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Chester Marathon,
7 October 2018. My first third time lucky race! I smashed my PB by nine minutes,
to 3 hr 23 m 27 s, still only ending 582nd out of 2820.
before:
and behind:
Chester Marathon,
8 October 2017. My second repeat race. I only entered five days before, not
having had the greatest of preparations. And yet i ran my second best time, just
a minute behind my PB: 3 hr 33 m 29 s and 657th out of 2643. (All splits up to
30k were bang on the 3:30 pace.)
© Joana
Windermere Marathon,
22 May 2016. Finally, after three years... Well, it nearly didn't happen
(again), when three weeks before race day a freak fall while running severely
injured my shoulder (among other cuts and bruises). It went very well despite
the horrific hills following one another unrelentlessly, but i got dehydrated
in the last few kilometres and lost precious time. My time of 3 hr 44 m 35 s
(the winner ran 2 hr 36 m) and 96th place in a field of 535 are pretty decent.
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Snowdonia Marathon,
25 October 2014. Unfortunately I had to cancel my participation. I got tackled
during a football match in August, crippling me for six weeks. By the time I
got back to running again it was October. And then I caught a nasty cold which
knocked me down the weekend before the marathon. It was not to be, this year.
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Lake Vyrnwy Half Marathon,
15 September 2013. My first repeat race. Despite an incoherent preparation I
knew I was in decent shape. The weather was horrendous, with rain throughout
and strong wind (though this course is rather protected). I had hoped to break
my PB, never expecting to smash it by over 5 minutes to 1 hr 33 m 07 s, 181st
fastest of 1298 finishers.
Leiden Marathon, 26 May 2013. A
delightful run through the historic city, pretty villages and pittoresque
countryside with enthusiastic public (human and farm animal alike). This time,
I believed it when they said "flat"! I should also have remembered that there
is a reason Holland is famous for its windmills... The winner ran just under
2:20; I was a little slower than that but very content with 3 hr 39 m 14 s, at
quite a steady pace, ending 226 out of 746 runners faster than 5.5 hr.
© pappa & mamma
Chester Marathon, 7 October 2012. Running through an ancient Roman city
and pretty English and Welsh countryside and historic villages; start and
finish at the Chester (horse) Racecourse. A brilliant day, lots of sunshine,
almost no wind and temperatures climbing to about 12 C. Not flat, especially
there's a nasty climb into Chester a few km before the finish. Unfortunately I
suffered from a cold since the week before and arrived far from fit at the
start. Until halfway all seemed well but after that it took its toll, so I
decided to try to enjoy it as much as I could rather than torturing myself. I
ended in position 846 out of 2079 runners finishing within seven hours, with a
time of 3 hr 51 m 05 s. This year has been a little disappointing, but
hopefully it means better times ahead!
Midnight Sun Marathon
in Tromsø, 70 degrees North, 30 June 2012. This is a mostly delightful
run along the seafront surrounded by mountains clad in snow nearly down to sea
level, negotiating a real stinker of a 40-m high bridge, twice, followed by a
Norwegian interpretation of a "flat" course, all in the middle of the night in
continuous daylight. Unfortunately that day my legs had other plans and after
22 km I gradually started giving up on a good time, finishing in a rather
disappointing 3 hr 53 m 14 s, ranking 196 out of 520 finishing participants.
As ever, I'm immensely grateful to the old and new supporters of the Breast
Cancer Campaign (we raised 485 pounds).
© Joana
The pictures above captured the start; things soon got blurred...
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Loch Ness Marathon, 2 October 2011. We got a good soaking from the rain in
the first 10K but the Sun came out at the finish line. A beautiful course,
downhill on balance but with some murderous ascents to negotiate as well. I
shattered my personal best by a quarter of an hour, to 3 hr 32 m 26 s, ranking
312 out of 2346 finishing participants. I was priviliged to meet Nessie
afterwards (see the picture on the right) - his potent breath can be attributed
to Baxters' soup. Many thanks again to all of you who supported the Breast
Cancer Campaign (we raised 248 pounds).
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© Joana |
Egmond Half Marathon, 9
January 2011. After two failed attempts, three times lucky! The weather was
great, sunny and above zero, just a tad windy at the seaside but the beach was
in perfect condition. Perhaps I enjoyed it a little too much because I arrived
only after 1 hr 44m 46 s (2419 out of 9845) with energy to spare.
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Athens Marathon, 31 October 2010, the 2500th anniversary of the epic run
from Marathon to Athens. My first marathon. The atmosphere was fantastic,
people lining the entire course and cheering us on as if we had just beaten
the Persians. The Sun was merciless. Half of it was uphill. Narrowly avoiding
Pheidippides' fate, I reached the finish in the Panathinaikon stadium after 3
hr 46 m 58 s, ranking 1719 out of approximately 12,500. Many thanks to all the
people who supported the Breast Cancer Campaign (we raised 426 pounds).
The picture on the bottom right shows five more astronomers who ran that day.
We are all smiling (again).
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© Joana |
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Lake Vyrnwy Half Marathon, 12 September 2010. A scenic run around a lake
in the Welsh border hills. Despite (or because of?) a nice dinner with wine
and aguardiente the night before, I felt great and improved my PB by seven
minutes (1 hr 38 m 27 s, 220 out of 1205), and about as much ahead of the guy
dressed-up as a sunflower (well done you!). Check out the weird relativistic
effects on the picture to the right, mere seconds away from finishing. |
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© Joana |
Egmond Half Marathon, 10
January 2010. Unfortunately, the severe winter (icy paths and roads) forced
the organisation to first change the route to only follow the beach, but
subsequently to cancel the 38th edition of this event altogether. Together
with a few hundred others spread over the day (from a total 17,500 registered
participants), I decided to run the race anyhow. Running the 10 km back
against a stiff polar wind and some sleet, making it hard to see and breath,
over increasingly soft sand, I was glad to finish seven minutes above my PB
and raising 150 pounds for the Breast Cancer Campaign.
© Joana
Egmond Half Marathon, 11
January 2009. This is a Dutch classic. It first follows the beach and then
returns through the dunes. Unfortunately, in the Summer of 2008 I contracted
DVT coming back from Peru and had to cancel this event.
Eyam Half Marathon, 18 May
2008. This was my first half marathon ever. It is an extremely delightful run
through lovely countryside with splendid views, but rather tiring... I was
very happy with my time (1 hr 45 m 36 s, 153 out of 432), and for raising 220
pounds for the Breast Cancer Campaign.