Bungay Marathon
1st April 2007Did someone shout April Fool? Perhaps they should have done. 26.2 miles is a silly distance to run. Why do so many people do it?
We had several members from Tri-Anglia at the 25th Edition of the Bungay Marathon on Sunday 1st April. Will Hall, Jonathon Tyrrell and Dave Clarke were running their first marathon and Rob Lines his second. Also running, as a late entry, was Dr Tim Chen. Tim had planned on a weekend in Manchester, but when his car broke down he changed his plans and also cycled to Bungay.
The course for the Bungay Marathon involves two laps of a circuit that starts at Wainsford Mill, cuts through Bungay, follows the South side of the River Waveney to Beccles past Mettingham and comes back along the North side of the Waveney through Geldeston. It's quite a nice course, though hilly for the first half of the lap and normally has a head wind for the second half. This year we were lucky the strong wind was from the North East, so it was hills and head wind on the way out and tail / cross wind on the way back. But it was dry and sunny, so despite the wind it was pretty much ideal running conditions.
The event is really well organised. The course well marked, numerous water and sponge stations, ability to drop your own sports drinks off in advance with the water station officials, left luggage, friendly marshals and a really impressive finishers memento.
In addition to the Full Marathon there is a Half Marathon option which only involves 1 lap and starts 2 hours later. Peter Chapman and Gareth Walker both took the single lap option, but did go for a 50 mile cycle first.
Personal view
| Rob Lines: | Tried to line up at the very back with Tim, Will, Dave and Jon. Almost
succeeded, though there were 20-30 that managed to sneak round behind us. We
all pretty much ran together for the first mile (9m10). Will and I then
settled into 8:20mpm pace for the bulk of the first lap with Will's parents
following us round the course to take photo's and offer support. I was
running with a 50cl bottle of SiS Go and jelly babies that I was sharing with
Will every couple of miles. At the 10.9 mile water station I picked up my
75cl refill bottle that I'd dropped off with the water station marshalls. Used
that to top up my 50cl bottle (that one fits comfortably in my bum bag) and then
supped on the 75cl bottle up to the 12 mile mark where we saw Will's parents
again. At about 12.5 miles Will noticed that his pulse was starting to
rise so slowed the pace down.
I upped the pace slightly at that point and did a few 8min miles on the first part of the second lap. It was very gratifying to be reeling in runners the whole way and very satisfying to get 7 miles into the second lap before the fast guys on the half marathon overtook me. Tim Topper was in the lead group of 3 at that point and I appreciated the support and encouragement. Got to the 21 mile mark in under 3 hours, which had been the aim. Miles 22 onwards proved hard. Maintained 8.30mpm, but this was all new territory and the furtherest I'd run uninterrupted. Hearing runners approaching from behind was a little demotivating, even if they were only doing half the distance. Some offered words of encouragement to leason the blow. Seeing Martyn Stacey outside the pub in Geldeston on the second lap was a boost as was the support of Mr Robinson of NRR at the 10.9 / 23.9 water station. Managed to step the pace up for the last mile, partly through a desire to finish the course, partly to get past some runners up ahead that were walking and partly to ensure that I beat my previous Marathon PB by over an hour. Time for last complete mile was 7:45. The approach of starting at the back worked well, I was only overtaken by 1 marathon runner. That was in the 16th mile and Will and I had overtaken him at about that point on the first lap. |
| Jonathon Tyrrell: | David Clark and I nervously take up our place at the back of the starters.
Imagine our surprise to see Rob, Will and Tim all standing at the back too.
Surely they should be towards the front? A quick good luck handshake, a few
encouraing words and we were off, the start of my first marathon. I was
feeling too good today, there wouldn't be problem with the wind or the hills.
Rob and Will disappeared into the distance and I settled into a steady rythym
of 8:30 mpm. The first leg from Bungay to Beccles
felt good, yes there were hills but I managed to keep my pace at 8:38 mpm for
the first 7 miles. The return leg from Beccles
to Bungay is flat and the wind is on our backs. I'm still feeling good and
relaxed so I finished the first lap in 1:53.
Approaching the hills for the second time, I'm sure that they weren't this
steep or long on the first lap and the wind seems to be stronger too. Must be
my imagination, just keep the pace going and I'll be ok. After 18 miles I get
to the last and steepest hill on the course, this one is definitely worse than
the first lap, someone has added a bit on the top! Nevermind, I've made it up
and over all the worst hills now so I can relax. The pace had dropped slightly
to 8:45 mpm but I was still feeling ok and looking forward to a sub 4 hour
finish. 21 miles comes, I pick up my last bottle of drink and at that point
there is nothing left in my legs. The pace for the next 5 miles drops to 10:30
mpm. My body and mind are telling me to walk but I manage to keep running only
walking at the water stations, making sure that I take on some liquid. A
couple of Tri-anglia members running in the half marathon shout words of
encouragement which definitely helps keep me going. Tim comes running past,
leaving me wishing that I'd paced the race as well as he had. Someone once told me that half distance in a marathon is 20 miles, I just
shrugged when they told me this and thought that they obviously failed maths
at school. I now know what they mean. The last 6 miles were as difficult as
the first 20. Well done to Rob, Will, Tim and David who all completed the marathon. Also to those Tri-Anglia members who completed the half-marathon race, thanks for all the encouragement you gave me. |
