The Stockholm Marathon - 9.6.07

We arrived in Stockholm late on Thursday evening after a delayed flight from Heathrow and went straight to the apartment we were renting in the centre of Stockholm. Even at that time it was still very warm but with two days to go I hoped it would cool down a bit. It didn't! It just got warmer. Friday registration was great fun and a great atmosphere. I got a free massage and lots of free drinks and energy stuff. Bought myself a new running hat with breathable holes in it.

At the start line at 2pm the temperature was 29 degrees and it felt burning hot. My wish was granted though and I stood on the start line with no aches or pains feeling fit. We stood for about 10 minutes before we finally got started and then it took about 3 minutes to reach the start line. Once we got going I settled into a decent pace quite quickly although there was a lot of bunching and barging going on. I almost hit my first 5k split of 26 mins but after that it was downhill all the way. The first water point turned into a real scrimash with tables down one side of a narrow road and thousands converging on it together. Lost a couple of minutes here just getting through the crowds.

The first couple of k's was through the city and then we set out into the country for the next 3k. It was very exposed to the sun and quite dusty and a bit undulating. Quite a difficult stretch. The next 5 k was through the posh part of Stockholm with lots of great crowds gathered to support. The bands were great all round the course and I salute the U2 tribute band who pumped up the volume quite nicely.

The first challenge really came at about 11-12k where the route took us up quite a steep climb over one of the main bridges in town, very exposed indeed to the sun, and then down the other side through an underground car park which was lovely and shady. I successfully got over this one.

After the bridge it was a gentle climb back into the city centre and I felt quite discouraged at how tired I was and how slow I was but I just couldn't squeeze more speed out of my tired legs and there was still 25 k to go! However, once in the city centre the crowds were great and there was a bit of protection from the sun. I hit the half way point at 2:02 which is about 15 minutes slower than I'd planned for but once I got there I got a second wind and began to run a bit more freely.

I picked up a pickled gherkin at this point and felt the benefit quite quickly. Salty. My splits show that I managed to increase my speed from 20-25k where we ran across to an island an then along into the city again.

Every single water point was chaotic though and I lost time at them all. I reckon they cost me about 12 minutes overall. I began to just walk through every water point and through every shower and was finding it increasingly difficult to get started again. Then came the bridge second time round and I just cracked. Many people were walking and I couldn't find the physical or mental strength to run over that bridge again. I just walked to the apex (about .7 k) which probably cost me another 6 minutes, but I knew by then that any thoughts of even a 4 hour marathon was just a dream. After the bridge I somehow managed to start running again and never really stopped until the finish line.

At this point I met the guy who started right next to me at the start line. He had been planning, like me, a 3:45 time but was hanging over a fence when I saw him. I slapped his back and shouted for him to tuck in beside me which he did, but he gave up again a few hundred yards later and I never saw him again.

I stopped at 30k for some soup - delicious and again at 35k for some coffee - foul but gave me a quick boost. By the time I got to the Olympic Stadium for the finishing lap my dreamed of fast finish had evaporated and I just dragged myself round to finish in 4hr 22min and in position 4640 out of 17500 entrants and 14500 starters.

My Garmin showed that I actually ran 26.66miles on the day and that my actual time for 26.2 miles was 4:18. I guess I must have put in the extra time dodging around at water points and finding shade whenever possible.

Am I happy with my performance? Not particularly but the good news was that I finished it in a reasonable time in the top third of all starters and without any injuries of any type - no muscle damage, no blisters, no joint pains and not even sunburn, so I guess I shouldn't be too disappointed. The winners time was 2:20 which is also very slow and tells you a lot about the conditions.

Andrew ran it in 4:03 which is great ...and also frustrating.

We both feel that after all the hard training we put in that there is unfinished business so there's going to have to be another marathon I'm afraid! Thanks to all who have joined me on this one and I hope you enjoyed my chunterings.