Windermere Marathon - Full Report

Two days have since passed since my fifth marathon of the year and my legs have finally stopped aching.  Many people find that their legs hurt more on day two following a marathon, due to a phenomenon known as DOMS, or delayed onset muscle soreness.   I seem to get the rarer IOMS - instant onset muscle soreness.  I don't think this was helped by having to sit in a car for five hours immediately after the marathon.  I was so grateful for Ruth doing all the driving home.

The only downside of Windermere Marathon is the amount of travel time involved in getting there.  It's too close to fly, but such a long drive on a Friday afternoon.  We wanted to make a bit of a weekend of it and had planned to camp with our friends, Ron and Kate.  The same Ron who I'd supported two weeks ago when he was running in the Shakespeare Marathon.  Ruth and I left Cambridge at about 1.30pm on Friday.  We arrived at our campsite six hours later.  The dreaded M6 between Birmingham and Manchester was a nightmare of slow moving traffic.  We also drove through a patch of heavy rain, but fortunately we had clear blue skies when we arrived in the Lake District.  It's been a few years since I've been so far north and I'd forgotten just how much colder it is in this part of the country compared to sunny East Anglia.  I'd only just packed enough warm clothes to keep the chill out.

Once we had our tent up we sat down with our two friends and cracked open a few beers.  I had said I wouldn't drink any alcohol until after the marathon, but after such a long drive I felt that I needed it.  Ruth then cooked a meal for the four of us and we then spent the evening chatting away under the stars.  Our camp site was right on the shore of Lake Windermere and it was a very pleasant and peaceful place to be with good company.

On Saturday we decided to do a fairly easy walk through Grizedale Forest.  It would have been nice to have climbed one of the major peaks in the Lake District National Park, but I didn't want to over exert myself as I suspected the following day's marathon was probably going to be reasonably tough.  As the weather didn't look that promising, staying fairly low also seemed to make better sense.  So we restricted ourselves to a fairly modest walk up to Carron Crag at 314m, the highest point in Grizedale.



Ruth and Kate near the top of Carron Crag

The walk up to Carron Crag proved to be fairly short, which worked out to our advantage.  Kate mentioned that they had friends who had recently moved to Windermere and suggested we paid them a visit.  We phoned to check they were in and then set off to see them.  As we pulled up outside their house the heavens opened.  This was then the start of the rain that would hardly seize up until the next morning.

That evening we huddled inside Ron and Kate's tent whilst Kate cooked our evening pasta meal.  The others opened a few beers and I think I counted two bottles of wine being opened.  Obviously, I resitricted myself to soft drinks and did my best to feel virtuous.

That night rain pounded our tents.  Fortunately, I'm a fairly heavy sleeper so I wasn't disturbed by the foul weather.  Over breakfast the others all talked about having a restless night and mentioned hearing car alarms being set off by the wind and rain.  I was completely oblivious to this and woke feeling refreshed and ready for a run.  I was slightly concerned by the continuing wind and rain, and wished I'd packed my lightweight waterproof running jacket.  I was then a little dismayed to discover our tent had developed a slight leak and that we had a drip right over the spot where I had left my running shoes.  I don't mind my feet becoming wet whilst I run, but putting my feet into wet trainers at the start of a marathon is not something that I relish.  I made a mental note to never camp the night before a marathon ever again.

We packed up our wet tent and loaded the car and I then made my way to the start point of the marathon at Brathay Hall, just two miles from our campsite.  I sat in the car for as long as possible to shelter from the rain.  The others were all back at the campsite packing Ron and Kate's tent.

At 10:05 the rain seemed to ease, so I left the car and made my way to the start area.  As I got there the heavens opened again and everyone dived for whatever cover they could find.  I found myself huddled under the eaves of a building with several other runners who were all in high spirits and trying their best to put a brave face on the situation.  Moments later the rain suddenly stopped and it was time to make our way to the start line.  I chatted to a couple of other runners in those last few minutes before the gun went off.  We all suspected we'd be in for a cold, wet, windy and tough run.  The gun went off at 10.30am sharp and I wished good luck to my fellow runners who were standing nearby.

The marathon route went right past the road leading to our campsite, and my support team had said they'd be there to cheer me on.  As we approached the junction I could see no sign of them.  Then just as I got to the junction Kate's car came whizzing up the road towards us and came to a halt with a few beeps from her horn.  Talk about cutting it fine.

