Edinburgh Marathon 2007

Edinburgh Marathon – Race Report

Pre Race

“This is it” I thought as I awoke on Sunday morning at precisely 6.34am. I remember the time clearly as I planned to rise at 6am but had slept through my alarm. After a short telephone call to put my taxi back by half an hour I was up and alive, on the morning of my first full Marathon. Having made the call the second thing I did was open the curtains and prayed for a beautiful morning. What I got however was heavy rain, and lots of it. If I’m truth full, I was absolutely gutted! Every race before this one had provided me with beautiful weather, but hey, this is Scotland. To be fair however the whole of the UK saw a terrible weekend with only a few hours without rain.
So yes it was raining and by looking at the sky it wasn’t going to ease up soon, but I was not going to let a bit of rain ruin my day. “Today I run a marathon” I thought, and as my poem states “I will finish the course come rain or snow”. To be fair I remember thinking, “The rain as a runner does not bother me, it just means there will be less spectators and a lot of waiting around in bad conditions”.
So it was raining but there was nothing I could do about it. I moved away from the curtain and started going through my morning routine. I went for a shower before eating a light breakfast consisting of, a Hobnob flapjack, a yoghurt, a bottle of orange juice and a bottle of Lucozade. After that all I consumed before the race was water!
Having had breakfast I got dressed and did a final kit check before making my way to reception at 7.25am to wait for my taxi. The roads on the way to the marathon were eerily quiet and my driver told me this was unusual, even for marathon race day. Just as we were entering the city I was looking at the beautiful buildings that make Edinburgh so special when something in my head told me to check my kit. Everything was there, but then it hit me “My race number” I shouted, “I’ve forgot my race number”. I couldn’t believe it. I never forget any of my kit, let alone my race number! I asked the driver to turn around so I could go fetch it.
On the second attempt we made it into the city and around 8.05am. There were few people around where my driver dropped me but this was a good few hundred yards away as the roads ahead were closed. I got out of the taxi and started walking towards the start. The rain was still coming down hard and it did put a damper on things but I just kept walking like a man possessed, not thinking about anything but the task ahead.
I walked around a corner onto Princes Street where the marathon starts and it hit me. I saw the start line and hundreds of runners, but not as many as I thought there would be. I needed to prepare for the race so I dived in McDonald’s, which had become a refuge for cold wet runners trying to shelter. I prepared in the toilet and having set my Ipod up, vaselining those delicate chaffing areas and strapped on my ‘energy belt’ as a friend dubbed it, I was out the door and heading for the baggage trucks. When I got outside the number of runners had quadrupled. Princes Street was now filling with up to 10,000 runners all trying to stay dry under shop canopies.
I found the truck with my race number and after one final kit check I handed over my bag to be taken to the finish. From the truck I proceeded away from the crowds to find a place to go to the toilet. I saw the line for the portable toilets and there was no way I was waiting that long. Shortly after as I was warming up I heard an announcement but could not understand what was said as I was too far away. I then saw hundreds of runners making there way to the start. This I did understand…….It was show time!!

