Manchester Marathon - Reflecting on the race

Got a 4 minute PB. Dropped my time from 2:58:18 to 2:54:13. Nothing too exciting about how the race went - just kept my splits below 4:10km and managed to hold on without slipping until around the 39km mark. Check out training reflections to see how I trained harder to run more strongly and push the PB down.

That's my fourth marathon now...

1 of 4 - Yorkshire Marathon 2021

Pace fell off a cliff at 35km. On reflection wasn't good enough for a sub-three. But learnt that I needed to train harder. The fact I kept things strong until 32-33km is probably typical of a decent 80minute HM runner. But first marathon is really going into the unknown for the first time.

Yorkshire Marathon 2021

2 of 4 - Edinburgh Marathon 2022

A really sold first 35km without letting any 5km split drop below 21minute gave the foundations. The pace fall-off still happened, but it wasn't as dramatic - stronger legs meant it slowly drifted from 4:10/km to 4:30/km which meant the sub-three goal had been achieved.
Edinburgh Marathon 2022

3 of 4 - London Marathon 2023

Got my pacing wrong (lots of little reasons and poor GPS) and found myself at the 35km mark fresher, but with a lot to do still for a PB. Managed to keep up pretty much even-splits to scrape a PB. Had hoped for around 2:55, a PB is a PB, but felt I didn't do justice for how hard I trained. Determined to get it right in 2024.
London Marathon 2023

4 of 4 - Manchester Marathon 2024

Close to perfectly executed. Pace only dropped in last three km - and even then - only losing about 25s. 35-40km 5k segment at a 20:48 which is still sub 4:10/km. Delighted.

Manchester Marathon 2024
Final reflections
Knew it would be hard late on - but held the <4:10/km until final three km. 4:13, 4:19, 4:23. Not the same as holding the pace for a 10k or a HM - more about managing legs to the finish line with cramp starting to tweak in the hamstrings. Losing 25s is not as bad as pushing on and having to stretch off by the side for 60s (then getting going again). Time for a few days off to reflect on what I want next year in terms of marathon attempt.

At the start of the year I set myself three challenging running goals. Goal 1 was sub-2:55 marathon. That's ticked off - now on to the next goal.

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