Thursday, 9th March 2017. Dorney Lake, Herts, UK.
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| Looking over Dorney Lake, venue for 2012 Olympic rowing |
I had booked a day off work to run this marathon. Am I
completely mad? The twenty-something version of me would have been absolutely horrified. I
used to book a day off work to go to a beer festival or to go to the pub and
spend the day drinking. Not any more! It
was about an hours drive through the rush hour traffic to get across to Dorney
Lake, but before I knew it I had entered Eton College Rowing club and the friendly marshal
waved me into the car park.
It was a really low key event so just a few fellow runners
milling about, all of whom said good morning to me – super friendly! I
registered and spoke to Steve and Jeff, the brothers who had organised this
race.
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| Registration |
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| Selfie with Steve Edwards |
They handed me my race number (28) and a velco wrist band which had 9 numbered tabs attached to it. As I left the registration tent I walked past a familiar looking face. It was Steve Edwards, he is a bit of a legend in marathon running circles. He is aiming to complete 1,000 marathons and each one is done sub 3:30, I have no idea how he manages that. I said hello and we had a brief chat, and I cheekily asked for a selfie – why not it had to be done. He was a really nice chap and was very encouraging throughout the run. He told me this was his 770th marathon. Simply unbelievable, Steve made it look so effortless.
I got chatting to a
few fellow runners including a very nice lady called Heather who running her 95th marathon, this was certainly motivating for me to keep the numbers
going up to reach the magical 100.
At 9:20 we had a ‘race briefing’, basically it was 10 laps
of an out-and-back course, dead flat and on a track, which ran parallel to the rowing
lake and to the River Thames. After each lap we had to pull off a white race number
from the Velcro wrist band, allowing Steve and Jeff to keep count of the laps.
On the last lap you’d hand in the red number, which most people would do on lap
9 but there was always the option to cut it short and hand it in on an earlier
lap. We could also get more numbers if we fancied an ultra (erm… thanks but no!) We had
six hours in total to do as many laps as we’d like, and they’d let you finish a
lap you started so long as you started it within the six hour window.
The
briefing finished and before I knew it, Steve shouted “go” and we were off!
The first few laps just flew by. By now the sun had come out and it had got really hot, the forecast was for 19C which for mid-March was balmy. There was no shade at all on the course. To keep my mind off the effort I was chatting to fellow runners the entire time including a very friendly couple - Lee and Emma - and another chap who introduced himself as John. Much banter was exchanged and we told each other stories from previous races as well as all the usual toilet humour which somehow always seems to crop up during a race. I especially enjoyed hearing about all of John’s ultra running adventures including a story of going across the Humber Bridge and some rather unfriendly marshals in other races.
At the end of each lap was a lovely aid station, with a fab
array of sweets, chocolates, peanuts and crisps as well as plenty of water and
squash as well as energy drinks. I took every opportunity to stuff my face and
drink loads, although pausing to rehydrate and refuel slowed me down a bit. I
was really beginning to feel the heat after the third lap and I knew I had to
keep hydrating and to keep my sugar levels up to avoid hitting the wall. I was “Jeffing” after my first
lap, which was running 3 minutes and walking for 1 minute. I noticed lots of my
fellow runners taking walk breaks too, so I know I wasn’t the only one feeling
the heat. I was enjoying the views across the lake and the rowing club, and
also the Thames which looked very nice in the bright spring sunshine. Also in
the distance I could see Windsor Castle.
I had got up to about 7 laps now and my legs had taken an
almighty beasting. Each lap was pancake flat, and on a hard surface, which
meant the same muscles being used over and over again with no change of terrain, with no soft surfaces or inclines to break up the monotony and work different muscle
groups. Although I still had plenty of energy, it started to feel incredibly
hard and I had to put more and more effort in to maintain the pace. I knew I had the Larmer Tree marathon just 4 days later, so I took the decision to swap
to speed walking. With a bit of effort I managed to bang out 12 to 13 min miles
walking. I got chatting to a fellow lady runner who was running at the same
pace as my fast walk, not surprisingly she wasn’t too happy about that haha! I
dug in and just knocked out those laps, each one getting harder and harder. Almost
all my fellow runners now were walking or had slowed considerably so I knew the heat and the course had really got to everyone. What was really great
was the big support and encouragement all the runners gave to each other, and it
was nice to see people come in on their final lap and achieve their goal. Albeit knackered!
I really enjoyed my day out running at Dorney Lake. It was a
shame that the course didn’t actually go round the lake itself, I have walked
around it before and really enjoyed it. Although it was flat, which you'd think would make it easier than most races, the course got really
monotonous after a few laps and the hard surface really gave my legs "a damn good thrashing" (in the words of Basil Fawlty). But for a cheeky mid-week marathon, it was good value for money and
lots of fun, I’d certainly consider doing it again.
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