THE POTTERIES MARATHON (England)
June 20th, 1999
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My dream is to complete a marathon but I have always been fat and unfit. I attempted training in '97' but gave up after 6 months and a knee injury. In February '99' I was 4 stone overweight and decided to do something about it and I started running.
Using a Heart Rate Monitor and staying within fat burning (aerobic) zones, I trained every other night for one hour. Most of my training was actually walking but I stayed below 80% of my maximum heart rate (179 BPM). As time progressed and the weight fell off me, I started to run further with less walking. Early May I was able to complete my first half marathon at Uttoxeter. Since early May I have ran at least ten half marathons.
This leads to the most historic day I will never forget -
June 20th, 1999 - Potteries Marathon Day.
Heres some pics :
4.5 miles (with my Mummy) and me at 20.5 miles
Filling up with Liquid Power at 20.5 miles 20 yards to go - with daughter Michelle
Is that all? I could have knocked off at least 33 secs with a bit more effort.
26.2 miles and all I got was a plate I don't need it yet but my legs weigh about two tons each..
More detailed picture of Potteries Marathon course (79k)
EVEN More detailed pictures of Potteries Marathon course (560k)
A detailed description of how I felt before, during and after the run.
Two days
before the run I had caught a cold and didn't sleep on the friday night at all.
I spent Saturday completely exhausted and didn't look forward to the night.
Again I couldn't sleep because of my cold and nerves. On arriving at Trentham I
was completely exhausted but my legs felt great. I joined the starting line
with one minute to spare after visiting the toilet for the last
time.
We're off and I'm
feeling great but I want a wee. Its amazing how many runners find a hedge
immediately after the start and I wait until 3 miles before I find my hedge.
Feeling better now and I'm running through a lot of family and friends between
4 and 5 miles in Blurton. Gets to six miles and up a steep road but I'm
determined to make it where my in-laws are waiting at the top in Weston Coyney.
I'm still feeling great and don't feel tired at all and I'm taking on plenty of
fluids. I start to waver a bit at 11 miles by Bucknall but I'm determined to
see 13 miles before I break into a walk. Bloody long straight road with a
crematory on the right side of me but I finally make it to the 13 mile sign at
Milton and I carry on. I look at my watch and I'm dead on 2hrs 10 mins which is
10 min/miles - excellent. This first half
seemed to fly by.
14 miles and I decide to walk because I'm looking at a very big hill which is
known as Holden Lane but is actually Leek New Road. I've also got cramp in the
back of my left leg when running up banks. I'm thinking of damage limitation
now and all I can think of is to finish at all costs. I start to walk a bit
then run a long bit and before long I'm passing Burslem and I'm getting a bit
of stick because I'm wearing my Stoke City t-shirt and this is Port Vale
country. I'm now approaching 19 miles and a bugger of a climb called Porthill
Bank. I produce every bit of will power so that I can run this half mile hill
and look good. I reach the top to applause and finally break into a walk. Try
to run after a minute but I can't. Walk a bit more then run pass the
millionaires houses in Brampton. Reach the 20.5 mile mark where the wife is
waiting with some extra carbs for me. I thought at this moment that I had gone
way behind time and never looked at my watch since 13 miles. According to my
wife after the race I was still on 10 min/miles up to that point even though I
had a walked a lot.
Another 0.5 mile and I reach Newcastle. I expected a lot of people here but its
barren. In fact theres only me and two other runners and I'm thinking I've gone
the wrong way. I've got blisters on the ends of my toes which are OK but the
soles of my feet are very sore. The other side of Newcastle and I see loads of
runners but I break into a walk again. I walk for at least 10 mins this time
but I am a fast walker and I'm overtaking people who are running believe it or
not. I must have missed the 22 mile mark because I see the 23 mile mark in
Clayton.
