Re: dry vs wet marathons

Hello there,

I'm planning a spring marathon and I would have already registered for Manchester, if I wasn't put off by the likelihood of rain there, especially after my friends' ominous experience last year!

I'm not from this country and I really don't know anything about different English weathers except that the east coast is generally drier than the west coast. Now, I know rain can happen anywhere but since I don't really like it when I'm running, I was wondering whether anyone could give me advice about that.

I can choose among Blackpool, Brighton, Startford-Upon-Avon, Milton Keynes and Manchester. Anyone know what the weather is generally like around those places?

Many thanks in advance,

Vincenzo

The one thing you can rely on about the English weather is that it is unreliable.

The weather does vary from east to west, but not by much.  North/south variation is more about temperature than rain, I think.  Some areas get more rain than others, but there's no way to pick between the places you list based on weather - it could rain in any of them, at any time.

Choose your marathon on a different basis, and then hope for a dry day!

its  the luck of the draw..............I ran llanelli marathon last year and the year before in april...wales is renowned ofr its rain.yet on both years we had a heatwave......in fact in 2011 even though it was mid april.i believe it was the hottest temperature there all year

so if you want dry you need to look at something like the Luxor marathon...........otherwise just get used to it....you will after a winter of training surely

I had to work for a couple of weeks in Canvey Island a few years back and was told it was the dryest place in the UK.  Not sure if there is a Canvey Island Marathon. , would need to be a few laps but perhaps good pb potential.

I've marshalled at the Halstead marathon (held in May) three times: once it poured with rain, the second time it was sunny and hot, the third time it was freezing cold.

Thank you all for your comments. Wilkie, your experience sounds quite varied and interesting! I think, yes, it's probably not very sensible to choose a marathon in England trying to predict the weather. I might still avoid Manchester cause I keep hearing how wet that city is but I've still got a few to choose from. And I think you're right. I should choose for other reasons, maybe a flat one given that I'm taking a friend with me who is doing this for the first time and I think an easy one would be best for her.

That's a good suggestion. I might also go to my running shop and see what they've got there. As I said before, I'm starting to consider flat. I train in Hull which is flat. However, I have learned to include some hilly work after I realised many say they've got a flat course - when they don't - just to avoid putting people off, I guess. 

you cpuld enter a few around the same time and just duck out of the first few if the weather is really bad.....