point on I cruised to around 14 miles where a hamstring niggle I’ve been carrying for months made its presence known. It felt manageable so I kept up with my plan which was to stay with the pacer and then pull away with 3 miles to go. This however was not to be, ironically at 23 miles my hamstring seized up totally, I tried in vain to keep up with the pacer who I was now supposed to be leaving behind and could only watch as he disappeared into the distance.
Luckily for me, I had an alternative target (something I always do as it helps if things don’t go to plan) which was to go for sub 3:50 and still bag a good PB. Forced into alternately running and walking to nurse my hamstring I was just about managing my pace, as per usual the crowds on the last stretch of Chester Road were really supportive, patting me on the back and spurring me on, in the final yards I was happy to see fellow Strider Paul Barnett cheering me on. I dug in deep and ran for the finish line hobbling as fast as I could, the clock show 3:51 but I knew we’d taken a couple of minutes to cross the start line. In the end my chip time showed a result of 3:49:37, giving me a new PB by over 5 minutes.
In the end I’m happy with my result, but not satisfied, as a result I’ll be running Liverpool Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon in 7 weeks with an eye on going sub 3:45!
I can honestly say that since joining Sandbach Striders back in September last year my running has gone from strength to strength, so hopefully, this year will see even more PB’s!
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Steve F.