Manchester Marathon – A Race of 3 Parts

For marathon number 3, we decided to return to the scene of the first in one of my favourite English cities.

I had such a great experience the first time around and, with the exception of ‘The Hill’ in Altrincham, the course is reasonably flat so it seemed a good choice for an attempt at 4:30 after my first sub 2 hour half marathon last year on a similar course.

I’m lucky enough to have access to a hotel discount through my work so we decided to travel up on Friday evening and fit in a tourist parkrun on Saturday morning (South Manchester comes highly recommended, lovely and flat and very friendly). ‘Taking it easy’ isn’t usually part of my vocabulary when it comes to parkrun, especially on a course which is tagged as flat and fast but I actually managed to do it this time – go me! After the customary post-parkrun breakfast, we headed back to the hotel to change and go for a leisurely wander around Salford Quays before a lazy afternoon and the traditional pre-race dinner of pizza. Saturday successfully complete!

Sunday morning dawned……in the weeks leading up to the big day, the weather forecast had changed so many times and I was hoping for the ‘cloudy, overcast, a chance of showers’ version but sadly that was not to be and we woke to blue skies and a weather app that told me the temperature was going to peak at 19 degrees, not ideal for someone who has always struggled to run in the heat. Oh well, we can’t control the weather and it’s the same for everyone so I had to get on with it.

It was an early start as, although my time to enter the start process was not until 10.20am, Mark had to be there for 8.55am so by 7am we were down for breakfast with dozens of other runners devouring the plentiful porridge pots and bananas. Suncream and Vaseline were then applied and we were off to catch the tram to the start line.

A new course for 2025 came with a new location for the event village, in the shadow of Old Trafford Football Stadium. Bag drop completed for Mark and I walked with him to the holding area where we found hundreds of runners, many portaloos and the usual long queues (made longer with the number of spectators using them, one of my race day pet hates!) Mark’s wave was called and he was off with hundreds of Light Green wave runners to begin his journey to the start line. Cue my first emotional moment of the day as we hugged goodbye – all being well, the next time we saw each other, we would have completed our third marathon

Now it was my turn – bag dropped, Mr Bean spotted (how that guy ran 26.2 in a tweed jacket in the heat I will never know!), several toilet visits (including the usual one that I knew I didn’t really need!) and I still had 45 minutes to kill. Luckily, I then managed to spot Dave in the crowds and was able to wish him luck before he was called through to the start. 20 minutes left now, maybe it would be sensible to try and find some shade to stand in…….there was very little of that but I found a small area and hung around there waiting for the Pinks to be called. Bang on time, we were off but I still hadn’t seen the 4:30 pacer that I wanted to try and follow so I hung back and generally dawdled along with the crowds hoping that he would appear. And appear he did, Dan quickly attracted a group of people and we made our way to the front of the wave with him parting the crowds for us. On the start line, I had a chat with a lady called Martha who was running her second marathon and hoping for the same time as me – little did I know at the time, how important that small interaction with a then stranger would be for ‘part three’ of my race.

11am and it was go time. I knew that 4:30 was going to be a stretch for me and, given the heat, I wasn’t confident at all but knew that I would regret not trying so try I did. The first 10k felt OK, we had some time in the bank, the tunes were blaring out and I even managed an Islands in the Stream duet with Dan (maybe not the best use of my energy but it was fun!). We had run past Old Trafford, through Stretford & Sale and were heading for Timperley. As we approached the water station at 9 miles, I could feel the pace group pulling away from me and decided that today wasn’t going to be the day so I let them go. Never mind, goal B was next and a PB was still possible. The support in Timperley was amazing, so many people lining the streets and some much needed hose pipes and sprinklers to cool us down. Altrincham was next and ‘The Hill’. By mile 11, it was starting to feel tough and, at the 12 mile water station, I decided that I needed to conserve some energy and walk up The Hill. At the top, I forced myself to get going again and was greeted by the wonderful residents of Altrincham, again out in force, shouting encouragement and waving their home-made signs.

I managed to get to half marathon distance in 2:15 so I was right where I needed to be but I had lost all the banked time and knew I was slowing so it wasn’t happening. Mile 14 was the start of Part Two of my race – the bit where I realised that not only were goal A and goal B out of reach but I was in danger of not achieving Goal C – cross the finish line and enjoy it. I was now not enjoying it one bit, I had very little energy and had to start run/walk intervals to keep moving forward. If someone had offered me a tram ticket at that point and told me that it was OK to stop, I think I would have – I’ve never been so close to giving up in a race before but I really wanted to get my hands on that medal and didn’t want to let down all the people who had supported me and donated to Mind.

Cue emotional moment number two, why do I put songs on my race day playlist that have lyrics like this? ‘But I, I gotta keep trying. Gotta keep my head held high…….Ain’t about how fast I get there…….’ – just at the point where I thought I was never going to get there, the finish line felt further away at that moment than when I had started two and a half hours earlier. I’m not ashamed to admit that I had a little cry, that’s never happened mid race before and I’m not sure the poor guy running next to me knew quite where to put himself, apologies if by any chance you find yourself reading this!!

The next 5 miles seemed to take forever and now just crossing the finish line was enough, the heat was unforgiving, I’ve never seen so many runners in distress and being attended to by medics and there were many just sat on the pavement looking as if they were deciding whether to carry on – I really hope that everyone is OK

Mile 19 is where Part Three of my race began. I heard a shout from behind me ‘Emma!’, who on earth is it? I don’t know anyone who will be moving at this pace and they can’t see the name on the front of my bib.

Unbeknown to me, Martha had also dropped back from the pace group and was now alongside me. We spent a mile stopping and starting at different times so passing each other, slowing down and trading places, before I caught up with her again and asked if she wanted to stick together to the end and try some structured run/walk intervals.

We decided on 5 minutes run, 2 minutes walk and the miles started ticking by as we got to know each other a little better and shared our running journeys. 22 miles, 23 miles, the obligatory ‘Just a parkrun to go sign’ and I finally started to believe that I was going to finish this race. As we entered Hulme, the crowds got bigger again and I was lifted by the support. I turned the final corner, where was the finish line, I couldn’t see it – please don’t let this be one of those races where the finish straight is a mile long! But no, in the distance, there it was.

I passed the 26 miles marker just as my Garmin told me I had completed the marathon distance, another 400m between me, that medal and an ice cold beer. Remember to try and smile for the camera, Emma, finish strong – I’m not sure how strong I looked but I finished, side by side with Martha who only five hours ago had been a total stranger but whose company and support got me through the toughest race I have ever taken part in. It was way off the time I had trained for but I am super proud to have completed it and thanks to Strava for repeatedly telling me that it was my third fastest time in the marathon, I will take that although there have only been three as I am still in the 1% club!

Will there be a marathon number four? Definitely not next year unless, in the words of The Clash, we hear London Calling!

– Emma Eastwood

Massey Results