Oakley 20, 26 Mar 2023

It was one of those mornings where you really question your decisions. The wind was howling and the rain was pouring and I was wondering whether I should just stay in bed. But my commitment to my training got the better of me, I do have a marathon to run in a few weeks after all.

The weather hadn't passed by the time I arrived at the venue and I huddled inside the sports hall with the rest of the participants just as mad as me, waiting until the last second to go out into the rain wearing just a vest and shorts. I wanted this to be a trial run for London Marathon and this included the exact clothing I planned to wear on the day, even in terrible conditions. At the start line I met a triathlon friend of mine who informed me that the first 1 mile had been changed to laps around a soggy playing field. That first mile was honestly wetter and boggier than most of the XC races I've run this year! I was committed now.

Thankfully the rest of the race was on quiet tarmac roads. It was an open roads race but very few cars passed, people making the wise decision to stay indoors. The course really would have been quite lovely on a sunny day, but it was difficult to think about anything other than how miserable it was. I put all my attention into sticking to my pace and practicing race day nutrition and the miles were gradually ticked off. It was mostly a solitary affair, often with no other runners in sight but I was cheered on by Dave who had been out on a ride and rode with me for a couple of kilometres for company.

The course was rolling with quite a few more hills than I'm used to in Cambridge. It made it quite difficult to pace and I wasn't always sure if I was putting in the right effort. About half way I gave up looking at my pace altogether and ran to feel. With a couple of miles to go, it was still raining, I was still running.

At last the finish line was in sight and I crossed, cold and exhausted, in a time of 2:32:06, 12th female overall. Not bad for a triathlete! My average pace was only 3secs per km slower than my planned marathon pace which I was extremely happy with given the terrible conditions and the hilly course. My nutrition strategy had also worked well and I had energy the whole way through. It's given me lots of confidence going into the marathon. Worth getting out of bed for!

Emily Young