Running The Brighton Marathon

Intro

Hi, I am Dragos and I ran the Brighton marathon in 4 hours this year. I want to write about it, because I like writing and this was a massive milestone for me so I love talking about it. I was having a chat with a workmate who was doing some kind of November challenge to write every day, and he wrote a short book about his D&D campaign. Surely my marathon is more interesting.

This piece aims to provide valuable advice and insights to anyone interested in running. I’ll dive deep into my running experience, hoping it will be helpful, especially if you don’t consider yourself particularly athletic. Before the pandemic, I had never run more than 5k, and my running history was sporadic at best. This marathon was my first serious attempt, and I learned a lot along the way.

I am a big fan of answering questions no one asked, so I will ask myself questions and write this in an interview-style article. These are questions I have been asked before, or I think are relevant. I hope you like it :)

How did it go?

Well, perfect. I cannot quite believe how many things went my way on race day. I was aiming to get 4 hours, but it was the kind of goal I was too scared to talk about, I barely admitted I was genuinely going for it. I finished it in 4:00:09 chip time and 3:48:47 according to my watch. I believe the discrepancy comes from me moving left to right a lot during the race. I started with a slower wave (according to my expectations) and I overtook somewhere in the region of 1500-2000 people along the way.

When I say everything went my way, I mean a lot of things. Training was very good, I didn’t miss a single run before tapering (when I rested a couple more times than planned because of an injury, more on that later). I carb-loaded meticulously before the race which helped a lot, and I didn’t feel sick during the race, despite loading myself with food the days before and having 8 gels during the run. I didn’t hit the wall (I don’t think so at least, which probably means I didn’t, a friend explained it to me as starting walking even though you never decided to do so). Weather was amazing too, maybe a bit too hot but the breeze was just enough to cool me down. I slept ok the night before, and very well the night before that, which apparently is more important, and nothing really hurt during the race. I can’t really ask for anything more than that. Being my first marathon, I thought most things would go wrong :)

My pacing was horrible though. I went really hard for the first 25k or so, getting a half-marathon PB, which was not on my bingo card. Then I transitioned into damage control, running lots of calculations to see how quick I needed to go through the remaining distance to get 4 hours. I must say that first half was the best running experience I’ve ever had. I was absolutely flying, overtaking everyone, enjoying the crowds, going a lot quicker than I expected and feeling amazing. I always knew this was not sustainable, and it wasn’t.

The last 15k or so were by far the worst running experience I’ve ever had. I was struggling to keep myself going and it was very hard to even think about something. The thing that kept me going was thinking about how much effort I put into it, and how achievable 4 hours actually is. I was still enjoying the crowds, but I couldn’t really pay attention to it anymore. I usually think a lot during running, making plans, thinking about my day or random personal or work situations. This time, I couldn’t hold a thought for more than a few seconds. Thinking about very simple things was hard too, I tried thinking about something I was craving. I tried food, that usually works, but now it made me feel sick, I was quite full at the time. The only thing I managed to think about and feel good about was jumping in cold water; I was running by the ocean so it was actually feasible.

Because of the discrepancy between my watch and the official time, I had to sprint the last half kilometer or so when I realized my calculations were off. I finished out of breath and had no idea if I’d hit my goal, and could barely breathe. I was not happy, buzzing or proud, all these feelings came gradually after finishing.

Well, not sure. There were a few smaller reasons. I was already doing some long distance running, I did 4 half-marathons before signing up for this. I was seeing some friends and one of them did a marathon that day, which I thought was really cool. He trained for it, but did it by himself on a random Saturday which I thought was mental. But it planted the thought in my head that I wanted to do one as well. Doing half-marathons made me really proud but having the word “half” in it doesn’t make it a bucket list milestone. A marathon does, at least for me.

Then another friend did a marathon with his friend for his 26.1st birthday. I thought that was cool, and I realized I’d be turning 26.1 at some point this spring, so it seemed like the perfect time to do it. I also had a new year’s resolution to do 3 half marathons last year, and I thought it would be cool to have a marathon one in 2024. This is a very small reason though, I also had a resolution to stop eating added sugar, and I had three chocolate bars today.

Well, and finally, I thought winter is pretty crap and depressing, and summer is the opposite. I remember January to March last year was not incredible so having something to keep me going both physically and mentally would be great. And it was, it got me outside a lot during the miserable dark and cold, which was really good actually.

How did I choose Brighton?

Well, I started by choosing the time, I knew I wanted to do one in the spring, because of the weather, training timing and the 26.1 birthday thing. I initially thought about doing the Barcelona one, as it would have landed precisely on my 26.1st birthday, and it’s a massive one as well. But there were two big issues with it: I’d just been to Barcelona, and I don’t think travelling for my first marathon would be a good idea. I chose to stay in the UK, and London is impossible to get into, so Brighton and Manchester were the obvious choices. I’d never been to Brighton before and wanted to, and my friend had done it before and was signed up as well, so I signed up too.

