Bournemouth, Dorset. 8th October 2017.
This was my second year of running the Bournemouth marathon. It's a fairly flat-ish road marathon held in mid October - how hard can it be ... so I thought!
The start area is out to the east of this Dorset town, with the finish right next to the pier in the town centre. I was giving fellow club member Chelsea a lift to the race, so the day started fairly early. As the sun came up, it was a lovely mild morning with a blue sky, and a promise of a fine day to come. Perfect running weather! With a marathon start time of 10am, I had the luxury of a "lie in" (!) and didn't have to leave until 7am (wow, some lie in eh!) to go and collect my running buddy and then head down to Dorset. It was a quick burn down motorway towards Bournemouth and we arrived in Kings Park shortly after 8:30. There was a large car park next to the athletics stadium which served as race HQ, and there was no issue at all parking.
We walked over to the HQ, here there was a small indoor cafe serving teas, coffees and bacon rolls. I bumped into several running buddies here including Emine, Theresa, Rachel, Costas, and Peter. Small world! There were plenty of loos both inside the atheletics block and also a separate area of poortaloos, so pre-race prep wasn't too bad at all! ha!
I dropped my bag off at the bag drop area, a number of lorries were parked up and helpful marshals took the bag. I wanted to have some food and a jumper in case at the end in case I got chilly.
As this is a mass participation road race, the organisers had divided us into a number of start zones with a staggered start - elite, white, red, yellow, green and orange. Yes, of course, I was in the orange zone (with the slowest predicted finish time!) I bumped into Martin from my running club and exchanged some banter, we also gathered for a picture with my running friends who we'd seen in the cafe. The time just whizzed by and the first wave started before I'd had time to even think about my nerves.
One thing I like about this race is that there isn't much hanging around at the start. The orange pen began to move forward, making our way towards the start line. Before I knew it, they announced the orange pen was off and we surged over the start line, crossing the timing mat with the usual endless noise of beeps from the machine as it registered runners. The sun was now well up and the temperature was climbing, for a mid-October weekend it felt unseasonably warm. Only the previous weekend I'd done Clarendon and it was raining and cold, so having nice weather really was a bonus.
I had decided in advance to "Jeff" this race (ie. run/walk), with my usual 90 second runs, 30 seconds walk ratio. I use the first couple of miles as a warm up though, as I don't like stopping for a walk break when the course is busy and I might force someone to suddenly dodge round me, that's not fair on my fellow runners.
The first couple of miles we headed through Pokesdown heading east towards Wick, past the shops with lots of people out in the sun cheering us on. We headed further east, with a fairly lengthy out and back section by a golf course, before coming back along Boscombe Overcliffe, heading west towards the town centre.
Here was our first aid station, with plenty of water and some energy drinks. There wasn't any food on offer though, although I'd bought my usual selection of hula hoop and mars bars with me. I didn't see if there were any energy gels but then I hate those things so wouldn't have used them anyway.
This section of the course was really flat. The course wasn't crowded at all, and I was able to find my own pace pretty quickly without that sorting of dodging around people you get at a big event like London or Brighton. It was good to be able to get those miles ticked off and rack up some "easier" miles for once at the start. I guess I'm too used to my trail marathon where it starts hard and gets harder!
We headed along this section of road, which again was an out-and-back section of the course. There were lots of sections of out-and-back on this course, which can be mentally tough seeing faster runners coming against you, and also seeing the sweeper not far behind you! The marathon has a strict cut-off of 6 hours 30 minutes, and I can see from the results this was strictly enforced. I didn't fancy a DNF so dug in and kept churning those miles out.
As we headed back towards that first aid station, we took a right turn, and headed down a sharp hill towards the seafront path, and now heading out west again. This was a lovely section of the course, with the gorgeous sandy beach on our left, and the cliffs on our right hand side. There were lots of people out walking and enjoying their morning, and lots of them gave us cheers and support.
We want back up hill and back on the Overcliffe Drive, heading through the Boscombe Chine Gardens which gave us some much needed shade. It was quite a sharp uphill though, so we took the opportunity to have a bit of a breather by walking up. Well not so much as a breather as a break for the legs!
By now I had 10 miles in my legs and we were doing great, the sweeper was miles behind us and well out of sight, and we just had to dig in on the tricky middle miles section and keep going.
We plodded on , churning those miles out with Bournemouth Pier in sight. Suddenly we did a 180 degree turn, another sharp downhill section and then headed out back east towards Boscombe Pier. The finish area was tantalising close in front of us then cruelly whisked away! Haha!
I really enjoyed this section of the course. The runners coming the other way weren't too far ahead of us, and we said hello to almost every runner and gave encouragement. The wooden pier was well in sight now, and the sea was glistening in the sun and it was now getting really hot. I was downing as much water as I could, tipping some over my head and taking lots of sips of energy drink from my CamelBak.
