DVRC members Charlotte Bowes, Claire Thompson and Sally Ann Greenwell, share their inspirational experiences of the Manchester Marathon….

First is Charlotte…

Nearly 3 years ago I started my running journey by turning up late (what a surprise!?) without a barcode to my first parkun in Chopwell. Fastforward to 27^th April on a bright (and very early) morning I was getting ready to start my first Marathon!

I had not slept well the night before getting just 5 hours sleep, but I put on half a grimace to wish good morning to my fellow marathoners-to-be, who all seemed to be “morning people”. Armed with multiple cups of tea, a bagel and a banana we were ready to Uber our way to Old Trafford.

It was sunny and warm on arrival- I had hoped for more cloud and a dash of rain, but it wasn’t to be- shit. I had thankfully packed my hat and suncream, a godsend for the freckled folk. One long wait in a toilet queue and then I was in the holding area for Light Green Wave. I obviously needed another quick pee for prosperity. Men were queuing for the cubicles (there were bloody urinals)- my wave was starting to move to the start line so speed was of the essence. I decided to go for a nature pee with a friend and were followed by another female due to our ingenuity. We squatted in line behind the men’s urinals and agreed ‘eyes forward’, completed our business and legged it to the start.

The start-line was great! It was such a well organised race. Waves went off at the time they were meant to- which if you’re used to the GNR, you know that’s a big deal.

9.40am hit and we were off. I was ready for this. I’d been training since October for Brass Monkey half, then straight into Marathon training. I had a goal of sub-4hrs in my head. I’d told myself the day before I’d be disappointed with anything less…

The crowds were immense! The encouragement from spectators was 100% from the start. But that heat was something else. It was just there- hot and heavy with limited shade. 5K felt OK, 10K felt HARD- a blister was developing on my toe, 15K felt like shit. I’d kept my planned pace until 15K and I thought I need to set aside my goal and focus on finishing- the heat was too much for me and I’d already seen people fainting. I didn’t want that to be me. A shift in mentality and a slower pace got me through the next 5k. At the HM point I had clocked 1:53 I thought, right that’s OK, just keep going.

Although I carried my water, the water stations were amazing! Most of it was poured on my head just to try and keep cool. I walked through a couple of water stations just to reset myself a little. At 30K I knew there was just 12K left, and I’d done more than 30K in training. At 34K I knew this was my longest training run, just 8K left to go. By God that was a hard 8K! The crowds shouting my name and thinking about seeing my friends at the finish line kept me going. But it was a tough mental battle. Knowing that Sally-Ann and Claire would be at the end and have achieved this too was such a positive thought. Then at 38K someone shouted ‘Hi pee-buddy’- the stranger who I’d peed beside at the start had given me another little boost!

I crossed that finish line in 4:02:15. I was ecstatic. I still am. My first marathon done. And the best bit? Claire had just completed her first one too and Sally-Ann got a cracking PB. Sharing the experience was fantastic! It was a brilliant weekend away, and I got a tiny bit tiddly after! Fancy a road marathon? Do Manchester.

And Claire….

How I tend to enter a long race is normally by watching someone amazing from the club do it the year before and saying to myself, “I am doing that next year”. So, April 2024 I saw Chris Hewitson ace the Manchester Marathon and thought exactly that. Heard it was a flat, PB course, and a good starting point for a road marathon. I hadn’t long competed my first Ultra (Bridges to Boundaries), felt fighting fit and thought yes, lets do this next year. Fast forward to April 2025 and I am at the start line, the temperature is…hot. We are all being told to “Drink to thirst. Drink to thirst”. My wave is walking forward to the start, and I am off. 

My plan was a sub-2-hour, comfortable half and then give it all I’ve got in the second half. I started confident and I completed the first half in 1:59, however, it wasn’t “comfortable” due to the heat. I missed the first water station at 3 miles because I was on the left-hand side of the road and the waters were on the right and I couldn’t move over in time, so I panicked (not wanting to faint in the heat) but remained calm. I had no water on me and my plan was always to take from the stations, so I carried on until mile 6 and grabbed and downed 2 bottles of water, and continued to do this at all the other water stations. The heat was intense, but my mind was focused, and I remained positive the whole way round. I think having 3 Ultras in the bag has certainly helped with my mental positivity. The race was hard, but we all know mind over matter is a thing and this is what got me round. I hit a slight “wall” at 20 miles and my pace dropped. I knew my pipedream of a sub 4 hour was gone, but I felt very elated at the chance that a 4 hour 30 was within my grasp if I just carried on putting one foot in front of the other. The crowds were absolutely immense, the perfect mix of energy, my name was called to me all the way along that course, (even got complemented on my shorts a few times), and this created a new level of energy that no Voom bar could ever give. They pushed me all the way through, but especially that last 6 miles. When I heard the Manchester Batala band on the corner of the final stretch, I picked up my pace- (I always have a sprint finish in me whatever the race). And I raced up Oxford Road to the finish line knowing how proud I was of my achievement, finishing in 4 hours 15. 

The weekend was great and if anyone fancies a road marathon then Manchester is definitely a good one to start. I am so proud of Charlotte, Sally-Ann, (Dave and Zoe- not from the club), we all got round the course safely on such a hot day. For anyone who thinks they can’t, you CAN! You absolutely can. Some of my training runs created doubt but I stuck with it. So, if you have an iffy training run, please don’t be put off and keep going! Certain factors are always out of your control on a race day; lacing up those trainers makes you already a winner! 

And Sally Ann…..

For those of you who know me, know I’m neither a road or a fast runner, preferring the trails where my main goal is to finish and more importantly enjoy it. Yet somehow I ended up on the start line of Manchester. Why I hear you ask? For the chance of finally getting a sub 5 or even a sub 4.30! 

After months of training, I was ready to go…. wasn’t I? Standing at the start line with the pressure of a PB and the blazing sun off I went. From the off you could feel not only the heat, but the support from the crowd. Not wanting to get carried away I kept at my half marathon pace, making the half way point with a sub 4.30 still on. 17 miles still going strong although the heat at this point was unbearable a PB was still on what would it be? Kept pace until the 21 miles where I needed to slow down, running was getting harder and it certainly wasn’t enjoyable anymore, the amount of people collapsing around me was quite scary. So knowing a sub 5 was still achievable, I decided finishing safely was the most important thing. 

Crossing the finish line knowing what I had finally achieved was amazing. To find out everyone else had got round safe and sound and celebrating with them made the day. Would I do a road marathon again? Probably not but I still wonder if it was a cooler would I have got the 4.30? Who knows, I may even get into London next year!

Running a marathon is hard, the training is hard, trying to keep pace over a long distance is hard. But the sense of achievement and pride is unmeasurable and if I can do it anyone can.