Doing Brighton was a great choice, because it didn’t really feel like travelling. My friend Mark, who I’ll mention a few more times, drove in the afternoon, I just chilled and ate and watched a film there then went to sleep. We tried going for a walk but it was too windy. I thought I’d start watching a film the night before because that usually helps me fall asleep eventually. However the film was really good and I stayed up until 1am to finish it. It was in French too so I had to keep my eyes open to read the subtitles. It was Anatomy of a Fall, would recommend.

Did I follow a training plan?

Sort of. I follow Reddit religiously, so that’s where I started looking. I found way too many different plans, so I decided to pick a generic one and adapt it. I started from Hal Higdon’s plan, jumping straight to Intermediate 1 as the previous ones looked quite easy, and people on Reddit were saying they only get you to the finish line. The plan was 18 weeks long, but the first 4 weeks were in December and January which meant I was back home, clashing with Christmas, my birthday, New Year’s. I ran a bit, but nothing compared to what the plan suggested, and I also ate and drank a lot, so my start was pretty crap. But then I came back and jumped straight into it, so my first proper training week was basically week 5 or 6, meaning I did about 12 weeks of full-on training. I was very happy I managed to go straight into that and didn’t miss a single run before tapering. I didn’t really follow the Hal Higdon plan to the letter, I followed the principles and adapted it to my schedule.

I always increased mileage by 10-20% each week, starting from 30-40k per week and reaching 80k per week. I did intervals of 2 or 3 weeks of increase with a week of de-load between them. My long runs followed the exact same principle. They went from 14k to 35k, slowly increasing with de-load weeks. I was going slow most of the time, the rule of thumb is to go 80% slow during training, but at some point I felt like I was going maybe 100% slow. Looking back I think it was a great shout, because it avoided injuries and gave a healthy increase in my endurance capabilities.

I had variety in my runs, going different distances. It was always 5-6 runs per week, with 1-2 shorter ones, 2 longer ones, 2 even longer and then the big one on a Sunday. I say Sunday because that’s what most people do, but mine were almost never on a Sunday. I juggled the days a lot to match my plans. I did long runs on Monday evenings and Saturday mornings, but I could never run before work. None of my training runs were on a weekday morning, they were always evenings, a few during lunch and weekends.

I only did 3-4 sessions of intervals, towards the end of training. I remember doing 9 intervals of 1k, then 3 of 5k at marathon pace, and my last one was 6 of 2k. They were all at slightly below target marathon pace.

Then I had 2 weeks of taper before marathon week. I tried doing 60k then 40k to follow two 80k+ weeks. I did 60k for the first one but then dropped straight to 20k because I picked up an IT band injury. That was because I really forced it, doing my longest training run worth 35k, then 20k worth of intervals and another 24k long run in the space of five days, so I was asking for it basically. Thankfully, I foam rolled a lot, bought a knee brace and the knee didn’t hurt at all during the race. I was really lucky.

There goes the principle I didn’t follow: strength training. I didn’t do it at all. No strength training, no stretching, and I wish I did. It would’ve helped, and my body would have thanked me a lot. If you do a marathon, please do some stretching and strength work!

What advice do you have for someone who wants to start running?

Do the exercise you can actually do. If you know you don’t like running, I don’t see why you would try to like it. If you’re not sure, definitely give it a go!
Go slow (low heart rate, conversational pace). I think it’s the mistake everyone makes. I did it for a long time, I don’t think I ever went for a slow run before my marathon training and it is a gamechanger. It’s a lot more enjoyable, you have a good time and come back with some energy in the bank rather than completely knackered. It’s called conversational pace so you can do things like going with other people and having a chat, stopping at a shop for a drink, stopping to walk for a bit, taking pictures or calling someone. If it’s not an intense session like intervals or a tempo run, or a race, why hurry? Take it slow, enjoy it, the point of slow runs is to increase your endurance and get your body used to running a lot. Take the intense trainings seriously, but also take your slow runs slow!
Add variety to your runs. Again, a mistake I made for ages. I was one of those people going for the same 5k route at the same pace every time. That saturates the gains immediately, so try to incorporate intervals, long runs and easy runs as much as you can. It’s very easy to quantify your pace in minutes/km, but it’s a lot more relevant how it feels for you. I always compared myself with other runners, going for “easy” runs at a pace I wished I had on a slow run. Looking at your heart rate and thinking about how you feel are much better indicators of how a run should be. If an easy run was slower than you hoped, the solution isn’t to force that speed next time, the key is to keep going at YOUR pace and compare yourself with yourself. You’ll get there significantly quicker while enjoying it more too.
Look after your body. Do lots of stretching and try some strength training. I always ignored it before I got injured, and injuries are very annoying and can keep you out for a long time. They often come at the worst possible time too (my IT band pain happened a week before my marathon). There’s a lot of pressure on your ligaments and tendons and the only thing you can do to protect them is work the muscles around them. Stretching is quick too, just set a 5-10 minute timer every day and stretch a bit.
Get some good running shoes if you’re going for lots of runs. Adapt it to your plan, if you’re only running short once a week, no need for expensive shoes. But if you want to take it seriously, please don’t run in your old destroyed trainers. Go to a running shop for a gait analysis, or do an online survey to see which ones you need, and get a proper pair. Running shoes last about 700 to 1000k, so it’d be a waste to use them as everyday shoes, get something cheaper for that. Get a good pair, keep it for running only until they wear down, then use them as everyday shoes to make the most of them. Everything else equipment-wise is a bit of a luxury, some will make running more convenient, but none are necessary.
Find a reason to get out. I find it very hard to go for a run without a good reason to. If you want to be running but can’t find the motivation, find a local race and sign up for it! Go to parkruns, go with other people, this will force you to go out. From my experience, the hardest part of running is actually going out. Once you’re outside it gets easier to keep going. Aim for short distances, 1-2k, it’s so much more than nothing. Remember, you’re not competing with anyone else, if you’re going for a run you’ll be lapping the version of yourself sitting on the sofa. They are your competition!
Finally, just enjoy it! Stay positive, be happy and smile!

