Brighton Marathon 2013

Lee -  another thing I found great was to put your name on the front of whatever you're wearing (vest/T-shirt), and then people shout your actual name! It made such a difference to me in the last few miles of London. This year Oxfam have sent out iron on letters with each sponsorship pack so my name is on the Tshirt all done - ready and waiting! Hope the training is going well - just take it easy there's still a lot of weeks of running to do!

Lee - this is my first marathon as well. I am doing a 16, 18, 20 and 22. In my training plan, my 22 mile run is 4 weeks before the race, from looking at others, some have 3 or even 2 week tapers at the end, not sure what the best is. I am finding for my mid-week runs that doing a shorter distance (say 4-5 miles) but really pushing it, so by doing a very hilly course or quick tempo is feeling beneficial compared to a longer but relaxed run .. whether it is in reality is another thing altogether ! With the names, you can do yours cheaply with only 3 letters ...

Anyone got a spare place they'd like to sell for Brighton Marathon?

Anyone know if the 'Pricey' is running this year?

First timers:

Name: Definitely have your name on whatever top you're wearing. The crowd will give you massive support which really helps push you along especially in the closing stages, but having people shout out your name makes all the difference! I'm having 'Stevie C' on the front of my vest and 'Lombster' on the back. I'll also be wearing a wig to go with my charity vest which also adds to the cheers on the day!

Long runs: For those of you worrying about training, this will be my 8th marathon and I haven't got it right yet! Don't underestimate the importance of the long runs as that has been my downfall in the past. The marathon is in two halves, the first 20 miles, and the last 10km! It's the 18-22 mile long runs that will get you through the last 10km. To give you some perspective I ran my first marathon off the back of only one long run (around 18 miles; that was also the only run I did over half marathon distance!) and I paid the price after around 15 miles when my pace dropped off a cliff!

Finish time: Unless your training is going extremely well and you have a fair (realistic) estimate of your finish time I would suggest just aiming to complete the marathon as your goal. Again to give you some perspective, I was adamant I could finish my first marathon in sub-4 given I was a consistent 9 minute miler. I ran through the first half in slightly under 2 hours (all good there) but then as I passed through 15 miles (see long runs!) my pace slowed. That coupled with the fact I knew I was going to miss out on a sub-4 finish really didn't help the situation!

Training advice required please:

Hi all,

My training is roughly as follows:

• Mon -  2x3 mile run to work and back
• Tue - Run with club (speed intervals) 7.5 miles covered (1 warmup, 5 intervals (inclusive of rest), 1 cooldown)
• Wed - 1x3 mile run to work, 1x6 mile run back from work
• Thu - Run with club (hills) Same distance as Tue
• Fri - 2x3 mile run to work and back
• Sat - Long run 12-22 miles
• Total distance 48-58 miles depending on long run

My training is going well and although I have been tweaking it slightly I'm now hitting the stage where my long runs will be 20-22 miles at the weekend and I think it may need a further tweak! The speed work has definitely been helping, however I'm thinking of substituting the Thursday run with the club with a run of between 10-15 miles. What would you suggest? Any other comment welcome as always happy to shift things around.

Thanks Lombster, to us first (and perhaps old!!) timers any information is useful.

Lomster agreed that the major element lacking in your plan is the mid-week medium long... make it a slow run at first, then try putting in a few miles @ MP in the middle if you arent doing any anywhere else. 

Lombster - What time are you going for this year - I saw in an earlier post you were looking for sub 3:15. Are you doing the Brighton Half?

Reason i ask is that i'm looking for a sub 3:15 (really a sub 3:10) and wondered what i should expect for the brighton half (estimated approx 1:29 based on 39:50 10k time)!

I would add that if you could put a middle distance run mid week comfortably then that would be a good tweek (i try and do a 10-12 miler mid week)

outdoor running session today. Not a great start with heavy snow falling, but as soon as I started it seemed to have dissappeared. I choose a route around Stevenage which involved hills, downhills, and 10 miles in distance. All is good but when heading back to Little Wymondley with 4 miles to go I was facing a strong headwind. Manage to hit the 10 mile mark for the first time outside the gym and also did this in 1 hour 30 minutes, so I am on target and whilst losing weight and improving my running techique, I am sure I am go a lot quicker than this when it comes to marathon day, but that is 65 days away. So mentally and physically this is a good sign, and I am well happy with that. Also did my usual 10km cycle to Stevenage train station and back burning 339 calories.

CALORIES BURNT: 1432

KMs RAN: 16

MILES RAN: 10

Well got the 4 miles done but it was a close run thing the settee nearly won                        

also if i can chuck in my 2 pennies worth make shore you do at least 1 run in the clothes you intended to wear on the day you don’t want to find that your wearing something new and it ethier rubs or chafes

brighton 2012

for all those running for the first time have a look at this it may give you a feel of what to exspect

the course

Well done Toby3 for beating the battle with the settee! I will wear my charity T shirt (Oxfam) before the day but it's far too cold at the moment

Just back from a very windy but at least dry 10km in 52 mins, bit chilly though but not as cold as 2 weeks ago. Did 5 laps of a hilly route yesterday with 1 mile each side - again very windy which I hate and really find it hard to battle against - it almost blows me over!

good running everyone keep it up 65 days to go!!!

8 miles again tonight on treadmill, I will be so glad when the lighter nights come so I can do some of my midweek training outside, as even with having treadmill in front of telly it still seems like a hard slog.  It was much more fun doing the 10k at Longleat on Sunday!

Good training going on by everyone.  Lombster thanks for the good advice for us novices

Toby3, great videos, really starts to build the excitement and tension .. although I have to say that all of that warming up looks far too tiring for my liking ...

pace bands

here's another link that might help

That's good advice, Lombster - have to agree that it's the long runs that make all the difference. Hoping to break 4 hours this time.

Haven't run since my 27k on Sunday - had a minor operation on my leg on Tuesday to remove a vein and blood clot, but should be back running by the weekend. (Surgeon said I could run 24 hrs after op if I wanted. I didn't want.) So I'll only miss a few days of the training programme, and will be back to 30k runs next week.

Hope you're all well.