‘It is not much fun in the searing sun’

A Bogusboy Special Report on the Virgin London Marathon

Murdock, O’Flaherty, Farrell and Rodgers.

The London marathon is one of the great spectacles of the spring sporting season. With competition for places greater than ever, securing an entry is about as rare as seeing Ronnie Horrox in a Hill & Dale race. More and more people are looking to complete the ultimate challenge of 26.2 miles, something that the human body is not designed to do. Training is arduous and requires commitment to a minimum of 16 weeks of intense training, with long miles a feature of every weekend. This year has been particularly difficult for those in training with very cold weather, snow, heavy rain and winds. Even after enduring all of that, there are no guarantees of success and little things can undo all the good effort. One such factor is the weather on race day. Last week in Boston, there was torrential rain and this invariably impacted on performance. At the other extreme, excessive heat can be an even more undermining factor and can put paid to the best laid plans as evidenced at the Commonwealth Games on Australia’s Gold Coast recently. Throughout the week, the meteorologists (and the mortorologists, in the form of our very own Jerome ‘The Prophet’ McCrickard) were warning that Sunday 22 April would be hotter than any runner would desire, even those used to training in warm weather at altitude. Advice was given; take more fluids on board throughout the race and adjust your expectations to match the conditions.

They got it right, unfortunately
The forecasters got it right and temperatures soared as participants assembled at the red, green and blue starts at Blackheath and Greenwich for the 2018 Virgin London Marathon. With arguably the strongest ever field assembled, and the welcome presence of Sir Mo Farah, the streets were lined from early morning as fans sought a glimpse of the greatest ever British male athlete. In the days leading up to Sunday, organisers were repeatedly sending out warnings to athletes to be mindful of the weather and to adjust their target times accordingly. This was not going to be an occasion on for PBs; start slower and forget about the time was the wisdom proffered to the masses. Additionally, they had advised against running in fancy dress to mitigate against the danger of heat exhaustion underneath cumbersome attire. Extra water was ordered by the pallet load and additional on course showers were provided to combat the temperature increase.

The hottest ever
1996 had been the hottest marathon day in London with 22 degrees recorded. On Sunday 22 April, that record was broken with over 24 degrees recorded. However, from our spectating vantage points at miles 11 and 19, it felt a great deal warmer. The pain on the faces of the majority of the field, including the most well prepared and most seasoned marathoners was evident for all to see. Times, unsurprisingly, were slower than usual for everyone as they struggled to manage the heat and the absence of a breeze to cool them down.

It’s a no for Mo
At the business end of the race, Kipchoge recorded his third win (2:04:17) despite the desire of the crowd to see a Farah win. He remains undefeated in this race. The great man, Farah, had to settle for third (a position he has not been used to in the last decade!) and a new British record of 2:06:21, behind Tola Shura Kitata in second (2:04:49). Evidence of the toughness of the conditions is highlighted by the fact that Kenenisa Bekele, the fastest marathon runner ever with a 2:03:03 to his name in Berlin had to settle for 6th place, almost 6 minutes outside his Personal Best. In the elite women’s race, the talk was of a serious assault to Paula Radcliffe’s long standing world best from 2005 of 2:15. Again this was not to be and the winner, Gladys Cheruiyot was over 3 minutes outside Radcliffe’s mark. Earlier in the race Mary Keitany had made her intentions clear by setting out at a blistering pace, flanked by two male pacers, but, like so many others, she came unstuck in the searing heat and was almost reduced to walking pace as the miles took their toll in the unforgiving sun. She would be overtaken and have to settle for a minor placing.

Richard Rodgers with his protégé Eoghan Totten at the start zone at Blackheath.

PHD – Painfully Hot Day
A strong Newcastle AC contingent had survived the training and had made it to the line intact. A smaller number had deferred due to injury and were glad they had when they woke to a balmy London Sunday. Leading the NAC charge was the youngest member of the party, Eoghan Totten. The Oxford University PHD student had worked tremendously hard over the last 12 months, evidenced by his winning of the Northern Ireland 10k track Championship and his stellar performance in the Great North Run in the Autumn. He had committed to a demanding schedule to achieve his target in this his debut marathon and at the peak of his training was clocking 120 plus miles per week. While he will be a little disappointed in the immediate aftermath, he will learn a lot from this experience and will come back stronger. On reflection, he will see realise tremendous achievement. On a day when everyone suffered, and some suffered incredibly, Totten suffered a little less than others and his time of 2:26 (10th place in the mass field) is a major achievement that he can build on in the years ahead. Marathon running has never been a young man’s sport, and Totten will have ample opportunities in the future to record the time his ability and commitment merit.

He’ll be back
Next home was Patrick Higgins. With so many fine performances already achieved over the distance, it is an expectation that he will perform. While his training had gone well, he had suffered a bout of illness in the week leading up to the race and knew in the early stages that he was under pressure. He sensibly held back a little and came home in 3:05. While this is not what he wanted, he was philosophical and said, ‘sure there is always Belfast on 7 May!’ And he is probably not joking!

Steady Dave
David O’Flaherty had secured a Championship Entry on the basis of a sub 75 minute half marathon performance and was another making his debut. However, he had not progressed above 15 miles in training and had declared that he was not going out hard. Wanting to sample the distance and not lose his entry fee, he declared 3:15 as his target time. As the race progressed, he grew stronger and was able to use his strength and experience to run steady throughout. He began conservatively, taking a few with him along the way. As the miles passed by, he was able to move through the field and ran a very credible 3:09 without inflicting too much pain on himself. Next home was Paul Carlin, another with a strong pedigree over the distance. Like so many others, the best laid preparations counted for little as the heat took its toll. He recorded a time of 3:11, again no mean feat in the unbearable heat.

