Loch Ness Marathon 7/10/07
I had been looking forward to this marathon for ages as everyone who's done it gives it great reviews. I was also nervous as it was the last leg of my personal quest for a "PB slam" in 2007 having already got PBs in 5K, 10K (twice) and half marathon (twice). This acted as great motivation in my build up to the marathon and also helped keep me going on the day.
The omens were good as I had booked a family room for the night before and seen some uncomplimentary feedback about the hotel on TripAdvisor - but having left booking late had to accept that beggars can't be choosers. On Saturday I was more nervous about what Anna and the girls would think of the hotel room than the marathon itself - thankfully the room was fine, the location ideal and the breakfast great (i.e. large) so things were looking great.
On Sunday morning the conditions were fab. It was quite inspirational on the bus from Inverness to the start, with classic Highland scenes of mist rising and blue skies beginning to appear. Before assembling with fellow Porties at the start line I leant on past experience and (despite not feeling the need to relieve myself) decided to join the Portaloo queue knowing that by the time I reached the front my situation would be somewhat different. The Portaloos were housed on rather shoogly stands and without being too graphic it can be said that if you leant too far back the whole thing might have keeled over and the Porty vest colours might have changed.
We all wished each other luck at the start and set off on our 26 mile journey. Amanda and I hadn't really discussed our tactics for the day but ended up running the first 17 miles together at a steady 7:30 pace which was ideal for me. I normally set off way too quickly and then die so it was great running alongside Amanda at an even pace. The views were great, the miles were passing quickly, there was plenty of fluids etc.
A funny thing happened between 16 and 17 miles - I gave Amanda one of my carefully rationed glucose tablets - she also had some of the same tablets and assured me she would return the favour later. A minute after absorbing said tablet Amanda complained that her calf was aching and then proceeded to ratchet up the pace - I tried to follow suit but knew it was too quick for me so decided to go it alone and let Amanda go off into the distance. Clearly my glucose tablet had a great effect on her and clearly I was not going to get one back from her before the end.
After 17 good miles running in company, running the last nine was considerably harder especially considering as the big hill between 17.5 and 19 miles had to be ascended as a solo climb without safety gear. I soon managed to settle into a rhythm and ran the last nine miles in 8 minute miles which was considerably better than previous marathon attempts. Amanda was going at 7-minute miles, so glad I decided not to pursue her kick.
After the predominately spectator free route it was great to arrive in Inverness at about 23 miles and hear the cheers of my family (Anna, Abby and Rosie) to spur me on for the last few miles. (The garish headgear in the attached photograph can be explained by my desire for the family to be able to spot me easily). I was totally bushed by this stage and despite being in Loch Ness the only monster I could think of was Monster Mash (the fab bangers and mash diner) - it is unreal how important food becomes in the last hour of a marathon (and the six hours following it as the vast quantities I consumed afterwards testified). I crossed the line in 3:21:35 - a new PB by 8 minutes and my PB slam achieved. Needless to say I was ecstatic at this.
Even better followed with news of Amanda having run 3:12 and come 5th lady overall (so the miracle glucose tablet must have been a real inspiration for her) and Sally having ran 3:13 and come first female vet. Also lots of other great times including Alan A who came in in great time post shingles and with not enough miles in the tank before the race.
All in all it was a fantastic day and the run was as spectacular as it has been billed. The 4 hour drive home was a challenge though as Anna is seven months pregnant and my legs were seizing up, so we were hardly shoving each other out the way to take the driver's seat. On the positive side, we had a few bags of food in the car and I gorged myself on sandwiches, chocolate brownies, butter mints, bananas, fruit bars and jelly babies before arriving home for a slap-up meal!
Report Ben Carter
Photo Carter Family
Here's Amanda's story...
I have been known to visit a life-coach every now and then when I feel the need to push the boundaries. It was during one such session a number of years ago that I let slip that I cosseted a secret ambition to run a marathon. Well, from little acorns, large trees grow.
And so I found myself lined up 26.2 miles from Inverness on Sunday with only a pair of running shoes to drive me back. Luckily I had a secret and invisible weapon with me – 14 months of PRC training! What more does a girl need? The turn out from PRC was as strong as ever – a number of well-seasoned marathon runners including Sally and Alan (their 10th!), Ben, Richard, Scott, Paul, Margaret and then of course the intrepid marathon virgins: Sheena, myself and my friend St John from university days.
