Shakespeare Marathon - Spring Marathon

lily of the valley

11/10/2011 at 15:03

I like many others did not get a place for the VLM and am considering running the Shakespeare Marathon. I would love to hear other peoples experiences of this run eg what is it like to run 2 circuits, demoralising? Is it a good first time marathon? What are the crowds like? The terrain, the orgainisation? etc Thank you!

mark Borg

11/10/2011 at 17:55

Hi Lily of the Valley,

I have ran this race this year. Your right to ask the question if it becomes difficult with a second lap, and to a certian extent it is when you see the marshals shepherding the half runners to one side and the full marathon runners to the other.

However if your able to get over this, the only bad point of this marathon. The organisation, the venue and the sense of achievement is overwhelming. Stratford is such a beautiful place to run. The crowds are of course much smaller than London, however still very supportive especially if you get your name printed on the front of your tech shirt. There are two hills during the 26.2 miles.

I have also entered 2012 and can`t wait to attempt a PB

I hope this is helpful

lily of the valley

11/10/2011 at 20:46

Thank you Mark, that is really helpful and encouraging think I will probably go for it. I am inspired by my dad, who age 51 was rejected from the London marathon and ended up entering something called the West Country marathon! I just want to run a marathon once in my life.

mark Borg

11/10/2011 at 21:40

I`m sure we all have our personal reasons for doing this foolish obsessive kind of running. However it is such a buzz. I have run 4 this year and hopefully building upon this next year. I hope you enjoy Stratford last year it was a lovely day with lovely crowds. Mark

Richard Worrall 4

12/10/2011 at 23:28

did stratford 2 years ago as my first marathon....hated it, two laps demorilising and that hill at 18-19 miles finished me off, im not even gonna mention the 'Greenway' finish!!!!

GTC

13/10/2011 at 00:20

I did it this year and it was fine, no idea what hill seemed to be the problem but overall it's a good small low key marathon in a nice place. I enjoyed it.

lily of the valley

13/10/2011 at 08:36

thanks for your comments, it does seem quite common for marathons to cover the same ground twice! eg Lochaber Marathon up and back along the same road and the same with a lot of the Edinburgh (I did the half last year and was very demoralised seeing finishers when I had 4 miles to go!). I wonder if doing 2 laps might be easier! Can anyone suggest any other spring marathons? Thank you!

Sir John a Lot

14/10/2011 at 21:16

Not sure where you live Lily ( Wales maybe, judging by your name) the Manchester Marathon is back for the 1st time in about 15 years and looks really good. 1 lap but the organisation looks superb

40 minutes

21/10/2011 at 20:25

I'm favouring Shakespeare next year, a week after London fits very nicely into group training with VLMers!

antony Webb

26/10/2011 at 16:14

I am doing the Shakespeare next year as my first marathon and can not wait to give it a go.

heebiejeebie

30/10/2011 at 15:29

I did this one in 2007 and got a PB. Loved it, the 2-lap thing wasn't a problem and I liked the Greenway. I've entered for 2012 and I want another PB

(and it's WAY better than London!)

Edited: 30/10/2011 at 15:30

mark Borg

31/10/2011 at 06:36

24 from my running club went to Shakespeare`s marathon last April for a great weekends social and a good run during. We are already 10 strong for 2012 and I also would love to get another PB. I have also like heebiejeebie did London also this year and although it is a prestige run, Its not a good one. Too hot with too many people (those bloody runners lol)

Stratford is a lot smaller and such a beautiful place to run with 3 to 4 thousand entrents.

TELL FRIENDS AND MAKE A WEEKEND OF IT !!

buck79

02/11/2011 at 16:44

this is a great marathon, i did it this year and loved it... there are tough bits, but what marathon is easy ?

just get some hill training into your program so you're not found wanting on the course.

i have a deferred place for london in 2012 otherside id be doing this one.

Richard Hill 17

08/11/2011 at 12:53

have done this one twice and it is a nice run, probably a bit more hilly than you think while running - if that makes sense but there is one large ish hill you go over a couple of times, but the drop on the other side is quite steep so you can rest/recover a bit on the way down.

The Greenway is the main talking point as usual, on the first lap it will seem quite pleasant, nice straight and flat run taking you close to the half way mark, there are also a lot more runners at this point who break off to the half marathon finish. The second lap can be a different story though, the Greenway section is much longer (around 5 miles from memory) and by that time in the day it is usually much warmer, there are less people out there and of course you are in miles 20-25 of a marathon so the going is much tougher.

Having said all that this is just my experience and some do like the fact that the Greenway is flat and straight and means you must be nearing the end! Just seemed a bit too long for me second time round. If I could choose I would reverse the course and get the Greenway sections out of the way earlier in each lap.

The organisation was good and Stratford is great, stayed at the holiday inn both times which is right on the start line and has a jacuzzi for after the run.

Seems to be two threads on this so will add this to both

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