Bring it down my son!
Frank Cunningham had been with O’Flaherty for a lot of the race and was glad of his club mate for his first ‘Special bottle’. The Tank had agreed to take some juice from the NAC support crew at the prearranged meeting point just before the 12-mile marker on Jamaica Road. Regrettably, as the pair approached the supporters, they found themselves on the far side of the road, with no chance of getting over to get the bottle. A split second decision was needed, which resulted in the bottle being expertly lobbed through the athletes in the direction of the NAC athletes. The precision of the pass and the fielding ability of O’Fla in plucking it from the air and firmly secure it in the bread basket was something akin to victorious Down men of 1991 and 1994. The roar of approval from the crowd said it all. Buoyed on by this and a similar bottle received less controversially at Canary Wharf, Cunningham remained strong and focused and hurt a little less than many of his peers on his way to 3:15. With the miles in the legs and the lessons learned from the training since January, it will be a case of resting up, before coming back strong for an assault on Dublin in October. Hot on his heels was Patricia McKibbin, who produced one of the runs of the day to secure a 3:17 finish. She has trained extremely hard since the turn of the year and showed great strength and courage in sticking to her task. On a better day, with more favourable conditions, she could easily challenge the 3 hour barrier.

Run mummy, run
Just over a year after the birth of the her first child, Sinead Murtagh ran 3:19 to guarantee her entry for the next two years. While many in the field of over 40,000 were as much as 40 minutes below their predicted time, Murtagh was only a few minutes below her 3:15 expected finish time. She was equally delighted on removing her socks to report that all toenails were intact and there were no blisters, important as the ‘sandal season’ officially begins on 1 May! The same could not be said for Aidan Brown. Brown who naturally has the condition ‘Merton’s Toe’ (one for the readers to look up!), has created a new variation now daubed ‘Brown’s Toe’ by the NAC faithful condition. This rare condition sees the second toe of the right foot turn red with blood blisters and become bigger than all the other toes put together! Brown was the inform athlete who has looked magnificent in training and was Strachan’s ‘one to watch’. Things did not go his way though and for once in his life he failed to punch above his weight!

A spin around London
With sun and sets on the agenda next week, DJ Normski had one eye on Lanzarote. The Bronze Adonis was one who found the burning sun to his liking. He was delighted to have the opportunity to catch a few rays and top up his tan in preparation for the launch of the summer club season. He came home in just over 3:20 and a little more mahogany than he was at the outset; McKenna was raging!

What’s all the fuss about?

Phil Murdock earned a well deserved embrace from his wife Sheila at the finish.

Phil Murdock is a man who knows how to suffer in a marathon. He suffered stoically in Liverpool in the not too distant past to secure his London place on a similar day of extreme heat. Learning from that, he was very consistent and was able to manage the conditions well. While athletes were wilting along the road, he remained resolute and came home unscathed. Out on the course, he looked in control and showed excellent conditions management. Richard Rodgers was next home in just over 3 and a half hours (3:33). The elite performance coach was able to take his own advice and like Murdock managed the tough road conditions well. He learned a lot from his 2017 hydration schedule and this stood him in good stead as he was perfectly fluid balanced throughout.

Ashlene McGeough in action.

PSD
Perseverance, resilience and determination sum up the next NAC finisher. Ashlene Og Mussen had been a serious doubt and a potential passenger on the bus full of maybes (McCann, Devlin, Morgan, Rodgers, et. al. had already pre-booked seats!) due to a bout of Plantar Fasciitis that interrupted her final fortnight and almost undid all her efforts in training. However, she is made of strong stuff and took to the line, nervous but committed to giving it her best shot. All the training had been geared towards 3:30, so 3:35 is a tremendous run, bearing in mind the injury and the weather. If she can stay ‘injury free’, Dublin could represent a further opportunity to achieve the 3:30 that her ability would suggest.

Sir Needalancelot
Niall Carson followed his now mandatory ritual of a minimum of a box of cereal bars per day in the week leading up to the big day. Well fuelled, but slightly hampered by a less than ideal training schedule he found the going tough, but stayed the course and recorded 3:54. The blow was softened in advance when his 5 team accumulator paid out on Saturday evening! Needless to say the syndicate had less success, with one or two rogue selections proving fateful. He did win the award for the biggest NAC blister (narrowly overcoming Brown on a split points decision) with a fine bulbous specimen that would take a knitting needle to burst. Eamon McCrickard and his tin snips could be called into action later in the week if a hot bread poultice fails to do the trick!

They all made it back to the tent!
As the four-hour mark passed, the midday sun showed no signs of relenting and the tarmac temperature was well above that reported. Farrell and Harty continued in their quest to the line manfully. Both refused to let the conditions beat them and came home in 4:15 and 4:30 respectively.

Safety first at all times
All in all it was a tough day for the men in red and yellow. Nevertheless, all were happy to return in one piece and not suffer the fate that befell many who literally dropped with heat exhaustion and were forced to concede that on this occasion the marathon had defeated them. As the post-run analysis took place during the customary re-hydration period, obligatory after a marathon, there were no sad faces and most were talking excitedly about Pascal’s session this Tuesday, the ‘nine hills of Castlewellan’, as the perfect post-marathon recovery. Finally, the runners want to express their gratitude to the many family members and friends, too many to mention individually, who offered tremendous support and encouragement at critical points in the race. With 28 April already confirmed as the 2019 race date and the lottery ballot opening on 30 May, plans for next year will soon be under way. London will once again be calling to quote a famous song!