After a mad crush for the toilets (note to organisers: look at number of registrations before ordering portaloos), and a rather speedy warm up, we were off. Ben and I have been doing a number of lunchtime runs together and somehow naturally fell into pace together at just over 7.30 minute miles. Not owning a Garmin I had stealthily scribbled some key splits up my arm which Ben and I then proceeded to match pretty accurately. For once I was the irritating runner chatting and joking with Ben as we overtook runners who had set off too ambitiously.
Conversation started to wane a little after 13 miles but really we were both in fine form and enjoying the great views and weather. This distracted us from the undulations that pepper the course from the start. Arriving in Dores (mile 16ish), I announced to Ben that my calf was hurting in a strange way. Perhaps this kick-started something in me but when we hit the infamous hill at mile 17, I somehow pulled away and kept overtaking runners. More significantly it didn’t seem to hurt either. This went on right to the top. I was on my own now and feeling rather foolish for having pushed perhaps a little too early. There were still another 8 miles to go and everyone had given me very precise descriptions of ‘The Wall’. I went in search of it.
I’ve no idea how I did the next six miles. During training runs these were the hardest and longest. I think I was consumed with overtaking runners and getting closer to home. I finally caught up with Sally just as we arrived in Inverness – she was going great guns. Perhaps I was going to crash and burn yet. Suddenly I realised I had run further than in any training run. Friendly faces appeared from no where – PRC people cheering me on. Maybe I was actually going to finish!
Just as we approached the ‘steep’ bridge at mile 24, I think I started to acquaint myself with my friend The Wall. It was suddenly taking longer to gain on people in front and worse still, I couldn’t see the finish. I got annoyed at having to step up onto the pavement. Worse still, pedestrians were getting in the way. Then the pain started in the legs – they were threatening to crumple under me.
The home straight was the longest two miles of my life (so far). I tried every trick in the book – it’s only another 15 minutes; that’s not even a lap of the Meadows; Bert’s behind you! Somehow I managed to hang in there. I think I even overtook another woman in the last mile. Suddenly Julia Henderson appeared and was cheering me on. All of this helped in that last push. If this was The Wall that I met at mile 25, then all I can say is, thank goodness we didn’t meet earlier in the race. It would not have been pretty.
Entering the stadium in Inverness isn’t quite Wembley but the state I was in at this stage, I didn’t care. All I could see was the finish and the chance to stop.
All in all, I’m absolutely flabbergasted with my time. On reflection, I think my pacing with Ben was critical. As for why and how I pulled away up that hill remains a mystery. The gamble paid off this time.
On top of this, loads of Porty people raked in massive PBs. Well done Ben on successfully completing a full house of PBs this year, and, too Richard for securing his sub 3:30 with so much time to spare. I’m really grateful to everyone for their advice and support during training over the last three months – not least Scott, who hounded me up some challenging hills and long runs in all manner of weather.
Report Amanda Henderson
Photos Julia and Andrew Henderson
Big thanks to Julia and Andrew for taking photos. They were competing in the 10k at the same time as the marathon: Andrew managed a pb and Julia managed onto the podium with a time of 38.43 and third female.
Here's Alan's contribution
Loch Ness Marathon 07
- Choose a convulsion- Choose an emergency Ambulance
- Choose a Spanish Hospital
- Choose Shingles
- Choose no hard club sessions for 10 weeks
- Choose no long pre-marathon training runs
- Choose Loch Ness Marathon
I chose all of these and against everyone’s advice, I ran!
No Guts, No Glory…………………..3:39:43
Alan Aitchison
Looking good in the home straight.
Defying conventional wisdom: chip time 3.39.43Some photos of other Porties snapped by Gillian...
Sally takes 8 minutes off her pb.
Pirate Ben plays to the gallery.
Richard - another impressive pb
Sally on the podium 1st vet 35On a more down-beat note, here's Scott's report
AAAGGGHHH...Some days are best not thought of in too much detail, bad memories and hurt inevitably follow.
I am starting to find that in running, as much as I love it, there is a side of me that has still to work out how to deal with disappointment. Think I have to address the fact that my head and my legs don’t always see the same abilities.
For the Loch Ness marathon my head had worked out that three hours was there for the taking, no reason why not. My legs actually felt like they were up for the job, not too tired, quite fast on the short stuff. So off I went with all the confidence of a lemming to a cliff.