We took a right turn and were directed by enthusiastic marshals over the wooden pier. It felt odd to be running over the planks which were a bit bouncy. We ran to the end of the pier and then came back, but not before I'd mucked about with the giant sized xylophone installed along the shelter in the centre - I never grow up!
We now at last headed back along the seafront once again heading west, back into centre of Bouremouth. I really enjoyed coming past the colourful beach huts, not sure I could ever afford one! Here we could see the old West Cliff funicular - no such shortcuts for us though. As we went past Harry Ramsden's we were right in the cenre of Bournemouth, I could smell the fish and chip and could have easily stopped to have some... no chance...
We had now about 16 miles in our legs and I was still feeling fairly good, although I did feel really hot. I'd forgotten my usual visor and having the sun right in my eyes wasn't great.
Once again the finish line was right in our sights before we got marshalled off to a left turn, and then onto Bournemouth pier. The second pier of the race!
This second pier was much wider than Boscombe Pier. It was great to see along the beach, there was lots of families out enjoying the sunshine and the unexpected warm day. The pier had some interesting looking activities on the go including a zip wire, no chance of short cut with that though! We headed back towards the shore along pier, then a cruel twist of this race. They make you go through the finish line, even though you've 9 miles to go! A metal barrier separates the actual finish line on the left, whilst you go through on the right but then have to go on. It's mentally really tough to see people coming into the finish, as well as the crowd shouting out 'come on, you're almost done now' when in fact you are so from from doing so.
My running buddy took a bit of a turn here and felt dizzy. I found a marshal and made sure she got some medical help. After a brief discussion she told me to carry on, and I knew that I couldn't do any more for her and she was in safe hands, so on I went through that finish area and onwards.
Now came the sting in the tail of this race - a real bastard of a hill with almost a mile to climb, some of it quite sharp. I had by now caught up Rachael and Garry, we exchanged some banter and I power walked past them, with cries of "are you going for PB!" from Rachael. Ha! As I got to the top I had a wonderful view back toward the pier and the sea. I also passed a group of cheerleaders who put on a display just for me!
We now went through the West Cliff Gardens area, this was nice and shady, and flat, this was most welcome after that bastard hill. It was good to get out of the sun and cool down a bit. We headed around Middle Chine and back down a really nice shady path (this is called a Chine, so I'm told). It was good to have a nice easy downhill bit to go along, by now I had done almost 19 miles and the legs were getting a bit on the tired side.
I had now reached the seafront again. I knew I had the hardest section in front of me, the 7 miles out-and-back towards Branksome Chine and Poole. I was still "Jeffing", it was so hot I was really glad of those 30 second walk breaks. I just dug in and kept churning the miles out. The seafront was packed, with load of people milling about, people standing outside pubs drinking and cheering on the runners. As runners were coming both ways it was a little tight in places and I had to dodgy pedestrians quite a bit.
We finally reached the end of the prom, and now we made a right turn and headed along the seafront towards Poole, towards amusingly named 'Lilliput'. Signs up for the Sandbanks chain link ferry meant I knew we were about far west as we could possibly be.
There was a short gentle hill upwards to the turn around point, where the organisers had placed a timing mat to make sure no-one made a sneaky short cut by cutting out this section of the course. I had caught up Emine and Theresa by now, and chatted with them for a bit before heading on. I also caught up Peter, who I had run Richmond Park marathon with earlier in the year and of course we had to stop for a selfie!
I now headed back down that same hill, past an aid station where I took on loads of water and tipped some over my head to try and cool down. A left turn took me back on the prom and heading back toward the centre of Bournemouth with the pier in the distance.
Coming the other way were lots of really knackered looking runners, some of whom must have been 4-5 miles behind me. I think the heat had caught a lot of people out on this race. Sadly, I think many had probably received a DNF due to the strict cut-off.
It was now a long old slog back along the front towards the pier, and I just needed to dig in and get the job done. I kept on with the run/walk as best as I could. The support from the crowd was fantastic, with lots of cheering, impromptu water stops and people handing out sweeties and other goodies, all of which was gratefully received. Looking at my watch I knew I was in for a reasonable finish time if I just kept going and well within the cut-off.
The last couple of miles really dragged on, the pier in the distance just didn't seem to get any closer! Mile 25 ticked past and I knew it was in the bag, just dig in and keep going. The pier at last loomed into sight and there was the finish line. I managed a little speed up toward finish but not before some idiots absolutely caned it past me for a huge sprint finish.
