Stockholm Marathon
30th May
2015

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Official Results

John Harbour 4.02.10


What's the most basic "schoolboy error" you can make when running a  marathon?
A. Start off too fast and collapse towards the end!

I was trying to beat my 3:45:33 pb, from London 1992. 8:35 miles would  give me 3:45, I reckoned. I decided to make it easy for myself by  following the 3:45 pacemakers.

Mile 1: 8:12. Mile 2: 8:20. A bit fast, but settling down. At 2.5 miles  I passed my family who had made a short cut from the start. They told me  later that I was with the last of about half a dozen 3:45 pacemakers,  and that a 4:00 pacemaker was in the middle of them. I knew I had a  decision to make. Slow down and start doing 8:35 miles on my watch, or  stay with the pacemakers. I decided to stay - I was feeling quite  comfortable. I checked just the occasional mile when I felt my watch
vibrate, and we seemed to be averaging 8:20 to 8:25. Mile 12 was an  8:10, which was a bit concerning.

It was cold, about 10°C, and the initial drizzle had turned into steady  rain, which by this time was beginning to make some big puddles. The  spectators were magnificent, 1000s lining the route all the way round  shouting Heya, heya! At about 17 miles I lost contact with the  pacemakers, and collapsed.

Despite this, I would still highly recommend the Stockholm marathon.  It's a pretty flat, two lap course alongside the waterways, across the  bridges, past all the main sights of Stockholm. The second lap is longer  as it starts out with a lap of the island of Djurgården - countryside in  the city. The organisation and the support was top class. You start just  outside, and finish inside, the 1912 Olympic stadium. Perfect, except  for the rain and the pacemakers.

John