Shangxi Wen writes:
Newport was my fourth marathon after Birmingham, Manchester, and York. The standout feature of this race is its flat course – it claims to be the flattest full marathon in the UK, and runners aiming for a PB flock to it. I was one of them. I ran the Manchester Marathon in 4 hours and 5 minutes, a 52-minute improvement over my first marathon in Birmingham. I was full of confidence afterward, believing I’d definitely break 4 hours (sub-4) next time. But shortly after, I developed plantar fasciitis. A long recovery period cut my weekly mileage into a half, and my weight steadily increased.
Six months later, I impulsively signed up for the York Marathon, of course, I wasn’t expecting a sub-4 performance. After finishing York, my plantar fasciitis had mostly healed, and I excitedly registered for Newport, hoping to make this the race where I finally break 4 hours. But soon after, I injured my ankle! So once again, it was training and physiotherapy at the same time, for 17 weeks… Before the race, I predicted I might finish in 4 hours and 15 minutes. Given the flat course, I secretly hoped maybe 4:10?
But not long after the start, I could already feel it wasn’t going to be a great day. I didn’t have that light, springy feeling you expect at the beginning of a race. I mentally divide a marathon into three parts: 10 miles, 10 miles, and the remaining 10K, after the first 1/3, I felt slightly better. I hit the halfway point in 1:58, and I immediately knew I hadn’t paced well – I’d still gone out too fast. The plan was to do the first half in 2 hours. Can’t remember who from our club once summed it up: spend an extra minute in the first half, and you might save 3 minutes in the final 5K.
At that point, my ankle and thighs were starting to ache, so I took an ibuprofen. The next 2 miles became suddenly tough – I was breathing heavily, and my pace dropped unintentionally. I thought this would be the first DNF (Did Not Finish) of my life. Just then, a woman passed me – we had run near each other for a few kilometers earlier. I thought, if I can keep up with her, maybe today can still be salvaged. I quickly took two energy gels and started to feel much better, I followed her for 3 kilometers, and my condition gradually improved. When her husband and two sons were cheering her on, I passed her again and found my rhythm.
For the final third – the last 10.2 kilometers – I took a sachet of CrampFix first and continued taking an energy gel every 2 miles ish. The last 5K went by almost in a daze. Other than the sensation of my legs moving, all I felt was pain – I just clenched my teeth and pushed on. At the 24-mile mark, I was pleasantly surprised to see I still had a chance at a PB – if I could keep a 10-minute mile pace!
After climbing the last slope, I mentally pushed myself to keep up the pace. In the final few hundred meters, the deafening cheers from the crowd made it impossible not to pick up speed. I ended up with a smile and a new PB – though only 1 minute faster than Manchester!
While retrieving my bag, I bumped into the same woman – she finished about 2 minutes behind me. I thanked her for unknowingly pulling me out of the darkest part of the race. We both laughed – it was one of those knowing laughs that only runners share.
Worth to mention, there were totally 9 harriers running yesterday, plus the lovely supporting team and Suzie surprisingly working as the volunteer there, I almost felt the atmosphere in Great Birmingham Run! Thank you all very much for your company!