Milton Keynes Marathon – 2nd May 2022
After a frustrating autumn marathon where I did not get the result I wanted, I knew I had to do another to put it right. Milton Keynes ticked all my boxes as it is not too far away, is a fairly fast course and a decent field size.
Weather was overcast, not hot or cold and a very slight wind so ideal. I lined up on the start line with around 3 ,500 runners divided between the Full Marathon, Half Marathon and Marathon relay where teams of 5 did roughly 5.2 miles each with the race chip in the relay baton.
I found the field size ideal as it was not too difficult to move up through the field in the early stages. I had started slightly too far back but within a couple of miles I was exactly where I wanted to be. There were marathon pacers with blue flags every 15 minutes and half marathon pacers with yellow flags every 5 minutes. I slotted in with the 1 hour 40 half marathon pacer until the two routes divided at 7 miles. The divide was very well marked with cones, signs and announcements so easy to follow. Timing mats were at the start, 10 km, half way ( 13.1 miles) and 20 miles (10 km / 6.2 miles to go) and of course at the finish (26 miles, 385 yards if anyone is interested). Water stations were every 3 miles and always had water in cups and some had sports drinks or gels as well. I had practiced taking water at pace using the mounting blocks on Hurn Road, which paid off and helped me keep my rhythm.
The course was mostly on tarmac roads and cycle paths with the odd short section on gravel. The start and finish were in Milton Keynes City Centre but a lot was through local villages, parks and around lakes so surprisingly scenic. It is not quite as flat as Peterborough but most of the hills were either very short or very gentle so nothing to get excited about. The only slight minus of the course is that it is quite twisty, which does start to wear you out after a while.
I ran with people most of the way but if I did need to push on there were normally people not too far ahead. The last few miles to the MK Dons stadium seemed frustratingly twisty but may have just been in my mind. We finished with a lap of the stadium, which is always a bonus. When I dropped my medal, it seemed a looong way down to pick it up again.
Special thanks go to Tim Cook for my long run plan, the Tuesday night double figures club and I’m particularly grateful to Denise Fassler, who drove there, I’m happy to run 6 miles to a parkrun but 55 miles to a marathon is definitely out!