I crossed the finish line with a real sense of relief. I was very hot (although well hydrated), but I was pretty knackered with that heat. Looking down at my watch I had finished just over 5 hours 35, a few minutes slower than the previous year but I was really happy with that time.
I was marshalled toward a finish zone, where a really nice medal was hung around my neck, and I was given a 'goody box', containing my finishers t-shirt, water bottle and key ring. I also picked up a bottle of water and some snacks.
It was a bit disappointing that the finishers t-shirt was identical to 2016, except for a change in the year - first world problems.
I exited the finish area into the gardens and met back up with my running buddy who by now had recovered and was feeling alright, thankfully. We waited for the shuttle bus which took us back to Kings Park and the start area. I had to pay for the shuttle bus in advance which was a tenner - quite steep I thought but didn't fancy my chances with taxis and certainly didn't fancy walking it.
Bournemouth was done for 2017. I really enjoyed it very much. This year I had promised myself a post-race dip in the sea but never made it, so next time I run this marathon I will be wading into the liquid nitrogen that passes at the sea in Dorset!
We walked over to the HQ, here there was a small indoor cafe serving teas, coffees and bacon rolls. I bumped into several running buddies here including Emine, Theresa, Rachel, Costas, and Peter. Small world! There were plenty of loos both inside the atheletics block and also a separate area of poortaloos, so pre-race prep wasn't too bad at all! ha!
I dropped my bag off at the bag drop area, a number of lorries were parked up and helpful marshals took the bag. I wanted to have some food and a jumper in case at the end in case I got chilly.
The start area of the race is a short walk of about 10 minutes from the athletics stadium, at the edge of King's Park in the Pokesdown Area of the town. Here there were also a load more portaloos, and signs up warning runners to "use the facilities or be disqualified". Of course, they meant no watering of the bushes, but it did read as you "must use the loo or receive a DQ".
As this is a mass participation road race, the organisers had divided us into a number of start zones with a staggered start - elite, white, red, yellow, green and orange. Yes, of course, I was in the orange zone (with the slowest predicted finish time!) I bumped into Martin from my running club and exchanged some banter, we also gathered for a picture with my running friends who we'd seen in the cafe. The time just whizzed by and the first wave started before I'd had time to even think about my nerves.One thing I like about this race is that there isn't much hanging around at the start. The orange pen began to move forward, making our way towards the start line. Before I knew it, they announced the orange pen was off and we surged over the start line, crossing the timing mat with the usual endless noise of beeps from the machine as it registered runners. The sun was now well up and the temperature was climbing, for a mid-October weekend it felt unseasonably warm. Only the previous weekend I'd done Clarendon and it was raining and cold, so having nice weather really was a bonus.
I had decided in advance to "Jeff" this race (ie. run/walk), with my usual 90 second runs, 30 seconds walk ratio. I use the first couple of miles as a warm up though, as I don't like stopping for a walk break when the course is busy and I might force someone to suddenly dodge round me, that's not fair on my fellow runners.
Here was our first aid station, with plenty of water and some energy drinks. There wasn't any food on offer though, although I'd bought my usual selection of hula hoop and mars bars with me. I didn't see if there were any energy gels but then I hate those things so wouldn't have used them anyway.
This section of the course was really flat. The course wasn't crowded at all, and I was able to find my own pace pretty quickly without that sorting of dodging around people you get at a big event like London or Brighton. It was good to be able to get those miles ticked off and rack up some "easier" miles for once at the start. I guess I'm too used to my trail marathon where it starts hard and gets harder!
We headed along this section of road, which again was an out-and-back section of the course. There were lots of sections of out-and-back on this course, which can be mentally tough seeing faster runners coming against you, and also seeing the sweeper not far behind you! The marathon has a strict cut-off of 6 hours 30 minutes, and I can see from the results this was strictly enforced. I didn't fancy a DNF so dug in and kept churning those miles out.
We want back up hill and back on the Overcliffe Drive, heading through the Boscombe Chine Gardens which gave us some much needed shade. It was quite a sharp uphill though, so we took the opportunity to have a bit of a breather by walking up. Well not so much as a breather as a break for the legs!
By now I had 10 miles in my legs and we were doing great, the sweeper was miles behind us and well out of sight, and we just had to dig in on the tricky middle miles section and keep going.
We plodded on , churning those miles out with Bournemouth Pier in sight. Suddenly we did a 180 degree turn, another sharp downhill section and then headed out back east towards Boscombe Pier. The finish area was tantalising close in front of us then cruelly whisked away! Haha!
We took a right turn and were directed by enthusiastic marshals over the wooden pier. It felt odd to be running over the planks which were a bit bouncy. We ran to the end of the pier and then came back, but not before I'd mucked about with the giant sized xylophone installed along the shelter in the centre - I never grow up!
