Jack Brooks: MANY Marathon(s) Man: July to December 2011

Fairlands Valley Challenge Trail Marathon: 17^th July 2011: 

Eight of us from the Striders ran round the 26.2 mile Challenge course. Luke, Gladstone and Katie were there for the 2^nd year and Abby, Judith, Linda and Petra were also prepared to trust my directional skills. We were also joined along the way by several waifs and strays who found themselves directionally challenged at various parts of the course. Hopefully everybody enjoyed themselves and I was grateful for the company. My time was 5:42:44.

Thames Meander: 20^th August 2011:

This out and back course started in Kingston-upon-Thames and after running through Richmond Park we followed the footpath along the Thames past Kew Gardens for about 10 miles to a turnaround point on Putney Bridge and then returned the same way. It was a revelation to find such a pleasant route amongst the urban sprawl around London. My time was 4:22:29.

Gin Pit Trail Marathon, Greater Manchester: 29^th August 2011:

This was a small 6 lap marathon starting from the Miners Welfare Club, Gin Pit Village, Tyldesley. Needless to say, where there has been coal there will usually be a large slag heap and the organisers determined that each lap should go over the top of this. In spite of ran and mud this was a well organised and friendly event, which I finished in 4:06:10.

Dingle Marathon: 3^rd September 2011:

The marathon route was undulating, but the scenery around the Dingle Peninsula is so spectacular that it didn’t matter. I crossed the line in 4:01:46 and headed towards a pub.

Robin Hood Half Marathon: 11^th September 2011:

Fortunately when my knee locked up at 12.5 miles I had the option of dropping out of the marathon and just running the half, which I completed in 1:58:37.

Farnham Pilgrim Trail Marathon: 18^th September 2011:

There were some substantial hills on this course, but the scenery made up for this. It was good to see some other Striders in attendance. My time was 4:36:41.

New Forest Marathon: 25^th September 2011:

The organisers seem to have slipped in some extra hills and an additional off-road section since I last ran this race. I really struggled to get round and finished in 4:17:34.

Jersey Marathon: 2^nd October 2011:

I chose to go to Jersey as it was to be Paul Richards’ (aka Big Dingle) 100^th marathon. The race starts in St Helier and heads inland along quiet lanes. After a long section by the airport one heads South to St Brelade. After a 3mile gentle well-shaded downhill section along an old railway line the last 3 miles are along the sea front. The temperature was in the high twenties, but I was surprised to find how pretty Jersey is and the heat didn’t bother me too much. I ran the first 18 miles with Paul and finished in 4:14:22. Given the conditions and some big hills in the first half I was pleased with my time and more than ready to join Paul for his post-race celebrations.

Liverpool Marathon: 9^th October 2011:

Unfortunately for the organisers they had to delay the start for over 40 minutes because of an accident on the course. The first half through Birkenhead and along New Brighton was fairly flat. At about 11.5 miles we entered the Queensway Tunnel. The first mile was fairly easy going, but the ascent out of the tunnel was challenging and the second half was much hillier than the first. In addition the 6 miles through Sefton Park and Princes Park seemed to go on forever. For the last 2 miles we were running into a strong headwind and heavy rain. My time was 4:08:43.

Santa Barbara Marathon and Malibu Marathon: 12^th and 13^th November 2012:

I was originally planning to run 3 marathons while out in California, but due to a calf muscle injury I decided not to run the Santa Clarita Marathon. I was nervous about running the following weekend, but given that I’d already shelled out a large entry fee for both races I decided I’d try out the Galloway marathon plan by taking a 15 second walk break after each mile. This worked well for the Santa Barbara race where I was able to pretty much keep up with the 4:15 pace group up to around 20 miles. After that I suffered from not having run since just after Liverpool Marathon and slowed down to finish in 4:35:17. I suffered more in the Malibu race as the heat and hills took their toll in the second half and I finished that in 4:51:53. The big relief for me was that miraculously I hadn’t made my injury worse. Even so I took the rest of 2011 fairly cautiously although I did run 2 trail marathons in Stratford upon Avon over the weekend of 10^th and 11^th December.