Virgin London Marathon 2012

Results | Photos  | GPS Data

After a great couple days in London with Rosie I found myself outside the Fast Good for Age Zone on Blackheath Common on Sunday morning ready for the start of the 2012 London Marathon.

As I lined up with the other club runners the behind the large timing clock I was a little nervous but mostly excited. At 9.35 and with 10 minutes to go I closed my eyes in the sunshine and visualised my race ahead.

My plan was a 02:45:00 marathon which is 6:15 pace which I managed consistently for the first half, passing Chris Upson (Westerlands), Scott Kennedy (Bellahouston Road Runners) and George Taylor (Giffnock North) just after Tower Bridge. All quality runners.

At mile 15 when people were starting to fade I opened up to put down 4 miles at 6:06, 6:01, 6:08, 6:06, high fived Rosie at Carnary Wharf before shifting down slightly for the final 10k.

I completed the race (and my second marathon) in 02:43:32 finishing in position 291st and smashing my pb of 3:05:03.

An amazing experience and a result that gets me into the UK Athletic Championship start next year.

Splits

I ran the first 13 miles in 1:20:55 (6:13 pace) and the second 13 miles in 1:20:04 (6:10 pace) achieving a negative split of 51 seconds. I had aimed to run the first two miles at 6:40 but increased my pace after 1 mile, probably getting caught in the race a bit.

Hydration and Fuel
I had started carbo loading 48 hours before the race - rice, potatoes, crackers, muffins, orange juice and expo freebies, little and often.  I sipped on water as we walked around London prior to the race but had already drank litres of the stuff during the week.

During the race I took water bottle at every third station and an isotonic drink at 10, 19 and 23. I carried six gels and used 5, taking one on every 45mins or so. This strategy seemed to work well. Post race grub was a brillant meal at Leon's before heading back out to meet friends, swap stories and booze it up into the night in the Hard Rock Cafe.