We now at last headed back along the seafront once again heading west, back into centre of Bouremouth. I really enjoyed coming past the colourful beach huts, not sure I could ever afford one! Here we could see the old West Cliff funicular - no such shortcuts for us though. As we went past Harry Ramsden's we were right in the cenre of Bournemouth, I could smell the fish and chip and could have easily stopped to have some... no chance...
We had now about 16 miles in our legs and I was still feeling fairly good, although I did feel really hot. I'd forgotten my usual visor and having the sun right in my eyes wasn't great.
Once again the finish line was right in our sights before we got marshalled off to a left turn, and then onto Bournemouth pier. The second pier of the race!
This second pier was much wider than Boscombe Pier. It was great to see along the beach, there was lots of families out enjoying the sunshine and the unexpected warm day. The pier had some interesting looking activities on the go including a zip wire, no chance of short cut with that though! We headed back towards the shore along pier, then a cruel twist of this race. They make you go through the finish line, even though you've 9 miles to go! A metal barrier separates the actual finish line on the left, whilst you go through on the right but then have to go on. It's mentally really tough to see people coming into the finish, as well as the crowd shouting out 'come on, you're almost done now' when in fact you are so from from doing so.
My running buddy took a bit of a turn here and felt dizzy. I found a marshal and made sure she got some medical help. After a brief discussion she told me to carry on, and I knew that I couldn't do any more for her and she was in safe hands, so on I went through that finish area and onwards.
Now came the sting in the tail of this race - a real bastard of a hill with almost a mile to climb, some of it quite sharp. I had by now caught up Rachael and Garry, we exchanged some banter and I power walked past them, with cries of "are you going for PB!" from Rachael. Ha! As I got to the top I had a wonderful view back toward the pier and the sea. I also passed a group of cheerleaders who put on a display just for me!
We now went through the West Cliff Gardens area, this was nice and shady, and flat, this was most welcome after that bastard hill. It was good to get out of the sun and cool down a bit. We headed around Middle Chine and back down a really nice shady path (this is called a Chine, so I'm told). It was good to have a nice easy downhill bit to go along, by now I had done almost 19 miles and the legs were getting a bit on the tired side.
I had now reached the seafront again. I knew I had the hardest section in front of me, the 7 miles out-and-back towards Branksome Chine and Poole. I was still "Jeffing", it was so hot I was really glad of those 30 second walk breaks. I just dug in and kept churning the miles out. The seafront was packed, with load of people milling about, people standing outside pubs drinking and cheering on the runners. As runners were coming both ways it was a little tight in places and I had to dodgy pedestrians quite a bit.
We finally reached the end of the prom, and now we made a right turn and headed along the seafront towards Poole, towards amusingly named 'Lilliput'. Signs up for the Sandbanks chain link ferry meant I knew we were about far west as we could possibly be. There was a short gentle hill upwards to the turn around point, where the organisers had placed a timing mat to make sure no-one made a sneaky short cut by cutting out this section of the course. I had caught up Emine and Theresa by now, and chatted with them for a bit before heading on. I also caught up Peter, who I had run Richmond Park marathon with earlier in the year and of course we had to stop for a selfie!
I now headed back down that same hill, past an aid station where I took on loads of water and tipped some over my head to try and cool down. A left turn took me back on the prom and heading back toward the centre of Bournemouth with the pier in the distance.
Coming the other way were lots of really knackered looking runners, some of whom must have been 4-5 miles behind me. I think the heat had caught a lot of people out on this race. Sadly, I think many had probably received a DNF due to the strict cut-off.
The last couple of miles really dragged on, the pier in the distance just didn't seem to get any closer! Mile 25 ticked past and I knew it was in the bag, just dig in and keep going. The pier at last loomed into sight and there was the finish line. I managed a little speed up toward finish but not before some idiots absolutely caned it past me for a huge sprint finish.
I was marshalled toward a finish zone, where a really nice medal was hung around my neck, and I was given a 'goody box', containing my finishers t-shirt, water bottle and key ring. I also picked up a bottle of water and some snacks.
It was a bit disappointing that the finishers t-shirt was identical to 2016, except for a change in the year - first world problems.
I exited the finish area into the gardens and met back up with my running buddy who by now had recovered and was feeling alright, thankfully. We waited for the shuttle bus which took us back to Kings Park and the start area. I had to pay for the shuttle bus in advance which was a tenner - quite steep I thought but didn't fancy my chances with taxis and certainly didn't fancy walking it.
Bournemouth was done for 2017. I really enjoyed it very much. This year I had promised myself a post-race dip in the sea but never made it, so next time I run this marathon I will be wading into the liquid nitrogen that passes at the sea in Dorset!
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