London Marathon 2015

Butcher is a cut above the rest as Newcastle AC show well at the Virgin London Marathon.
A special report by Bogusboy

The established ritual of NAC descending on London Town for the third weekend of April was upheld once again as six of their finest took on the challenge of tramping the streets of the capital with 37,500 other brave souls for the 35th edition of the marathon. From reasonably humble and modest beginnings, with 7,000 competitors, the event is now one of the most spectacular worldwide sporting events, attracting athletes from every corner of the planet. Those fortunate enough to secure a place as an elite athlete, club runner, a lucky ballot winner or a charity runner are treated to a wonderful experience on a great course with ear splitting support every inch of the way. It is truly a wonderful race that should appear on every runner’s bucket list. Brannigan, a three time finisher, concurs, stating that he would take part every year if the organisers could guarantee that the event would start and finish within a two mile radius of his house, thus ensuring his cous cous would get a proper forking.
How thoughtful!

However, for the Newcastle posse the London experience is a 48 hour event which begins with the turning of the key in the car on Friday afternoon. This year the car was a little lighter on the way to the airport as two of the crew declared themselves unavailable on medical grounds. The Prophet had a cold that went deep into his bones and to the very core of his being. Such was the fragility of his physical state he decided that his coughing and spluttering would prevent the other athletes from sleeping, thus impacting negatively on their ability to record PBs. The ‘oul dog was unfit for the hard road. Every cloud has a silver lining as he was able to defer his entry and has already declared himself as 50-50 for next April. In similar vein Podger came down with a virus rendering him equally incapacitated and equally concerned about spreading his germs on finely honed and precisely tuned athletes on the eve of their big day. This was the final nail in his ‘unlucky coffin’ as he was blighted with injuries – mostly with complicated Latin names – from the outset of the training camp and had already deferred – maybe next year. Both acts of altruism have not gone unnoticed and both are under consideration for the ‘most thoughtful club member award’. It is just a shame that no such award exists at present.

It’s behind you!

Notwithstanding their disappointment the remaining athletes set sail for Aldergrove where they met Kendall and Smyth, self appointed team managers for the weekend. As coffee was sipped words of wisdom were proffered and predictions made – some athletes were playing down their own chances whist bigging up the other athletes – shrewd tactics methinks. Other were preoccupied by the burning question, did Jerome really run 22 miles that day? Following the Sofitel debacle in 2013 all went well on arrival at Gatwick, though Kendall failed to spot the lifts; an easy mistake to overlook 4 side by side sets of twenty foot wide steel doors with huge Otis signs above them!

 

 

McAlinden shows grea tmanual dexterity!

With carb depletion completed on Thursday evening it was all systems go as the usually healthy eaters began to devour any food on view. The Friday evening carb loading was a delicious feed of pasta and calzone pizza – or as Kelly called it a big Cornish pastie!! The management were thoughtful in their appreciation of the locally fermented wine and declared it fit for purpose. The traditional Saturday Breakfast Run on Walton Heath afforded the opportunity for a gentle loosening of the legs prior to the event. This was followed by the highlight of the day, the mandatory visit to Box Hill for coffee and cake. There was a fine array of treats on offer and McAlinden excelled in his role as ‘official cake cutter upper’. With dexterity akin to that of a surgeon he doled out equal sized portions and made sure that all were fed – he will certainly be invited back on the basis of this alone! This year the chocolate fruit and nut brownie was declared the winner of the annual confectionary contest. One local cyclist, on seeing the said pastry on the plate remarked, ‘you could build houses with those’. It was almost as if the Prophet was present by proxy!! Needless to say the buns and cake we’re demolished in speedy quick time as the athletes considered the benefits that these would have the following day.

You gotta have some more pretzels!

