NY marathon race report – November 2015

So here is the proper update I threatened to bore you with last week but have only just sobered up enough to be bothered writing. In terms of the course – amazing place, people and atmosphere. Undoubtedly the best (and bloody hardest!) marathon I’ve ran. In terms of race experience – for once didn’t quite go according to plan. Went out far too fast over the first half, and paid the price when I hit the bridges in the second half. Proper struggle to maintain a pace which would deliver a PB but somehow managed to grit my teeth and hang on over the last few miles. Earphones malfunctioned at mile 10 as well so left without my usual selection of inspirational tunes. The noise of the crowd more than made up for it.

In terms of the numbers – 3.24.30 finish time (PB by 1 min 25 secs)

7.48 average mile paceHalf marathon split – 1.40.00, 1.44:30

3,094 out of 49,617 finishers (Top 6.25% against an original target of top 10%)

There was only ever going to be one person I would dedicate this race to. Massive thanks to Jacqueline. Her support over the course of the last few years while I’ve been doing this challenge has been nothing short of incredible. With me every step of the way, and somehow always managing to keep one of the most highly strung people on the planet calm on race day (You need to be there to understand how much of a task that is). One of the worst things about this race was the fact she couldn’t come to see me off at Staten Island. The thought of seeing her at the end draped in a Saltire more than made up for it, and is what drove me on throughout. Genuinely couldn’t ask for a more supportive and encouraging girlfriend. Love you beautiful x

Huge thanks to everyone else who has supported me over the course of the challenge as well, whether it be through words of encouragement or sponsorship. Current overall total raised sitting at £3670 including Gift Aid for 4 different charities (Oxfam, The Scottish Association for Mental Health, Cancer Research UK and ChildReach International). Can’t thank people enough for their generosity. It’s this that makes the difference, I’m just doing something I love. Hard to believe I’ve taken over 1 hr 20 minutes off my time since that scorching hot day back in Edinburgh in 2012. What a journey it has been….Cheers!

Berlin Marathon Race Report – Sept 2016

Marathon number 7, and major number 2 under the belt. A day of mixed fortunes with stomach problems kicking in around the 10 mile mark meaning I couldn’t eat any gels and had to limit the amount of water I drank for fear of being sick. Accepted my sub 3 hour dream wasn’t on, but managed to run 3.13.29 and take 11 minutes off my PB. I’ve never previously thought I wouldn’t finish a race, but that was very much the case for long periods. Delighted with the way I managed to hang on in difficult circumstances. Finished 2951 out of just shy of 42000 runners. As always a truly phenomenal job from my support team on the left. A truly amazing lady. As the saying goes there’s a team behind every individual performance, and I’m blessed to have the best support team in the business. After 4 years of travelling the globe running marathons, it would be a dream come true to run sub 3 on home soil. Roll on Stirling next May. Off to get wrecked now…….

Stirling Marathon Race Report – May 2017

Race report from yesterday…..Marathon #8 (Stirling)

First the all-important numbers.

Time – 2.57.54 (15 ½ minutes taken off PB)

Position – 52nd out of just under 4300 finishers (8th in M35-39 age group)

In terms of the course, very challenging but absolutely stunning. Well worth all that climbing to get the chance to take in truly breathtaking scenery from some excellent vantage points. Loved every single minute of it and without exaggerating ran the full race with a huge smile on my face. Still can’t quite get my head round the result, and think it will take a while before it fully sinks in – 5 months of meticulous preparation to give myself at least a chance of breaking the 3 hour mark came together perfectly and the luck that deserted me in Berlin 8 months ago fell kindly for me in every possible way. The feeling going into the last lap of the city centre knowing I had a decent amount left in the tank and only had to avoid incident to achieve my ‘holy grail’ was amazing. A day made all the more special by the fact I done it on home soil, and on my wee maws birthday. As always huge thanks to my wee support team Jacqueline. I can’t stress enough how much I see this as our achievement. The job she done yesterday, and in the lead up cannot be overstated. From putting up with the incessant training talk and providing constant support and words of encouragement through to getting up at 4 a.m yesterday to help me deal with the pre race nerves and making sure I had someone waiting for me at the finish line. This would not have been possible without her, and the moment of celebration we shared at the end is something I’ll never forget. Love you more than anything my wee princess. Special mention for my wee training partner Niamh for the company pretty much every Wednesday since January. She’ll run quicker than I did yesterday over the marathon distance when her time comes. Mark my words. Also the added bonus of running a qualification time for some of the other majors. London possibly next on the cards. Cheers to everyone else for the messages of support.

