42.11k
Start 12.00
I'll admit to initially not being too enthusiastic about the 4 x 10k (+ 2 x 1k) circuit set up of this marathon. But it was the only one in Drenthe I could find so decided to enter it anyway. Turned out it was one of the most enjoyable marathons I've done. Despite it being a smallish race (only 11 woman and 36 men finished the full marathon, though I think they said that there were 56 starters) it was never a long lonely plod to the end due to clever staggering of start times of the different shorter distances. The whole afternoon was a continuing circus of passing fast runners.
First of all there was the start, where I was up close to the trio of superfast Kenians who were there for the prize money. They lapped me several times on their way to their 2:15 goal time. Fantastic to see these unbelievably fast runners go by. Then there was the half marathon which started a half hour after the full one so after a while the faster runners from that distance started to pass. By the time I got to my last circuit I thought I'd be on my own, but no, the 4 mijl and 10k participants kept me company for that bit.
Some might think it would be depressing to be overtaken by so many people the whole way but I really enjoyed having the chance to see so many different fast runners up close. Very different from plodding along at the back of the pack with the other slower runners on a big city marathon. And I did actually overtake 2 people myself on the first circuit, so wasn't the last marathon runner home. (Not that that's so bad, but it is nice to have a tiny bit of a race element as well.)
I ran easily, no breathing problems like I had in Den Haag and Amsterdam in recent shorter races. So the new asthma drugs really have proven themselves now. (That and my training then, I don't want to give them all the credit...) During the last circuit my legs/feet started to have the temporary dead feeling that I had in Marrakech but I was able to just ignore it and keep going and it went away. (My theory is that it's the body telling you it wants to stop but if you don't it gives up and just lets you keep running to the end.)
I had 4 gels with me and a handfull of dried apricots and dextrose tablets. There was plenty of water and bananas and oranges on offer at the 4 aid stations. Made the mistake of pouring too much water over my head near the start, when it was very muggy and warm and I thought it was a good idea to wet my cap for cooling purposes. My hair was dripping down my back and my shorts got a bit wet too and, as it soon became cooler and showery I ran most of the distance with a damp bum, which means chafing. Nothing too drastic but I should have remembered after Beemster that it's advisable to apply Vaseline there beforehand. Ah well, another lesson learnt. No bra chafing at all this time so at least I got that bit right.
All in all a really enjoyable day. I'd camped in the van the night before in a perfect place a few hundred yards from the start. Collecting my number in the morning was all easily arranged. The whole town was in party mood, despite the threatening thunder clouds and ever time we came through the main streets there was music and cheering and general enthusiastic crowd support. Really well arranged event with all the overlapping distances to keep the marathon runners amused along the way.
Start 12.00
I'll admit to initially not being too enthusiastic about the 4 x 10k (+ 2 x 1k) circuit set up of this marathon. But it was the only one in Drenthe I could find so decided to enter it anyway. Turned out it was one of the most enjoyable marathons I've done. Despite it being a smallish race (only 11 woman and 36 men finished the full marathon, though I think they said that there were 56 starters) it was never a long lonely plod to the end due to clever staggering of start times of the different shorter distances. The whole afternoon was a continuing circus of passing fast runners.
First of all there was the start, where I was up close to the trio of superfast Kenians who were there for the prize money. They lapped me several times on their way to their 2:15 goal time. Fantastic to see these unbelievably fast runners go by. Then there was the half marathon which started a half hour after the full one so after a while the faster runners from that distance started to pass. By the time I got to my last circuit I thought I'd be on my own, but no, the 4 mijl and 10k participants kept me company for that bit.
Some might think it would be depressing to be overtaken by so many people the whole way but I really enjoyed having the chance to see so many different fast runners up close. Very different from plodding along at the back of the pack with the other slower runners on a big city marathon. And I did actually overtake 2 people myself on the first circuit, so wasn't the last marathon runner home. (Not that that's so bad, but it is nice to have a tiny bit of a race element as well.)
I ran easily, no breathing problems like I had in Den Haag and Amsterdam in recent shorter races. So the new asthma drugs really have proven themselves now. (That and my training then, I don't want to give them all the credit...) During the last circuit my legs/feet started to have the temporary dead feeling that I had in Marrakech but I was able to just ignore it and keep going and it went away. (My theory is that it's the body telling you it wants to stop but if you don't it gives up and just lets you keep running to the end.)
I had 4 gels with me and a handfull of dried apricots and dextrose tablets. There was plenty of water and bananas and oranges on offer at the 4 aid stations. Made the mistake of pouring too much water over my head near the start, when it was very muggy and warm and I thought it was a good idea to wet my cap for cooling purposes. My hair was dripping down my back and my shorts got a bit wet too and, as it soon became cooler and showery I ran most of the distance with a damp bum, which means chafing. Nothing too drastic but I should have remembered after Beemster that it's advisable to apply Vaseline there beforehand. Ah well, another lesson learnt. No bra chafing at all this time so at least I got that bit right. 
All in all a really enjoyable day. I'd camped in the van the night before in a perfect place a few hundred yards from the start. Collecting my number in the morning was all easily arranged. The whole town was in party mood, despite the threatening thunder clouds and ever time we came through the main streets there was music and cheering and general enthusiastic crowd support. Really well arranged event with all the overlapping distances to keep the marathon runners amused along the way.
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