While some went on an afternoon excursion to the city, Strachan, Kelly and McCann engaged in some of the finest carb loading ever experienced in the modern era. Sweet potato and coconut soup, bagels with chicken, fruit salad, natural yogurt and dark chocolate were consumed in abundance. Kelly declared himself ‘as full as a butcher’s dog’ and then proceeded to eat half a stone of pretzels which, according to Strachan contained a remarkable 62g of carbs per 100g – that lad needs to get out a bit more. By the time the city slickers returned to recount their story of cups of tea costing a fiver in a well known London landmark store, the pretzels had been digested and all ready were ready for dinner – after all they had not eaten in 20 minutes. Another feed of pasta and pizza was followed by a early night as those participating completed the mental preparations for the day ahead. With space at a premium there some some degree of toping and tailing as rest proved difficult to come by.

 

The Hoka Cokey!

As the dawn chorus was beginning the porridge was flowing and bags were packed with the accoutrements that would be needed for a successful day. Kelly was still unsure about his choice of footwear, but surely it was a step too far to ask the driver of the 7:49 train from Sutton to Victoria if he could try on his gutties!!! In the end he went for the Hoka’s, a shoe he swears by – 26.2 miles and one big blister later he was swearing at them. Perhaps the train drivers would have been a better option.

 

Is everything to your liking Sir?

Following an emotional departure and too much unnecessary man hugging at Blackheath train station, the athletes parted ways and went to their respective pens. It was here that McCann and Kelly met up with Nicola Mathers, Shane Rice and Michael Power – well done to all on their runs and to all the other local athletes who bravely pinned on a number and took the line. McAlinden in the elite start zone had his own personal tent, shower, towels and toiletries, while the rest of the hoi polloi made do with the cramped testosterone-addled start pens. He later commented that the towels were as soft as those he was used to at home and the fruit chilled appropriately – how real athletes live!

 

Slow her down big lad!

Finally as 10:10am approached Donnelly appeared out of nowhere to join his club mates in Pen 1. Declaring himself in good shape, he set off quickly in his quest for a 3:00-3:05 finish, a quest that went well for 30k – the final 12k will not be mentioned! Well, actually they will! The young man had over-stretched himself in the early stages and while 3:31 is highly respectable, the 1:29 first half proved too fast and undoubtedly led to his ultimate demise. This Ironman suffered stoically in the last 10k and refused to give up despite the obvious pain and discomfort. Others were following the mantra of well known running guru Adam Mitten – ‘sure I just like to take her handy’ – a apposite mantra for a 26.2 mile race. McCann was the very definition of this saying and recorded fairly even splits to come home in 3:12 and secure a ‘good for age’ for 2016. Back home, Naill King, recalled how he had fallen victim to such ‘start slow and speed up’ tactics in Bohermeen. Brown and McAlinden were also equally steady and came home in 3:17 and 3:19 respectively, the latter recording a PB by 3 minutes.

 

Outstanding performances

By the time this trio were collecting their medals, Strachan and Kelly were back in the pavilion eating cucumber sandwiches and revelling in their own achievements. Strachan improved on his existing impressive PB of 2:48:21 by storming home in 2:47:08 – a fitting reward for the tremendous work done since Christmas in churning out big miles at pace week on week. He set 10k and half marathon PBs in the process – not a bad day’s work at all. In equally impressive style, Kelly took an incredible 15 minutes of his PB romping home in an incredible 2:57 to finish 14th overall in the V55 category (admittedly he does look a lot older!!!). According to his mental toughness coach, Mad Dog McGreevy, this is irrefutable proof of the benefits that accrue from diligent preparation and meticulous attention to detail, when one commits to the marathon.

 

And so it came to an end, the marathon experience in London was but a memory and a talking point and a memory – a good one for most. apologies Brendy!!! The text messages came flooding and it seems Kelly spent more time replying to his many well wishers than he did on the course.Brannigan, on hearing the stories expressed a genuine interest in being considered as a definite maybe for 2016, though he is not sure if he can commit to committing; only time will tell. One thing is for sure, NAC will once again be well represented.