Still Running (weakly). Issue 70

PAST – inspiration – The first sub-2:05 marathon, the first sub-2:04 marathon and the first sub-2:03 marathon were all run in Berlin on a 28th of September. Paul Tergat ran 2:04:55 on that day in 2003; Haile Gebrselassie ran 2:03:59 in 2008; and Dennis Kimetto ran 2:02:57 in 2014.

The Berlin Marathon last Sunday reminds me of all of that, and of one of my most satisfying races in that event in 1984, when everything went right, and I beat my personal best by 3 minutes. I was pretty consistent back then, and when I was 2 minutes up at 20 miles, I knew I’d do it. Afterwards, I remember wandering through the very well-stocked feeding tables beyond the finish line – having a cereal bar here, and a banana there – in a state of delirium.

Funnily enough, that PB didn’t last long. I ran the London to Brighton a week after Berlin, and then took another minute off my time in the Bedford Marathon three weeks later.

PRESENT – perspiration – Finally, sanity has returned, the universe has righted itself, and there is no longer a disturbance in the force.

Yes, Mars have decided to bring back the Marathon bar – albeit temporarily, and only in Morrisons. All right-thinking runners were justifiably horrified in 1990 when the company changed the bar’s UK name from Marathon, to conform with its worldwide Snickers brand.

Dithering between a Mars Bar, a Picnic, a Double Decker and a Marathon, how many of us bought the bar back in the 80s, just because of the name? Time to stock up once more!

FUTURE – suggestion – For those of you running (rather than eating) a marathon this autumn – or indeed thinking of one for the spring – I would offer two main tips.

First, emphasise your long runs. It sounds obvious, but these have the greatest bearing on your ability to run the whole 26.2 miles and put in a satisfying performance – whether that’s a time, a position, or simply not walking. Make those long runs as much like the race as you can – build your weekend’s activities around the run, keep a good pace and don’t let it drop towards the end, don’t stop to eat or drink, but do so on the run, and take a professional approach to your recovery afterwards.

Second, you cannot improve in the last two weeks before your race, but you can certainly sabotage your chances of a good run. You’re tapering down your mileage – so don’t be tempted to slip in a hard run because you are feeling so fresh (this takes discipline, because you will definitely feel restless.) And don’t clear out the garage, rearrange the loft or relandscape the garden because you suddenly have so much surplus energy. You will stiffen your muscles and knacker yourself ahead of the all-important race day.