The journey to Inverness was grand, the youth hostel seemed fine. All I needed was good food and a good night’s sleep. Ahh… if life was only that simple, turns out that the youth hostel is above a night club and that they have provided the smokers with roof access. My window backed onto this. With five hours sleep I got up and had breakfast with some of the other runners, then on to the buses to the start. Falling asleep on the bus was the first sign that the day was not going according to plan.
I started and was soon in a nice pace with a few other guys, everything was fine. It was only after mile 16 that like two kids in the back of a car my legs asked “are we there yet!!” I thought that this must just be a glitch and that I would soon run though it. No… it was for the first time ever in a race I had to stop at mile 18 just to get my head round the fact that I was getting slower and slower. For a few second I stood with head in hands, how on earth did I get here?
It was hard to swallow the fact that my legs just didn’t have the juice to pick up the pace. I just resigned myself to the fact that at any moment the whole world was going to overtake me and maybe I should be doing indoor bowling on a Wednesday instead of running. I somehow managed to get over the finish line in 3:04:43. I was/am still frustrated at not getting under three hours. Immediately after the race I was like a bag full of wasps, I have sort of calmed down since. I do realise that just the ability to take part and finish is more than most people have achieved, and that I should be grateful that on a lovely October day I could get out of bed and run 26.2 miles. There is however the other side of me, the dark side, that thinks I should have pushed harder.
A wise…ish man (Bert) once said that, if you could have pushed harder you would have and not to beat yourself up about it.
I can only try harder next time… they do say that it is better to regret something that you have done than something you haven’t. I have completed a marathon.
report Scott Ferguson
John tells it as it was...
Last week was not the kind of build up I wanted for the marathon, knowing it was my last week with Royal Mail after 18 years, not having any accommodation booked which I did manage to get on the Friday afternoon, I should be a bit more organized. So up I went on megabus (yes them again) at least it was not a 10 hour journey this time although the driver seemed to be admiring the scenery, I certainly pick them. So arrived at the Highlander Hostel (yes Hostel) just after 2 put my bag in the room and off I went to get my number. It was the ideal time to go the pasta party as it was not to busy. When I left to go back to the hotel I bumped into a few Porties and wished them all the best. When I got back to the room I thought I'll have snooze for 10 minutes but 10 minutes ended up being 2hours must have needed it. Now I don't usually watch rugby but I became that engrossed I stayed to watch it to the finish and it was good to see a team not give up after being outplayed for most of the game. Surprisingly had a really good sleep although was awakened by the hordes coming out of the pubs saying nice things to each other ha ha. Sunday had breakfast and off to get the bus where I saw Ben who was waiting for fellow Porties but ended up just getting on the bus. the journey up to the start was fine although I ended up sitting across from the local anorak who seemed to be giving a history lesson to this poor foreign runner who ended up having the vacant look and it was a relief to get off the bus and not just to get to a toilet. Saw Alan, Sally and a few more Porties and said the usual all the best. You could not have asked for better conditions to run a marathon and settled into a steady pace. Everything was fine until 17 miles when I saw the hill and managed to get halfway and that was it, had to stop and the rest of the marathon was my usual walk/jog effort. On one of my walk breaks I heard a voice going come on Portobello but it was a female runner from gala harriers who for the last 5 miles I would pass her and she would pass me and then with about half a mile to go i said "come on mrs." Well if I knew her name I would have said that to which she replied I will need to try your way of running. I kept thinking it would be nice to run the whole way but if there is no energy left there is not much you can do.
Well done to Sally, Amanda, Richard, Alan and all the other Porties who had magnificent runs really well done on what is not an easy course great stuff. The pleasing thing for myself was I was 7seconds quicker than Edinburgh. Amsterdam 3.32.20, Edinburgh 3.31.35, Loch Ness 3.31.28. I don't know if I will be doing Jedburgh as it depends on what shift I will be working but I hope to be there.
see you all soon John Pickard
And Richard's report (Richard was described by Julia as looking "the most sprightly and animated" of the Porties coming past but it was obviously just a cunning disguise.....)
