Big Marathon PB for Ben Scott  Gloucester (Epney)

He tells his own story below.

Having failed miserably in my quest for a sub 3 hour marathon in Leicester in October (finishing in 3:01:03 and ending up in the St Johns tent with a drip in my arm and an oxygen mask) I finally cracked it on Sunday (27^th Jan) at the inaugural Gloucester (Epney) Marathon clocking a vastly improved 2:53:34 and finishing 2^nd out of 150 to boot! 

Based in the small village of  Epney the three lap course was pretty flat with a few undulations.  The weather was as near to perfect running conditions as I’ve ever run in with bright winter sunshine and next to no breeze.  I found the lack of mile markers around the course an advantage as I had piled on the pressure in Leicester trying to consistently hit 6m 50s each mile and forgot to just get out and run.  At Epney there were markers at 10, 20, 30 and 40 km and I’d worked out before hand that I needed to do 42m 30s 10kms (which, psychologically, sounded much more achievable). 

I set off in a group who were all keen to crack 3 hours but when someone with a GPS monitor pointed out that we had done the first mile in 6m 27s I backed off the pace considerably and followed the group at a distance.  By the end of the first lap I had caught the group and was feeling strong, having completed the first 10km in about 41m.  The next 10km was done in 41m 30s and by 20km the group had fragmented leaving me in about 6^th position. 

A new pre race nutrition strategy and my race day refuelling started to reap dividends as I went through the 30km feeling strong and in 2^nd place having done the third 10km in 41m 30s.  I knew then that I just had to keep going at the same pace and not get overtaken.  Fortunately, unlike as in Leicester, my legs were feeling good and I was holding my pace.  A quick watch check at 40km saw me through the 4^th 10km in 41m and I knew then that it was not a case of if I would go under 3 hours but by how much. 

A nasty little out and back stretch of road (to make up the distance) meant that the last 2km felt like 10km but I sprinted the last 100 yards to cross the line in a very pleasing, if slightly surprising, 2:53:34.  If I was surprised at my time, it wasn’t anything to the surprise on Isla’s face when she saw that I’d finished 2^nd!  All in all a fantastic weekend J

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