The Marlow 5 Mile was my first proper race since I started running almost exactly three months ago. It all seemed like a good idea, having run the same distance a couple of weeks ago. But come the hour before the race, I was in a very poor place despite it being a beautiful morning. I had to stop after only a few yards jogging to warm up. I couldn't make any conversation when meeting Alison's running friend Alice. And my stomach was doing cartwheels. Being in a solid mass of runners at the start did not help. But as we got under way, everything changed. Alison was pacing me round and I just concentrated on keeping up.
The first mile went OK, mainly making sure not to trip over other runners. Alison set a really good pace and I was feeling more and more comfortable. Halfway round I knew it was all going to be fine, especially when we reached a slight gradient downhill. The last mile was brilliant, lots of people on the pavements cheering, and in no time we were at the gates of Higginson Park with the finish in sight.
As soon as we finished I knew it must be a reasonable time as my legs were objecting. The only disappointment was not seeing the clock as we went over the line, and I had to wait until Alison checked her Garmin to tell me we had done it in 46 minutes 51 seconds, well inside the target of just under 50 minutes, so I was really pleased. The pace worked out to 9 minutes 22 seconds per mile, much much faster than any training run.
When we checked the race results later in the day, I was 17th out of the 34 in the male 60 - 69 age group, and 13th when adjusted for my exact age. So very pleased for a first race, and having only been running for a short while. Thanks to Alison for getting me round in the time, there is no way I would have achieved that without her being a fine pacer.
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