Race Report – Jim Holland
When my alarm went at 5.30am on Sunday morning, I was wondering whether I really wanted to get up and travel to Chester to run the marathon. After picking Steve up on route to Stone, we met Kim, Marian and Mick at the tennis club to travel to the race together.
By the time we arrived in Chester it was clear that the weather would be perfect for the race. We were greeted by the race organiser who I’d last seen at the Paris expo when Bernie and I called in to see if he had any liquid refreshments. At this point there was no sign of his brother Tim Hulse, who we subsequently discovered was catching up on his beauty sleep at home.
Before the start at 9am I said hello to ex bat Michelle Rushton – Fox who was running her first marathon for 5 years, Jason Blount from Newcastle AC and our friend Stu who we met at the Vilnius race in Lithuania.
The marathon began at 9am prompt with a few hundred metres on the race course before climbing up to the city centre for a loop and then out towards Belgrave and Pulford. I’d moved in front of the 3:15 flag carrier as I headed to the half way point in 1:32. A two mile loop here saw us emerge back on the road where we were joined by the metric marathon runners.
It was a pleasant run to the finish on the race course with plenty of support all along the route and lovely sunny day. I finished in 3:08 which was my quickest time in 5 years. https://www.stonemm.co.uk/2015/10/09/chester-marathon-4th-october-2015/ https://www.stonemm.co.uk/2015/10/09/chester-marathon-4th-october-2015/Sparker was next in 3:20 (1st vet 60), Tim 3:24, Mick 3:24 and Kim 3:56. After a shower and beer we set off back to Stone to continue the rehydration in the Royal Exchange.
Steve Parker led the Bats home in Poland, in 3.24 which he improved on at the Chester Marathon to record a time of 3.20 and was 1st M60. He was beaten in by Jim’s best time for about 4 years, 3.08.
With the Potteries Marathon making a return after 10+ years I decided to make it my debut marathon. When I started running about 3 years ago I had no intention of running a marathon as it seemed such a long way and with a young family I would never fit in the training required.
As we passed Longton Park some fellow Bats were there cheering us along and Mike Keeling taking photos, at least at mile 3 we could still smile. 
My pace had slowed at this point and the legs were beginning to ache but the head was still ok and was still enjoying the challenge as we dropped into Newcastle (was that the first downhill ?), through the town and then a climb up past the Thistleberry, never noticed this as a hill before but at 18/19 miles it appeared hard work. We then got on to part of the Clayton 10k course round Seabridge lane, and at this point I had ran further than ever before and knew I only had a 10k to run (easier said than done).
This was my first attempt at running a half marathon so a PB guaranteed and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. It was great to see quite a few fellow club members beforehand and your advice was invaluable..thank you.
People told me how special the atmosphere would be and it really was. So many people out supporting and I have to say the support from fellow runners also was pretty special too.
This year the Half Marathon was advertised as part of Bungay Festival of Running which also included a Marathon and for the first time a 10k. All three races follow the same route with the Marathon runners completing two laps of the course, Half Marathon one lap and 10k peeling off at around 3 miles and rejoining the main route at approx 5 miles. All three races were sold out prior to race day. All chip timing.
All finishers received a well stocked goody bag, medal and can of Adnams of Southwold Ghost Ship Beer which was well deserved and went down very well after the race.
The muster for the start was different – there wasn’t an obvious voice directing the herd and the time-based colour pens weren’t pens like the Great North Run, but signs you kind of stood by until the off. It was a little bit confused at first. I’d been allocated to the second last group and was worried about how to get towards my pace group. The benefit of loose waves though was that we could edge up – there were people in the forward groups edging back at the same time. 
The course involved a bit of out-and-in with two loops, one around Altrincham; and the other around Sale. Once away from the start the running was very residential with occasional town centres which felt very similar to the mid-section of the Great North. It quickly became striking how flat the course was. I’d not noticed before but hills do gently help regulate pace and their absence seemed to make for consistent running which could trap you if like me, you went out too hard. I counted five ‘bits’ of gradient all the way around that any of the club runners would take in their stride. If though you wanted to break yourself in, there was an option to run a relay in teams of two and four which appeared to be really well marked – it is a very accommodating event.
The organisers, Xtramile events (xtramileevents.com) also do a range of endurance events, triathlons mainly, so after you’ve done the marathon, you may get tempted to have a look at some other disciplines while you are on. Hope this of some use, cheers. 
Thursday evening was a lovely night and what a good night for the first part of the Spring Treble. I didn’t run any of these races last year being new to the club so not being a fan of hills I wasn’t quite sure what lay in store, but safety in numbers Julie McArthur Lucy Carter and myself said to one another “well I will if you will”. To be totally honest we all run on a Thursday evening anyway so we thought why not have a change of scenery (with a few hills thrown in.)
Unfortunately things didn’t finish quite so well for Chris Eardley who decided on a sprint finish and pulled a calf muscle, which possible puts him out of action for a while certainly Milford he will be marshaling now .