Thanks to Roy we have another race to add to our collection. Please can you 95+ other club runners take some time, in the next few weeks, and send me something on your best – or favourite – race. Thnaks.
Having just read Rebecca’s excellent account of her London Marathon experience I thought I would put pen to paper to let you know about my first London Marathon.
LONDON MARATHON 1989
Before joining Wilmslow Running Club I was a member of Stockport Harriers for over 14 years. In those days I trained with a running group led by Alec Dunn, a legendary vet runner who set many records. Alec’s philosophy was mileage so we regularly ran 70+ miles a week with the Sunday morning run usually around 30 miles. I would complete the Sunday run, return home for a substantial brunch and sleep for a couple of hours!
The London marathon was just one of many we tackled then. I ran the inaugural Stockport Daffodil Marathon, the Manchester Piccadilly Marathon, Bolton and one year we ran the Rotterdam Marathon, in which Densimo set the World Record at 2 hours 6 minutes. I was a little way behind him, although on a loop out to the 10km marker where we turned I saw him coming back in the opposite direction. He made me feel I was jogging!
I applied to enter London in 1989 and was lucky enough to get in at the first time of asking. I trained hard over many months with the goal of breaking 3 hours. The runners I trained with were all sub 3 hour men, some even sub 2:30, so there was no hiding place and I was regularly knackered! However by the time we boarded the train to London I knew I was in the form of my life.
We stayed at the Tower Thistle Hotel which was also where most of the elite runners were staying. I even rode in a lift with Rob de Castella from Australia who won the Fukuoka Marathon, Rotterdam Marathon, Boston Marathon, Great North Run (62 minutes 4 seconds) and had a marathon PB of 2:07:51.
The morning of the race we had a light breakfast and boarded the bus out to the start. I was able to get near to the front with the good for age club runners so had no problem getting away when the gun fired, although, like Rebecca, I got a bit carried away and completed the first couple of miles at 6 minute mile pace which would have been suicidal I had continued like that. I managed to settle into a steady pace and felt very good at the Cutty Sark. I was still feeling good at halfway as we crossed Tower Bridge, but as we went out to the Isle of Dogs where there was little support I started to grit my teeth and had to knuckle down to the job in hand. We used to say in training run the first 20 miles steady and then try and race a 10k to finish. I reached the 20 mile point in 2 hours 20 minutes, so knew that sub 3 hours was not going to happen. Never mind racing the last 10k it became a case of trying not to slow down too much. I was running 10k’s in 36/37 minutes back then but this one was going to take me much longer.
The race used to finish across Westminster Bridge with Big Ben facing us, a very welcome sight. Despite the disappointment of not breaking 3 hours I celebrated with my fellow runners on the train home having managed 3 hours 14 minutes. I ran a further three London Marathons, but never bettered that time.
It’s no wonder I now have a dodgy knee and hip!
Roy
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don’t forget, over the next few weeks, eMail me your race to: [email protected]
Wow Roy – very impressive ! 30 miles for a training run – what you do to get out of cooking Sunday lunch!
Amazing performance Roy, and interesting to hear about training back then – basically beast yourself!