Paris Marathon Race Report

Well, what a ride it's been! Apart from training for my first marathon, I don't think I can remember a time when I actually worked extremely hard towards a goal... and actually achieving it in the end! Six months of hard slog had given me a place in next year's Virgin London Marathon.

It was an event I've always wanted to run, even before I left New Zealand to live here. There's always the option of getting in by the various charities or the public ballot, but having had no luck in the ballot, I was determined to earn my way in - with my legs, my lungs and, most importantly, my heart. And to get in the hard way made this achievement so much sweeter.

I won't go into detail on how I prepared for Paris as I've logged everything on my dailymile page. What I'd like to point out was that it was only around two months into the training cycle that I thought a 3:10 time could actually be achievable (my original target was 3:15). From then on I trained even harder. It was Game On, and I went all in. 

And I won! On a cool, overcast and, also, windy day in Paris, almost near-perfect conditions for running, I achieved what I thought was almost impossible six months ago - a place on the starting line in next year's London Marathon.  

Paris is without doubt one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and it was such a pleasure to run through it, taking in all the landmarks that make the city special. Unfortunately it wasn't a sightseeing run; the only option for me was to get to the finish line before my time ran out.

Runners starting the marathon running down Avenue des Champs-Élysées

From the outset, I was already in a nervous position. I had my normal slow start and quickly found myself behind the clock, and even behind the 3:15 pacemaker. The first 15 km was spent trying to claw back some of the time I lost. It was around that stage in the race that I found my rhythm and that led to a good second 15 km, running slightly faster while still leaving something behind to keep me going. But it was already the time when the first signs of fatigue set in.

Running along the Seine

In the last 12 km, I knew it was getting down to the wire. I had built up a 93 second safety cushion at that point, but I was already starting to hurt. I couldn't bear to think about missing out by a matter of seconds so I kept on pushing. The pain levels increased, but I still kept grinding out the effort needed to stay on target. It was only inevitable that I felt myself slowing down. The final 3 miles were like a war zone. Runners around me were walking, limping, stopping, stretching or sitting down on the side of the road. I tried to block these sights from my mind as that was what I felt like doing too. But I never stopped, knowing that every second I lost would be time I will never get it back. 

Finally with about a mile to go, I knew that the race was in the bag. I still had that safety cushion and although the buffer was getting smaller, I wanted to slow down considerably since I was already shattered. But I put in one final push, still aware that it only amounted to just four laps of the track. I didn't suffer from cramps up till then, and thankfully I didn't until the finish, but it was certainly very close to it. The finish line was such a welcome sight and as I crossed the line, and stopped the watch to look at my time, I couldn't believe that I ran Paris in 3:08:53. I couldn't believe that I achieved a time that was good enough to get into London!!!

The final push to the finish along Avenue Foch

I was absolutely ecstatic. But I wasn't in any shape to celebrate. The pain really started to sink in from the legs suddenly stopping. And I was dying for something to eat and drink. I think I must have eaten three handfuls of raisins and sucked on 30 orange slices just to get some much-needed sugar into me. Even though my hotel was near the finish, it took me around half an hour to get back. It was already nearly 1 p.m. and I had two hours to check out. By then the feeling really started to sink in and that's when I got on the iPhone to let everyone know the good news. 

Achieving a Good For Age time in Paris has most certainly changed everything I thought about my running. Firstly, it's my biggest running improvement I've made since setting sub 3:30 marathon times, over 10 minutes slashed from my previous PB set six months ago. Secondly, it gets me that much closer to my overall marathon goal of a sub 3 hour marathon time, a goal I've harboured since early 2010 and still working towards. Thirdly, it's given me a new found sense of confidence that I can reach new and more exciting levels in my running, provided that I stay consistent and keep working hard. 

I didn't get here on my own, and I'd be remiss if I didn't thank the many people who have supported and helped me in achieving this fantastic result. So, in no particular order:

• My coach at Reading Roadrunners, Coach Tony, for his no-nonsense approach to coaching and gruelling workouts at every club session.
• The good folks in my training group (Nelesh, Chris, Alan, Andy, Tom, Catherine, Fleur, Peter and others) who have challenged me to improve and push myself every week.
• The many folks at Reading parkrun, who I run with every Saturday. In particular, Angela, Cookie and family for their friendship and support, Simon for his long-standing support even before I started on this undertaking and David for his humour and enthusiasm to all things related to running.
• My colleagues, in particular Peter who has acted as a mentor having run his share of stellar marathon times, and Claire for her much-appreciated humour and support while I was undertaking a truly demanding activity, and on top of a full-time job as well.
• All the folks on Twitter, Facebook and dailymile for their comments and support along the way. Too numerous to name, but you know who you are!
• And my family for being supportive of my running, even though they aren't runners themselves. Never too late to start, I guess.  

So what now? I'll be taking a month of training, before I start training for the Chicago Marathon in October. As for a goal, I am seriously thinking about sub 3:05, which would be a Boston qualifying time and entry into the most prestigious marathon in the world. Shaving 3:53 off my current personal best to meet that target will be difficult, but if I can replicate the effort I did in preparing for Paris, I think I can look forward to further marathoning success this year!