Running for England, kind of!

I ran the Abingdon Marathon, wearing an England vest, a big deal for me as I only started running in July 2022 (my first parkrun), just three and a bit years ago.

Tim Anderson in an England vest at the Abingdon Marathon 2025

I ran Abingdon last year and did not intend to repeat it, but found myself qualified to run as an England Masters Representative, a scheme run by England Athletics to enable older runners (35+) to compete. The marathon is a run versus Wales, with winners in each 5-year age category.

I followed the 18 week, 55-mile schedule in Advanced Marathoning by Pfitzinger and Douglas for the third time, though not perfectly; sometimes life got in the way, and sometimes I could not quite manage the pace, especially on the LT (Lactate Threshold) and VO₂ max sessions. The other factor that messed things up was my running club sessions once a week which I treated as extra, the consequence being that I ended up running a higher mileage than the plan expects. My peak week was 71 miles, and the last week before taper (the final three weeks) 65 miles. I took the view that if my body could handle it, more mileage was probably a good thing.

We stayed in the official marathon hotel which has the advantage of a shuttle bus to the start and finish. Arrived early on Saturday so we could do the local parkrun; I managed not to go all-out but still probably ran harder than recommended, completing the 5K in about 2 minutes more than it usually takes me. I don’t think it did me any harm.

My carb-load strategy is not very scientific but I try to eat more than usual on the two or three days before the race. So I had two breakfasts with extra apple and cinnamon roll, then a decent lunch back at the hotel. After that I ate very little, soup and bread for supper, then an early breakfast roll laden with jam 3 to 4 hours before the race (5:30am in this case). The idea is to be somewhat carb-loaded but without running into GI issues during the race, and so far it has worked OK.

Shoe angst

I ran Manchester in April with nearly new Saucony Endorphin Pro 4; I know they are not the fastest super shoe, but they are fairly quick, and I find them comfortable. Since then I have put at least 250 miles on them, so I bought a second pair in the summer sales. My assumption was that they would be more or less the same, but I found the new pair had firmer foam in the soles and were not as comfortable, giving me anxiety about whether I could run 26.2 miles in them without pain. I took both pairs with me to Abingdon and had a quick run up and down the hotel car park in one, then the other. Decided to wear the old ones just in case. I still don’t know whether the difference is because of wear, or manufacturing variation, but had zero issues with the shoes during the race so feel I made the right choice.

The race

After a bit of hanging around, and an official photo of the England and Wales Masters teams, we were assembled in the start area with vague instructions to go near the front if fast, then it was go time. You run most of the way round a track, then out onto roads. Some congestion at the start but without only just over 1,000 runners, not too bad. The course is flat, mostly on roads but with some sections of firm trail. A big plus with this race is the exceptionally friendly marshals; there are also some pretty sections through the old town of Abingdon and alongside the river Thames. The downside is that some of the course goes round a science park, not very inspiring, and the roads are quiet but not closed so sometimes you have to run on pavements (sidewalks) which I dislike. Weather was cool and damp, quite good for running though with occasional rain and some light wind.

My marathon philosophy is to go out at your target pace and just stay there. I was a bit fuzzy about my goal though. I did 3:27:46 in Manchester, and of course wanted to beat it, but being unsure about whether my fitness had improved at all I also had in mind to run at about the same pace. In practice I found it hard to be precise as the pace shown on my Garmin at any one time isn’t all that accurate. So if the pace went below 8:00/mile I sped up, and if it went above 7:40/mile I slowed down.

The miles ticked by and I wasn’t sure that I could hold the pace but somehow I did. In classic marathon style, the first half was medium effort and I passed the 13 mile post in about 1:43 which was nicely on target. I felt good at this point and in fact mile 13 was my fastest at 7:38 pace, oops! One reason what that I was chatting to another runner and somehow we both ended up going too fast.

I put in some extra effort on the next 7 miles being keen to get to mile 20 when the race, some say, really begins. Every time my watch beeped to indicate a mile completed I checked it and was glad to see numbers beginning with 7.

Mile 20 arrived and felt fatigued but pounded on. I was trying to calculate my finish time based on current pace and failing, though I knew that keeping under 8:00 should ensure a sub-3:30 finish. It was only at mile 25 that I struggled to keep the pace but looking at the splits I still managed it in 7:57. Then for mile 26 I told myself it was nearly over and I should just keep going. It was tough but I would say a little less so than Manchester where I was more dehydrated because of an unexpectedly warm day.

The course finishes with another loop round the running track and I managed a little speed increase and overtook someone almost on the line.

I finished in 3:25:33 which I was pleased with even though it is not quite good enough to qualify for Berlin (3:25) – a bit annoying as in hindsight I feel I could have got that if I’d focused on it, rather than having rather a vague goal. I was nowhere near the podium but within the England Masters group I was 5th out of 10 VM65 runners, the quickest being 3:04:16 and the slowest 3:42:26. Considering that I had a bout of impostor syndrome going into this that is not too bad!

Nutrition

I am not very good at nutrition during the race. I took 9 SIS gels with me, two of them the stronger beta variety. But I only consumed 5 of them, one just before the start, and the others at approximately 5 mile intervals, skipped the one at 25 miles as I thought it would make no difference at that stage in the race. In addition I didn’t stop at all the water stations but only when I felt thirsty, I think about 4 times.

I do want to get better at this and consume something closer to the recommended amount of carbs during the race. That said, I’m not sure I would have been much faster as I kept close to target pace throughout.

The subject interests me because in recent years the matter of getting enough carbs and electrolytes during the race has assumed more importance in the various guides and discussions on how best to run a marathon. There is no doubt at all that it is important, but has it become exaggerated versus other key factors such as long runs and strength training, possibly nudged by the sports supplement industry? I am not an expert, and it varies from person to person, but I do not think it was a big issue for me in this race, despite consuming less than recommended.

Post race

After the race I was a bit stiff but still walking! Obligatory pic with medal for Strava, grabbed my things, had a shower (bonus of a smaller marathon!), downed a veggie burger and coffee then off home.

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