London Marathon Race Report – April 2018

Race report from Sunday – Marathon #9 (London)

The numbers

Time – 3.04.11

Position – 1407th out of 40,255 finishers

First time I’ve not PB’d in a marathon, and first time I’ve failed to PB in any road race since October 2013. All good things need to come to an end and plenty of positives to take from another amazing experience over my favourite race distance. Two weeks ago this never looked like it was going to happen. Training was decimated with two separate injuries in the space of 6 weeks and the decision to have a crack was only formally made 7 days earlier. Incredibly lucky to have recovered in time, and the priority was always going to be getting round safely and make the most of the opportunity to take part in arguably the biggest race in the world rather than run a fast time. In terms of the course itself, easy to see how on a day with more favourable conditions its well known for being conducive to world record attempts. Nice wee tour of the city taking in some famous landmarks and fairly flat throughout. The support from the crowd lived up to the hype, and I found myself turning the tunes off for long periods to soak it up. Made a big difference to what in light of the scorching conditions was always going to be a tough day. The plan was to set out at PB pace, monitor the conditions and how my body felt and decide at halfway whether to push on at that pace or adjust it to allow me to cope with the heat. When I reached the halfway point I took the decision to take the foot off the gas a wee bit and ran a very controlled second half. It turned out to be the right call. Had I continued there was a strong chance the wheels would have come off, especially with the lack of training. As it turned out I had a very comfortable (and enjoyable!) second half while many others out on the course seemed to be really struggling with the temperature. Massive thanks as always to Jacqueline for doing an exceptional job keeping me sane during an incredibly difficult time dealing with injury in the weeks leading up to the race, and for fulfilling her support team duties in her usual brilliant way. Just wouldn’t be the same on a day like this without her to make sure the nerves don’t get too much, and my wee head is in the right place to give it everything. Love you more than life itself beautiful. Great camaraderie with club mates on the day, all of whom done a phenomenal job out there. In keeping with tradition, I always dedicate a race of this magnitude to someone. Unfortunately my wee Uncle Tony is no longer with us, but I thought about him a lot when I was out there and like to think he was up there watching and cracked a smile when I crossed the line. In terms of whats next, I’ll decide that once the legs have had a few days to recover!

Loch LoMan Middle Distance Tri Race Report – May 2016

No internet access up at Loch Lomond so just getting round to posting my race report from Sunday. An eventful (and amazing) day with mixed fortunes but ultimately delighted with the end result.

The swim – My heart sank when the water temperature was announced at the race briefing. 10.9 degrees, only slighter warmer than last year. The difference being it was going to be the full 1.2 miles as opposed to the roughly 800 m it was shortened to last year. It turned out to be an unmitigated disaster and my usual inability to deal with the cold water very nearly ended my race before it had properly begun. Felt OK on the first lap, and for the vast majority of the second lap. Despite being right at the back of the field (as usual), for a significant portion of the time I was in the water I thought I would come through it unscathed. With roughly 200 metres to go I started to run into real trouble due to the cold. At this point my violent shivering was probably propelling me faster than my laboured stroke. I heard one of the marshals shout over to another safety boat that I’d been in the water for over an hour. For fear of jeopardising the rest of my race, I made the conscious decision to pull the plug. I’m assuming at this point I was mildly hypothermic as I can remember asking to be pulled from the water but can’t remember anything about getting back to the shore. Whilst in the water, I didn’t actually realise how bad I was. Once out it became apparent there was a lot of work to be done to make sure I could continue. From what I’ve been told the colour had completely drained from me and I couldn’t even speak. Not for the first time for me after an open water swim, the paramedics were summoned. They were very much of the opinion that my race was over at that point, thankfully the one person who knows me better than anyone was on hand to unselfishly put her understandable distress about the state I was in to one side and immediately set to work on getting me physically and mentally ready for the 53 mile bike ride and just shy of a half marathon that lay ahead. She always does an amazing job as a support team, and on this occasion Jacqueline absolutely excelled herself. Without her on Sunday, there would have been no bike ride or run. What a woman. Can’t thank the paramedics, marshals and Triathlon Scotland official who helped look after me enough as well. Once there was a consensus I was fit to continue, I jumped on the bike genuinely excited about the prospect of navigating one of the most challenging but beautiful courses I’ve been lucky enough to ride. At this point it was about 1 hr 49 minutes since the swim had started, I was dead last and had about 50 minutes to make up on the nearest competitor out on the bike course.

The Bike – The bike couldn’t have went any better. For the vast majority of the time I was a lonely figure out on the course due to the huge time gap when I started. I finally caught the athlete at the back of the field as I headed down past Faslane and towards the most difficult part of the course (The Glen Fruin climb) for the second time. By the time I entered T2 there were still no other athletes in sight. I checked my bike computer to see my final time before I got ready to head out on the run. 3.15.56, roughly an hour quicker than last year over the same course. Absolutely delighted.

The Run – By far my strongest discipline, and as always the one I was looking forward to the most. Thankfully one of the marshals kindly made me aware of the fact I still had my bike helmet on as I was getting ready to set off! After such a horrendous start to the race it felt great to start to catch and pass some of the other competitors. By the time I got to the end of the run, I had overtaken another 11 competitors to finish 70th out of 82 overall. My 1.32.54 gave me the 10th fastest run of the day, and was almost 2 minutes faster for that discipline than the overall winner.

My 6.44.24 was significantly outside the sub 6 hours I hoped, and around 9 minutes slower than last year but I’m taking it as a course PB as it was a full swim this year and given the circumstances delighted with the overall result. Special mention for the sizeable cheering section who came out to support me on the day. Next stop Strathclyde Park Tri in a couple of weeks where I’m assuming the water will be positively tropical compared to Loch Lomond on Sunday (I hope!)