A Brighton Baptism – My First Marathon Experience

One of the reasons for starting this site was to reflect on previous physical challenges and races as well as considering targets for the future.

I’ve already shared my Hyrox experience in another post and didn’t pull any punches with regards to my performance assessment. This time, I’m focusing on another milestone which was probably overdue when it came round given the volume of miles I have in the bank. In 2022 I finally took part in my first 26.2 marathon in Brighton.

Like many runners, I’d tried (and failed) several times to secure a London Marathon spot. The process had at the time a bit of a cruel twist in that you could pay extra to supposedly improve your ballot odds, and if unsuccessful, you get a London Marathon top as consolation prize. I tried this once and ended up with the consolation prize after which I’ve never tried it again. This has however left me on more than one occasion awkwardly explaining when asked if I’d run the marathon; “No, I got this because I didn’t manage to get in…”

Why Brighton?

The Brighton Marathon wasn’t on my original bucket list, but when a friend of a friend needed someone to fill a last-minute charity spot, I stepped up. Asking for sponsorship isn’t something I’m a huge fan of when it’s in relation to physical challenges. Primary reason is that most people know how much I run so it feels like I’m asking for sponsorship to do something comfortably in my wheelhouse. Nonetheless with the charity being personally connected to a friend, I was glad to be able to raise a few hundred pounds alongside two other runners.

Establishing My Pace…Or Not

The race itself wasn’t particularly a cause for nervousness as I already had a couple of 50-mile ultras under my belt, so I was expecting endurance to be an issue.

My approach to races is relatively straightforward - start at the start line, move until the finish, and trust my legs to get me from A to B. The real challenge was more in trying to establish my pace and what would constitute a “good” time. I had a vague idea of what time to target but having never timed that specific distance, it was hard to call.

At the time, I was generally logging 100–110 miles per week, mostly at easy paces while listening to audiobooks. I rarely if ever did pace checks. In fact, I had only really had 2 modes, light pace on audio/podcast mode and intense, fast paced to Rocky and Superhero soundtracks.

When it came to registration and I was prompted for an expected finish time so went for the conservative guess of 3:30–4:00. Anything slower felt like it would be a disservice given my mileage, but I had no real benchmark.

False Start To The Weekend

My race weekend didn’t start off exactly as planned. I misread the instructions in my haste out of the train station and went to the start area for the Sunday morning instead of the correct waterfront registration zone. This wasn’t a particularly big deal although with a full sports bag over my shoulder I probably could have done without the extra trek. A silver lining to my directional faux pas though was that I knew exactly where to go the next morning.

Race Day Arrives

On race day, as I made my way to the park and start line I came across another runner who wasn’t entirely sure where to go so with my knowledge from the Saturday pointed him in the right direction. We got to talking and exchanged general chit-chat during which he asked about my pace plan, target finish time and whether I planned to find my way to near the start line itself. My general response was 'No, hadn't really thought about it that much' which was true as I’d only really thought about where the start and finish lines were without considering much else in between.

His surprised look at the lack of foresight made immediate sense as I worked my way to the start line and we set off though. The first mile or so is through a relatively narrow road which resulted in having to navigate through some heavy congestion which ideally, I could have done without.

Fuelled By Spectators…and Superheroes

One thing I hadn’t fully anticipated was the scale or consistency of the crowd. My assumption was there would be pockets around the start and end sections as well as in the more built-up areas of town but not that there would be a relatively solid turn out pretty much all along the route.

The combo of the enthusiastic and supportive crowd alongside my trusty playlist consisting of a Rocky, Marvel and Man of Steel mash up kept me pushing along at a steady, strong pace throughout the first phase.

The second quarter of the race took us out of central Brighton toward a nearby village, which was a scenic break, however you can get into a bit of a battle to maintain pace on the continual straights after what was a relatively fluid and dynamic route to start.

Given it was a sunny day the scenery made for an enjoyable view with the open to my side, however I was happy to return to the denser crowds of the town centre going into the next phase. This was my first experience running with crowds as ultras tend to be generally lonely runs. The noise and buzz helped to keep me invigorated and energised throughout. Also, fair play to the generous locals along the way who were stood outside their homes with plates of fruit and sweets to help any runners in need of an energy boost.

Blistering To The Finish Line

Heading into the last phase of the race, it occurred to me somewhat surprisingly that sub-three-hour finish might be on the cards; something I didn’t have on my bingo card going in.

I’d picked up a nagging blister around halfway through the race that burst of its own accord. This ended up being well timed as it meant I could focus on pushing for the finish line without any added discomfort.

Ultimately despite keeping a steady pace with short bursts of renewed speed I could only cross the finish line at a time of 3:06. Given I wasn’t sure what time to target this felt relatively respectable, especially given the heat on the day. On reflection though there was a minor frustration knowing I could have shaved off those six minutes with better pacing and race prep at the start line.

Lessons Learned For Next Time

For a first marathon, Brighton was a partial success, but it left unfinished business. I’ll run other marathons and likely return to Brighton, however next time, I’ll focus on better pacing and put more emphasis on the start and positioning myself to avoid congestion and crowds.