By Emily Eaton
It was a beautiful, sunny morning as the huge crowds gathered in Preston Park ready to start the marathon on 9th April. I saw Luke in the bag drop and we wished each other good luck, and headed towards the starting corrals as the race began.
The course for the Brighton Marathon winds up around Preston Park before heading into the Laines and then back and around the Old Steine, up Lewes Road and up a little hill into Kemptown. We then got onto the seafront around mile 6 and headed up towards Ovingdean where we turned around and came back at a steady incline along the coast road back into town for the halfway mark.
I saw Scott at this point smiling and looking strong. The race then heads onto Western Road and to the edge of Boundary Road in Hove before heading up to Shoreham Harbour around mile 20. This is the worst part of the race – it’s a bit smelly and the crowds have thinned out and there is only an ugly industrial wasteland to distract you. But after pushing through this part, you are back on the seafront for mile 23 to finish just past the pier.
The whole race is lined with crowds passing jelly babies and fruit and keeping everyone’s spirits up with their cheers and amusing signs – the funniest being ‘it could be worse, you could be at work’. A busy road race isn’t for everyone but, for me, it’s a race that shows Brighton and Brightonians at their very best!
This was my second time running this race and my plan was to break the 4-hour mark (last time I got 4’11) and, if possible, try and enjoy myself along the way. Last time I found it a real struggle after going out too fast on the first half (with PBs at 10k and the half!) and I was determined to stick to the planned steady pace. I’d checked the weather forecast and I thought it’d be warm but it got much hotter than any of us had ever trained in and anticipated – hitting 21 degrees at one point! There were a lot of runners suffering with heat and dehydration and it made the race a really tough one.
For me, my race went to plan and I kept a steady pace throughout, even managing to speed up over the last few miles. I felt strong and in control and finished with a PB of 3:58 feeling fantastic knowing how hard I’d pushed myself. Other Striders did amazing that day too with Josh, Scott, Luke, Anneka and Carlie all running fantastic times.