Don't let anyone tell you Loch Ness is an easy marathon course. Fast perhaps, but not easy. And I think the fast depends on the weather - we were blessed with a clear windless day. A very rough description of the course would be that the first three miles are flattish, then mile marker 4 comes half way up a steep climb. Mile 5 then flattens out, and ends with a steeper and longer descent. Miles 6 and 7 follow this pattern - a short nasty climb, some undulations, and then longer steep downhill. This is quick, but not good for the legs. Once you get down to the loch about mile 7/8, there is a long stretch of gentle undulations all the way to mile 17. At about 17.5, a long gentle climb begins which goes all the way to the mile 19 marker - the hill the course is known for. Miles 20-22 are then significantly undulating - but the last four are flat or gently downhill. My mental note to self is that miles 17-22 are going to be the clinchers.Two things I'd learnt about my own running from Paris were that I'd not got a hope of running the same pace the whole way round, and that I had to get the refuelling strategy right. I'd worked out lots of race plans - settling down with wanting to run 7.45 for the first 18, giving me 8:30s for the rest - and I'd been drinking nothing but the appropriate Lucozade packets for all my training runs. But having driven up and down the course on the Saturday, it was clear this was not a course where having a plan for mile splits would work. Being used to the Lucozade also turns out to be a big advantage - stomach plays up a little from the first drink place onwards, but I've never seen so many runners driven to the bushes throughout the race...
The buses take well over an hour to get you to the start, so we had about 45 mins to change, pee and pfaff about. All the fellow porties grouped together at the start - optimistically opposite the "2:30" time flag! - and I run the first mile alongside Paul, with Alan and Sheena behind us. Scottish runners are well disciplined - there are none of the congestion problems I'd feared - and we start at a gentle jog. 8:30 pace for the first half mile, then the road is clear and we can push on. I have a garmin moment when we get to the first mile - mine says 7:47 and on target for me, Paul's says 8:00 and on target for him, and we're side by side. I've not really done the distance training to expect more than about 3:40, but want to give 3:30 a go - and I know Paul and Sheena are planning to race even splits, whilst I need time in the bank for the end, so I say farewell and push on, expecting to see them come past somewhere in the final stages. I'm not in the mood for conversation, so when a friendly local comes alongside and starts chatting, I get a further incentive to press on. The first uphill at the 4 mile mark is a shock - the first minute into the mile I see my average pace is over 10:00 - so for the downhills I run comfortably hard. The downhills, and the speed you carry off them, get me to the half just inside 1:40 - a time I'd be happy with in a half marathon (I'm not the only one taking this tack - Margaret runs a pb for the half). I then settle in beside a charity runner and we work together for three miles - he is like a metronome, as our splits for those three are 7:34, 7:35, 7:46.
The hill ahead fills my mind, and I try and gather myself before reaching it. Mentally I've prepared to drop to 9:00 miles for the two uphill miles, but I get the mental bonus of another Porty vest (turns out to be John) coming into view up ahead, and look at my watch half way up to see I've only slowed to 8:20. There's an unofficial waterstop halfway up manned by Forres folk from the Heb 3 series, which is a further welcome distraction, and I get to the 20 mile mark in 2:34. The next goal on my mental schedule is 22 miles by 2:55 - surely I can make that. By now it is clear I am on for 3:30, and although the urge to slow down is strong, telling myself that would mean I'd have to go through the previous 20 miles again another time to get in as good a position keeps me going. I have a minor hiccup at the last Lucozade station at 22 - I can't get the top off, and have to run back to get one of the TA folk to do it for me. Somewhere in mile 23 it all gets very hard. It is all painful from now on. I have to focus so hard on just keeping going that I miss the Porty supporters' club both times I pass them. I threaten to break Andrew Henderson's camera as I pass him. I can't work out how the kilometre markers for the 10k fit with our mile markers. But the end comes in sight and it is finally over. I get a hug from a young lady claiming to be Scott's sister, and then wander off to the finishing straight to wait for the others - though am so zonked I gaze right through the next two Porties.
I've done the second half in 1:44, which I find hard to believe - it certainly hasn't felt like that. I think going out fast and holding on works for me for two reasons. Even when slowing, I tend to run at the pace of those around me and aim to at least keep up with the runner in front. Being further up the field means doing this means I'm dragged along quicker than otherwise. I'm ahead of all my desired split points, and this is a huge boost. It also helps that I'm determined not to let Sheena and Paul catch me too soon! Both come in clearly having worked extremely hard; the Porty Ladies dominate the prize giving; and the 10K girls then take us out to dinner - which almost makes the pain worthwhile.
Anyone who gets back to work the next day after a marathon deserves a medal!Porty Results
10k
Maureen 46.50 (pb)
Louise 49:36Marathon
Scott 3:04:34
Amanda 3:12:37
Sally 3:13:36
Ben 3:21:34
Richard 3:23:48 (191st!)
John 3:31:38
Sheena 3:38:11
Alan 3:39:43
Paul 3:43:45
Margaret 4:04:13
Results here
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