Theres no way I'm going to fail so I walk again. There are too many people
lying down and being carried off by ambulances and I'm not going to let that
happen to me. Its not long before I see the 24 mile mark and I'm walking more
than running. It seems like the 25 mile sign came quickly and my confidence
lifts and I start to run like I started. Only get about half a mile before my
body says it can't. Its at this point that I hear grunting, puffing and panting
behind me. Runners don't do this so what is it? Its a big fat bloke with shirt,
trousers and shoes who has just decided to run out of a garden and take me on.
He gets about 5 yards past me when he decides to give up and walk back!!!!!!!!
Pillock.
I can see the entrance to Trentham Gardens so I break into a walk because my
body is now giving up and I stroll past the 26 mile mark. Somebody from the
crowd shouts that I've only got 365 yards to go and points to the finish line.
I perk up and run the last few hundred yards like a pro with my arms raised in
the air and my nine year old joins me for the last 50 yards. My lifetimes
ambition completed and I'm trying very hard not to cry.
I collect my prize, kisses off the family and its at this point that somebody
is filling my hollow legs up with concrete. It isn't long before I'm walking
like John Wayne and I daren't sit down or take my shoes off. It isn't long
before I arrive home and I'm sad to see no brass band or banners lining the
street. I want to shout to the world what I've done but who cares.
It was a lot easier than I thought it would be and I didn't hit this so called
"wall". My sleep deprivation of the last two days had made no difference
and if I knew that my first 20 miles were 10 min/miling I would have made the
effort to try harder. I would have only knocked a maximum of 30 mins off but
more realistically 15 mins. It seems I took an extra 30 mins for the last 6
miles. I also have to stress that the weather had totally gone in my favour. It
was cloudy and sometimes cold and only in the last 5 miles did I see the sun.
I'd spent a week trying to buy a sun visor (beck) because the Potteries
Marathon is usually a hot one. I could hardly walk for the rest of the day and
Monday was a bit better. By Tuesday I was back to normal and took my first run
on friday. I did a 5 mile run and it didn't feel as though I'd done anything
when I'd finished.
STOP PRESS
My 2nd Potteries Marathon, June 18th, 2000
A detailed description of how I felt before, during and after the run.
No pictures this time because they look like the ones above anyway. The only difference is that I'm about a stone heavier.
I hadn't done the training like last year and I'd suffered very bad blisters through ill advice but I was determined to do it. I'd had about five hours sleep friday night and about the same saturday night. Unlike the first marathon where the weather had been kind, I knew that we were going to have a heatwave. At 10:30 am it was about 29C and reached 30C.
At 2 mls I gave up running and broke into my first walk and I even considered going home. A woman next to me said she had never walked in 15 marathons but the heat was too much. In fact most runners were walking. At 4 miles I felt my first blister and considered going to my Mums house but I ran past her. By time I got to 7 miles I could feel six different blisters and I was in agony with every step. At 8 miles the Last Car passed me (5 hr limit) so I had to watch for traffic. As I said I was in agony with every step but at 13 miles I saw a runner having a heart attack and a Fibulator (electric paddles) was sent for.
At 15 miles I visited the first St Johns Ambulance tent for treatment and they advised me not to run. There was about 15 runners waiting to be picked up by the bus. There was bus after bus with failed runners passing me. I made another three visits to the St Johns for treatment but nothing helped the pain. About ten times I saw St Johns scrambling to collapsed runners behind me and I heard loads of ambulances.
I finished and spent another 30 mins with a State Registered Chiropodist. Its funny how I could stand the agony for 19 miles but as soon as I crossed the line I became a cripple. I needed all the help I could to put one foot in front of the other. The first aid tents were packed and looking at some of the wounded I knew I was lucky.
It took me 6 hrs 2 mins which I am proud of for the hottest Potteries Marathon ever. About 2000 runners registered and only 1,050 finished. Most runners added about 1 hr 30 mins on their normal times because of the heat, so that made me feel good. Amazingly only eight runners finished in under 3 hours.
This is what I did it for - the memory of a great man - Sir Stanley Matthews C.B.E.
