My Manchester Marathon- John Stevenson
With the unusual situation that two major Spring Marathons were announced to be on the same day as each other John Stevenson found himself in Manchester while much of the running world was focused on London. It doesn’t matter where you take on the 26.2 miles it still takes a huge amount of dedication and grit to see it though. Manchester is known for being a flat course and is set in a fabulous city. John’s experience shows that the body can do amazing things even when the mind insists otherwise.
What was the weather like on the day?
Fairly good, during the day the race was a bit hot with little wind. There was some kindly house owners out with their Garden hose giving some relief to the heat……… However after the run I did discover I had sunburn on my back – who would have thought you would get sunburn in Manchester? (Not I).
How was the course?
Great, Start line is at Man U’s Old Trafford football ground and the course goes out to the small towns that make up Greater Manchester. The start line is very easy to get to by Tram from the city centre while the course itself is fairly flat with the odd small hill as you cross over Train lines.
How were the crowds?
Very good, I would say about 70% of the course had people cheering you on. With the crowds getting very busy in the last 4 miles.
Bling? Was the medal/ t-shirt worth it?
The medal was a great big metal thing similar to most other medals. I am not a fan of any medals and when I can I choose not to get one. The T-Shirt is OK, standard technical T-Shirt.
How was your training block?
Terrible – after breaking a couple of ribs in January my training plan fell off a cliff. I also picked up a cough that took 5 weeks to clear. The net result being that I did not do enough training.
How did your race go?
Given my lack of planning I held back on the first half hoping that would let me carry something into the second half. Even with holding back I still blew up early in the second half – I had a very painful 12 miles to the finish line. Made even more painful as I ran past a tram stop every mile that could have taken me back to my hotel within minutes – it took all my will power to keep going 
What was your favourite part of your weekend?
Manchester itself is a great city, easy to get to and find a place to stay, with lots of things to do. Manchester is also surrounded by parkruns and being a bit of a parkrun fan I used the opportunity to pick up a P for my 5km alphabet…….. All in all, this is a great marathon that I would recommend to anyone considering a marathon – so much so I have signed up for next years.
Official time 3.59.54