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I thoroughtly enjoyed my first marathon, so thanks very much to the organisers.

After running past the first aid station (on purpose), I stopped at the other 8 places for one cup of water at each, and feel sorry for those who arrived after it had run out.

The only hiccup for me was at 39.5km, where I came to a junction and couldn't see where to go.  I had to wait for another runner to join me and then we asked passers by if they'd seen any runners recently.  That was a little discouraging and soon after that I stopped running to walk for a while.  A BIG thanks to Rik, who came alongside me and encouraged me to get going again for a great last 2km.  That experience probably wouldn't have happened if I hadn't had to wait for directions, so I'm not really counting it as a problem.

Thanks, Peter. 

Just need to decide what sort of top to wear now (Long-sleeve Skins, T-shirt or vest - Hmmm).  Decisions, decisions!  Does anyone else struggle with these choices or is it just me?

My biggest concern is being able to hold back enough over the first 20 miles, so I don't collapse before the end.  It feels very odd pootling along when I know I can go much quicker over half-marathon distance.

Hi all,

This will be my fist race above half-marathon distance.

Reading through the comments it seems trail shoes aren't needed after all.  However, I've bought and trained in some Brooks Cascadia's especially for this race and think it would be a shame to go back to my normal running shoes.  Is that daft?  Will I suffer by wearing trail shoes if they aren't needed?

Anyone know how the sizes of Peregrines compare with ASICS GT2160's?  I think I heard they come up different, but can't find where now.

I took up running 5 years ago and have completed 9 half-marathons (all road) and 6 10k's (all trail), but have caught the bug and want to do a 'proper' distance now

I'm thinking of doing this race as my first marathon (being on a Saturday is a key attraction) and was wondering if it's OK for first timers?  Should it be harder than a typical marathon course?