The Race

I made my way to my pen based on predicted my finishing time and continued my warm up by stretching and massaging my legs. I heard the announcer say “Five minutes until the start”. I had thought about this moment many times before and the thought alone made me nervous, however in the moment I was very calm. The announcer also said “Lets here it for the runners of this years Marathon”, and the crowd went wild. That felt good, very good in fact and I knew there and then that this huge crowd (even for an awful day) was going to be a huge help at the latter stages of the race. The next thing I remember was walking forward to the start line and before I knew it we were off.
It took me around thirty seconds to get to the start line and as soon as I crossed it I heard a voice in my head saying “Don’t go out too fast”. I spent the first few hundred yards taking in the atmosphere as the support from the crowd was fantastic. As the course went away from Princes Street the crowds started to thin out so I turned on my Ipod and simply ran at a very slow pace. In training I have not always been that good at pacing but I passed the one mile marker in just over nine and a half minutes so I was pleased with my first miles time.
The second mile leads out of the city and down a long sloping road so I simply kept calm, did not get excited and just kept at the pace I was going. It was still raining but that no longer bothered me. I remember very little about the next one and a half miles but I do remember running down a road and seeing a beautiful young lady in front of me. I have been told by a fellow marathon runner at work that when it gets tough to pick out a young lady or two and follow them, as it helps take your mind off things. Now this was only two miles into the race but what I thought was that if I follow her I would not get excited and start running too fast.
Miles two and three were paced just about right but if anything a little too slow but at this stage I was happy to be running too slow rather than too fast. After all this was my first marathon and I had no idea how tough those final few miles might be.
Miles four leads out towards the coast and onto Portobello Promenade where we were greeted by our first race photographer. I smiled intently and it was at that point that I realised how much fun I was having. I kept following the girl in front and the next two or three miles flew by.
After a couple of water and energy stations the next thing I remember was seeing a huge crowd at the first relay change over just before mile eight. Shortly after we passed over a small bridge, where we were greeted by the sight of the finish line at Musselburgh race course. From here on in the route was an out and back loop and I was looking forward to seeing the leading pack somewhere along the next few miles. The lady I had been following had fell behind but to keep my mind off the task ahead I knew that soon enough we would be greeted by the elite runners on the return leg.
As the course led away from the eventual finish line we were greeted by another energy station before a long straight climb up towards the half way point at Port Seton. You could feel the sea breeze along this stretch and I remember how good I felt at this point. I was actually enjoying myself but I did not get excited and just kept going at the mid nine minute miles pace. I could have easily run faster but I did not want to pay the penalty of doing so over the second half of the race.
As we approached the halfway point there was another huge crowd as shortly before mile thirteen was the second relay change over. This crowd really lifted me as the long stretch up to this point was very quiet so the crowd was a huge welcome. Having passed the crowd we then passed the half way point and a sign saying “halfway, well done”. This was nice to see but made me laugh as getting to half way is the easy part. The next thirteen miles was going to be the real test.
Having passed the half way point we were shortly greeted by the leading pack coming the other way. Seeing how fast these guys were running really gave me inspiration but one thing I did not envy was how lonely it was for these guys. The people around me really helped me through the tough parts of the course but hey I’m not saying that I would not swap having runners around me for being up there with the elite runners.
As the elite runners came towards us in one then two then three and so on I knew that I would soon be at the turn around point at Gosford House and mile seventeen. The road up to Gosford house was long and I remember miles fourteen to sixteen dragging on forever and it was at this point that the fatigue started to set in and my legs began to tire. It was at this point that I started taking the energy gels I had strapped to my ‘energy belt’.
As the number of runners on the return leg started to grow I knew we were nearly there. The views at this point were amazing and then suddenly as we went around a corner I saw it. The turn around point and yet another huge crowd shouting and cheering. As I turned around to head back to Musselburgh I remember my legs being very tired but I simply told myself “Come on now Adam were on our way home”. This gave me a lift but I knew before the long straight back home were two more short diversions.
The first diversion came shortly after the turnaround where we entered Gosford House grounds and ran around the house and then proceeded back out onto the main section of the course. I remember halfway around the grounds that my legs felt very tired and I realised that it was at the lonely parts of the course that I was beginning to suffer. We led out of the grounds and down towards Lonniddry.
The second diversion came just before mile nineteen as the course leads of the main road and down towards Lyars Road. I was not looking forward to this part as you could see the other runners running back out and I just wanted to be where they were. However when I saw hat was waiting for us at the second turnaround point I was glad that a genie did not come down and grant my wish. The crowd here was the best yet. They were putting everything into it and the noise was unreal. The feelings I got here were too amazing to describe. As I ran away from the crowd and the noise faded out my attention was brought back to my tired legs so I took another hit of energy gel and was back running with ease but in lots of pain. As we approached the main road again this was it. I was on the final leg of the race; I was on my way home!
I do not really remember much of mile nineteen but the next thing I clearly remember was seeing the sign for mile twenty. Each step I now took was the furthest I had ever run. My legs were now getting very tired and very tight and I was beginning to slow down dramatically. It was at this point that I accepted that my secondary goal of a sub four hour finish was fading quickly but my primary goal of finishing with a smile on my face was very much alive. I was now taking the energy gels every few minutes. I actually took six out of the eight I brought during miles twenty and twenty three.
During those miles I was really suffering and I was just waiting each time to see the next mile marker. I was on countdown and so was the energy left in my legs. Once the gels ran out I was running on pure determination as my legs had nothing left. The miles came and went, twenty one, twenty two, twenty three and as I passed each I was fading rapidly. I remember seeing a small Scottish guy that put his hand on my shoulder at what was the hardest part of the race and said “Come on man nearly there”, and this really helped me push through the pain barrier. I passed the mile twenty four marker and remembered thinking how close I was to finishing my first Marathon. I kept repeating to “Come on Adam” over and over. I was now in a mental battle as my legs were empty. One thing is for sure though I never once considered dropping out, even with my legs being that tired and that tight that I could have easily said “f#@k it”, the thought never crossed my mind!
One more huge crowd lift came at the mile twenty five marker and it was here that I turned my Ipod off for the final push up to Musselburgh race course. After one final energy station the crowd began to steadily grow which I knew could only mean one thing, I was nearly there. I saw the race course and knew that I was nearly there, my legs were dead, but something happened that I will never forget. Seven of my friends came to Edinburgh to support me but due to bad traffic and road closures they could not get anywhere near the course so I never once saw them throughout the race. However as I was approaching the mile twenty six marker positioned on the entrance to the race course I saw two of my friends who shouted “Go on Fairf” and I will never forget the emotion that came over me. I literally could have cried like a baby running those last few hundred yards.
Then it was there, I entered the race course and threw my jacket over a wall as for the first time in the past four hours the rain had stopped and it was actually sunny. I ran towards the finish line and the emotion grew but I held it in. The crowd here was in it’s thousands and I have never experienced anything like it before. I sprinted that last hundred meters and crossing that finish line for my first full marathon is something that will be with me forever. They say that when you cross the finish line at your first marathon you decide there and then if you will ever do it again. Most say no. I cannot wait to get back into training for the NYC Marathon in November. I had done it, I had completed a marathon and the best part, I loved every minute of it!