What was the best part?

Well, I really like running so getting to run a lot was amazing. I enjoyed my training runs with very few exceptions, although they basically took over my entire life, training for a marathon takes lots of time. The marathon experience was amazing, the crowd support was genuinely incredible, I don’t remember going more than a few hundred meters without seeing any supporters. I really enjoyed the funny signs, my favorites were: “Run if you think I’m sexy,” “Is that a running gel or are you just happy to see me” and “Who needs toe nails anyway.”

Seeing Nicole multiple times along the course was very nice, it made me feel very important. Her support during training was immense too, there were a few times I called her from my long runs and she supported me through the phone, I was really lucky.

Raising money for charity made my marathon more significant too, it was a big reason I kept going when I couldn’t take it anymore. I managed to raise over £350 for a Romanian charity supporting underprivileged children, which made me very proud and happy.

I am a bucket list kind of person so ticking it off and being able to say I completed a marathon gives me a big sense of accomplishment. Hitting my optimistic goal made it even more impressive, so yeah, lots of proud feelings.

Finally, the thing that makes me very happy is that I inspired a few people to start running. After my marathon, I had about six friends signing up for races, asking me for advice and going out for running for the first time in a long time. It’s not big, but it makes me so happy to think there are a few people going out for a run because of my achievement.

Do I want to do another marathon?

During the first half of the race I was already thinking about a second one, and during the last bit I was thinking I’m never doing this again. I think if anything had gone wrong and my time was even a few minutes more than it was, I’d already be signed up for a second one. Given everything went perfectly, I don’t think I’ll sign up for one unless there’s a good reason to. I don’t find it very appealing to go through all that training again to get a similar time. I think I’ll only sign up if I improve enough to go for 3:30 or so, if a very good opportunity comes up like a place at the London Marathon, or if I do it with someone else. The pain is very easy to forget about though, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I sign up for one very soon.

I want to focus on other sports for a bit as well. I basically stopped doing almost everything else, and I usually play a variety of sports. I want to get back into football, badminton and tennis, and have a proper go at Padel, might even make it my main sport. Running-wise, I want to try some other distances too, looking to get better PBs in a 5k, 10k and half-marathon. I’m keen to try some trail running as well, just to run in a pretty setting. Similarly, I just want to run on nice routes.

What equipment do I have?

The classic running equipment:

Shoes: Good running shoes are really important as I mentioned before, I really like Brooks but I’ve heard really good things about Asics too (both offer a 90 day guarantee in the UK which is really nice).
Clothing: I usually run in football tops, and I have some really nice Lululemon shorts with an inner liner.
Running belt: A Flipbelt, which changed my running experience. It means I can always take my phone with me, and it has enough space for just about everything I need on a run: AirPods, running gels, keys.
Everything else: A knee brace, warm clothes, a soft neck warmer which is incredible in winter, a hat, good socks (I have Feetures and Darn Tough and they’re both great) and a Garmin watch which I really like too.

If I were to rank my “non-essential” running accessories, my top three would be the Flipbelt, neck warmer and Lululemon shorts. Shorts are essential if you’re not a weirdo going commando, but I feel like the difference between the Lululemon shorts and normal shorts is bigger than nice socks versus normal socks. And I tape my nipples, I will not elaborate, it just works for me. One last thing I only started doing and wish I’d started years ago is using sunscreen.

Why do I like running?

Most people say running is boring. I can’t relate, but I see where they’re coming from. It can be boring, I just really enjoy it when I do. It’s a great escape from screens and an excuse to be outside, which I’m a big fan of. I often listen to music, sometimes an audiobook or podcast, and rarely nothing when I just want to calm down for a bit. On long runs I alternate between them. It’s hard to focus on an audiobook or podcast on shorter runs or for a long time, which makes it a bit inconvenient, but it’s nice when it works. I think the main reason I enjoy running is my positivity while doing it. I always have really positive thoughts, thinking about things I want to do, always productive plans. I never fantasize about coming back and scrolling Instagram, I think about running races or nice routes, learning things and doing more sports. It also gives me time to think without distractions, it’s the best way I have to put some order to my thoughts and find solutions to small everyday problems. I’m a bit of a planning freak so I use running to make plans for the following days or think about trip itineraries. I also really enjoy running with people, it’s always nice to have a conversation on a chill run or just be with more people. Finally, it keeps me fit and lets me eat a lot, which are two massive bonus points to me.