From the start at Brathay Hall the marathon route heads pretty much due south to the pretty little village of Hawkshead, where a few residents had come out onto the streets to cheer us on.  You could describe this part of the route as undulating.  For a Fen boy, like me, it's bloody hilly.  The major problem that I had with the hills around Windermere is that there is no regularity to them.  I like hills that stick to pretty much one gradient so that you can find a single pace to run at until you reach the brow.  The hills on the Windermere marathon alter their gradient all the time.  You run up a step section, which then levels off for a few yards, kicks up again, dips a little, climbs at a shallow gradient, turns a corner and hits you in the face with another steep section.  Your legs never have time to settle into one pace.  Then every now and again you get a short and steep down.  On the downhills I passed many runners trying to fight gravity.  Running fast downhill is a skill that is definitely worth learning.  If you fight gravity you over exert your quad muscles.  To let gravity do the work you need to disengage your brain, take long strides and let your legs turn over super quick.  It's harder than it sounds, but it saves lots of energy.

The route is all on road, and much of the first half is through woodland, but with plenty of open road sections allowing us runners to admire the view of the rolling hills to the south of the Lake District.  I had told myself that I would take plenty of photos.  But for most of the race I was running and chatting with one or two people at a time.  To stop and take a photo would have meant losing my running partners, or using too much energy to keep trying to catch them up.  So I opted to chat with whoever was alongside me at the time, if they seemed the sort of runner who is keen for a chat during a marathon, and to just take in the views as I ran.

After Hawkshead the route passes to the west of Esthwaite Water, one of the smaller lakes at just 1.5 miles long.  The end of the lake was at the 6 mile point.  After another 6 miles of running we were at the village of Newby Bridge.  Here there was a good amount of spectators lining the streets to cheer on the runners.  Several spectators lined the stone arch bridge that was built in the 17th century and for which Newby Bridge is famous (apparently).  From Newby Bridge the route heads north and stays fairly close to the eastern shore of Lake Windermere.  The east side of the lake is more developed, so there was a lot more spectators out cheering on the runners for the second half of the marathon, which is always welcome.

Windermere itself is at the 20 mile mark on the marathon.  It's from here that the marathon always starts to take its toll.  My legs were feeling very heavy, but the number of spectators out through the town centre made sure I kept running with good form.  I was also aware that I was leaving behind several of the runners I'd been chatting to up to this point and gaining on many who had previously seemed beyond reach.  I was expecting to see my support crew at mile 23, but they were nowhere to be seen.  I imagined them sat in a pub somewhere, enjoying themselves and forgetting all about me.  I put the thought to the back of my head and carried on with the task at hand.  My legs were feeling really heavy now but I told myself all I had left to do was the equivalent of six laps of Midsummer Common - easy.

With one mile to go the route passes through Ambleside.  There weren't many spectators out, but enough to give me a boost.  I was overtaking many runners at this stage.  With just over half a mile to go I caught a runner as we crossed a narrow hump back bridge, we both commented on the fact that it felt like a massive hill.  Soon afterwards I'd reached the entrance to Brathay Hall.  From the entrance gate the road leads upwards to the hall.  I passed another runner who was struggling with this last climb on the marathon.  The course then went around the side of the house to finish on the lawn at the back.  There were many people lining the finishing straight cheering on the competitors.  I ran towards the finish line with both hands held in the air for victory.  My official time was 3 hours 18 minutes and 4 seconds.  This is my second fastest time for the year so far, on the toughest course.  The way my legs were feeling I could tell I'd not taken it as easy as perhaps I should have.

I stayed at the finish line for several minutes waiting to see some of the runners I'd chatted to during the race cross the line.  As they came in we shook hands and patted each other on the back for a job well done.  I might see some of them at some future marathon, most I'll probably never see again, but for a few hours on this particular Sunday we were kinsmen. 

This marathon had definitely been the highlight of the year so far.  It might have involved a long drive to get here, it was certainly tough, but the scenery and level of camaraderie made it all worthwhile.  Thankfully, it had stayed dry for the entire time that I was running.

All I had to do now was find my missing support crew.  There was no sign of them near the finish, so I made my way to the car to get my mobile.  I discovered that they had gone to mile 23 to see me, but must have just missed me.  They blamed me for running faster than I'd told them.  We met up at the finish and shortly afterwards Ruth and I bid farewell to our friends.

My support crew: Kate, Ruth, Ron & Ozzy the dog

Marathon number five completed

Then we had the long drive home, which brought on the aching in my legs earlier than is normal.  However, it's a good job my DOMS have subsided now, as I'm due to run with a client later today.