The Sub 3:15 Marathon Thread
334 watchers
Sep 2023
10:23am, 12 Sep 2023
2,861 posts
|
Big_G
I don’t have pressure of performance for most of them. It’s a cliche but it’s about the experience for me. Boston was 3:42 I think, nowhere near a PB, but I loved it. If I’d been gunning for a time would I have missed out on some of the experience? I think I would have. And it really was amazing. Difficult to put into words but I just got swept up in the whole weekend and loved it all, as did my non-running partner. I enjoy travel. I enjoy marathons. Combining the two is my favourite pastime, and I feel very fortunate to be able to say that. |
Sep 2023
10:32am, 12 Sep 2023
21,955 posts
|
larkim
Maybe that's the difference for me. I enjoy training for a marathon performance, and executing that on the day. But it could be anywhere, the actual location itself (beyond specific challenges like the hills in Eryri for example) is a bit irrelevant to me. And I wouldn't just run a marathon for fun; there has to be a personal challenge in it for me. |
Sep 2023
10:34am, 12 Sep 2023
2,451 posts
|
riggys99
I don’t go abroad for races and most of the races I do end up in the Cleethorpes area where we have a caravan. The race makes little difference to the weekend as I always go for at least a two hour run when we are there (apart from perhaps the fact you have a start time) I actually feel more pressure doing a race close to home on a weekend when we could have gone to the van as my wife has given up a weekend away so I can do it. |
Sep 2023
10:47am, 12 Sep 2023
15,443 posts
|
jda
USA has lots of great places but Boston has never appealed. BiL lived there a while and it sounds like a bit of an armpit. As for overseas runs, I've never travelled specifically for a race, though willingly fit them in when convenient. Vienna marathon (on a business trip) was a PB attempt but ended up too hot which was a bit of a disappointment and Boulder 10k is high altitude and never going to be a PB but a big fun event that I've done 3 times now. We have set holiday dates to accommodate that but it was a small part of the overall trip. I do have a few overseas marathons vaguely on my radar (Reykjavik, Stockholm, Boulder) but I doubt I'll ever do them really. There would have to be a lot of stars aligning, I wouldn't line them up as a main goal. |
|
Sep 2023
10:49am, 12 Sep 2023
2,862 posts
|
Big_G
There’s something about being in a starting area where there may not be many Brits. Hearing the chatter. Seeing the different vests. When the race starts, seeing the sights of whatever city on foot. I’ve done a few marathons around laps of lakes and up and down old train tracks, and the two don’t really compare. I’ve also done tough trail marathons, LDWA events, and a decent number of the larger U.K. marathons (although I’ve still a couple I’d like to do), but, for me, adding in the foreign element adds a special aspect. But we’re all different and it’d be boring if we were all the same.  My PB was at Seville when I was gunning for a time though, and I can hardly remember any of the course as I was in the zone that day. |
|
Sep 2023
10:55am, 12 Sep 2023
2,863 posts
|
Big_G
We found Boston was lovely jda. Really nice in fact. Well, certainly central Boston was but I can’t speak for the outskirts. Much more laidback than NYC, for example, with extremely friendly people, with loads to do, decent bars, restaurants, easy and quick to get to the airport. The T line was frustratingly slow though, I have to say.
|
Sep 2023
11:48am, 12 Sep 2023
65,277 posts
|
Velociraptor
Seville remains on my radar; I think I will actually do it in 2024, enjoying the sights rather than gunning for a time unless my running bounces out of the doldrums in time for me to get a proper training block in. We have another reason to visit the area and I'm happy to do marathons in the spirit that Big_G describes. Also contemplating taking my shiny new age category to Paris in April if I don't get the club place for London.
|
Sep 2023
1:00pm, 12 Sep 2023
47,730 posts
|
HappyG(rrr)
Ooh, that sparked some different views! I loved Boston but we also visited Cape Code, Niagara and upstate New York with pals so a lovely holiday. It's my only overseas mara, but have dragged wife now to 3 of my UK marathons - London x 3, Chester and Blackpool. We enjoyed them but def puts a dent in the trip when it's all about my marathon. So this next one in London I'm travelling solo. G
|
Sep 2023
2:27pm, 12 Sep 2023
3,253 posts
|
B Rubble
I didn't worry too much about how the travel effected my time. Being well trained is almost always more more important - although I bonked in the heat and wind in Lanzarote. I did Paris a couple of times, which felt more local than Lochaber (it's 150km closer to me!) and was well enjoyed by the family. I managed a 3:16 when I was targeting 3:15 in Paris (all three 3:15 pacers passed me in the last 3 miles). As Baz said I did pretty well in Palma, getting a 3:05 in 30 degree heat. Perhaps my biggest marathon regret is not doing Boston due to travel restrictions (twice), but I'll get over it. I think the main thing to think about when you're travelling for a marathon with non-running others is that they will only get brief glimpses of you in 3-4 hours when you're running. They also have to deal with your runner's obsessiveness before the race and grumpiness afterwards. |
Sep 2023
4:09pm, 12 Sep 2023
6,040 posts
|
Windsor Wool
Off topic really and without the insight as to what drives your reluctance to travel to the US larkim. But, by discounting the whole area as a travel destination you’re missing out on a really easy travel opportunity to some truly fantastic natural wonders. G listed some (I love Cape Cod) but I’ve also visited the Californian coast, Yosemite, Kings Canyon, the Everglades, the Gulf Coast, Arizona, and many other places. Everything is just so accessible, there’s no language barrier. Perhaps that’s the issue! Most of the major cities hold no appeal to me but they’re just such a small part of the US tbh. Travel agency bit over!! Oh, and over the years I had many opportunities to go an live in the US. Now, that never appealed. Not at all!! Off to enter Boston. I have already booked my accommodation after all 😂 |
Related Threads
-
RW sub3/3.15
Jan 2025
-
The sub 3.30 marathon thread
Jan 2025
-
Sub 3Hr Marathon
Jan 2025
-
Sub-4hr marathon support and celebration thread
Dec 2024
-
Sub 2:30 Marathon
Oct 2024
-
The sub 2.45 marathon thread
May 2024
-
The sub 3.45 Marathon Thread
Oct 2023
-
The sub-5 hour marathon thread
Apr 2022
-
5:43 Marathon to Sub 5hrs
Dec 2018
-
Sub 3.05 Marathon Plan / Advise - Help please
Aug 2016