Three Weeks To Go - Eating 21 Miles For Breakfast

4th October 2009

With the knee rested for over a week, I returned to Brussels feeling a bit more upbeat. I'd been chomping the painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs and wasn't feeling any pain.

With the New York Marathon just 28 days away I was acutely aware of the need to do a long run. The Long Run part of the training is very important, not only from a physical point of view but also from a mental point of view. Completing it reassures you that the massive distance involved in the marathon is achievable and also allows you to try out certain things, for example using gels, drinking water, setting the right pace and generally getting a sense of how you will feel on the day and what problems could crop up.

A few weeks ago, before encountering my injury, I'd entered the Brussels Marathon and I decided that I would start it and see how far I could get. If my knee began to hurt I would drop out, but in a best case scenario I would be able to do 21 or 22 miles, thus covering off my Long Run.

The Brussels Marathon is tiny in terms of competitor numbers, with just 2,000 runners, compared to New York's 37,000 or London's 30,000. Even Edinburgh, the other marathon I have run, had 13,000.

It's also a very fast marathon, with a 5 hour cut-off. No beginners here.

Arriving at the start, in the shadow of the Arc de Triomphe in the Park Cinquantenaire, built when Belgium celebrated 50 years of independence in 1880, it became very obvious that this was a marathon for SERIOUS RUNNERS. Nearly everyone had a gel belt and a lot of serious kit. There weren't that many women.

I suppose the reason is that the Brussels course isn't particularly pretty, the city itself isn't a major holiday destination and finally that the course is very hilly, so there's no likelihood of getting your best time. Here's the profile:












The Brussels marathon has a team of professional pace-setters who aim to set a steady pace for runners who want to reach the finish line at a certain time. There are seven sets of 2 runners, each with massive coloured balloons on their backs for a certain time, ranging from 2 hrs 59 - Pink balloon to 4hrs 3o - orange balloons.


I lined up with the Orange balloon team and was quickly introduced to John and Terry, who said there were "our grandparents" and would look after us for the run. They were both fairly old but super fit and running with them was great.

I remembered my Edinburgh marathon experience where I had been really concentrating on my time, wearing a pace band, continually checking my watch. It was quite stressful. Following a pacemaker completely removes that and allows you to focus on the race itself. I will definitely follow one in New York.


The race went well, with good weather conditions. I found myself reminded of why I love running and the sense of immense personal achievement I derive from it. Brussels is a very green city, and the route goes through the woods and out to the beautiful Africa Museum before returning to the city and ending in the Grand Place.











The city also has a lot of traffic tunnels, and this, in terms of a marathon, means a lot of running down in to the tunnel and up out of the other side. I feared for my knee entering the first one but tried to concentrate on my breathing and "running from my core." Up and down, it was fine.

Reaching the half marathon at 2 hrs 15, I took a gel - vanilla flavoured, and powered on. The knee pain kicked in. I took 2 paracetamol.












Stopping after 21 miles was tough. Part of me really wanted to carry on to the finish but I was in a lot of pain and acutely aware of how long it took me to recover from the Edinburgh marathon. My main focus is on New York and being able to get round the course and enjoying it. So I stopped and walked the remaining 5 miles. Almost everyone passed me and a policeman drove past, closing the course.

Handing my chip in at the Grand Place I felt great. The New York marathon is in my sights and all feelings of letting myself or my running buddy down were gone.

Link to my official marathon time, here

Time for 21.02 miles: 3 hrs 36 mins
Average Pace: 10 mins 16 seconds/mile

Overall time for marathon: 5 hrs 9 minutes