2020 London Marathon – the 40th Race

[harland]

I intend starting at first light so hopefully complete a fair bit of mileage before others venture out. Current weather forecast doesn't look too good, Thursday 1st October - 10th October:-

"An unsettled period, with plenty of showers and some occasional longer spells of rain across much of the country. Some drier and brighter spells are possible at times, which will most likely in southern and eastern areas. The heaviest and most prolonged spells of rain will be in the north and west to begin with but, with time, they are likely to become more widespread across the UK. It will be generally windy, with a risk of gales at times (potentially severe), particularly in northern and north western regions. Feeling cold through much of early October, especially where there is persistent rain and strong winds. Frost is possible at night in any calmer period, especially in northern Britain."

[Rob Goes Walking]

Do you get many casual walkers out walking up north when it's raining? Perhaps they're a tougher lot than those down south! 

Without a doubt, and nicer. Life's just better up here!

Good luck with your marathons. 

[harland]

Received the email with the way to get the app. Downloaded, went well for someone who has never downloaded an app - had to use my wife's phone as mine doesn't take apps, however it is a bit newer than the brick I used to use!

[BuzyG]

Thanks Rob. 

It's funny you should mention reducing stride length and increasing cadence for hills, because that's something I've learned only recently from taking up running and, as you say, it's quite effective. I'm not really talking about slow slogs up stony hills (although it's probably a good technique there too), but rather about maintaining a good pace on steady steepish gradients.

It's nice to talk about technique for a change...   

The short fast steps approach is definitely more efficient the steeper the hill gets. At Some point I end up walking, but maintain the short fast technique.  I think part of it is mechanical advantage. As in you bend and straighter your legs less with small height gains. The Other part is faster cadence means you can match your faster breathing to the effort.  Though for max efficiency you should be maintaining a steady breathing pattern.  I certainly don't though. I push harder up the hills and try to relax/rest going down. 


Did you get to Lydford?

[WhitstableDave]

...
Did you get to Lydford?

Indeed we did and thanks for asking! 

Short accounts of our adventures can be found here...

A week's walking on and around Dartmoor!

[Zizag]

To all members of the Forum ,running and walking  the
 London Marathon .
Hope you all have a great day out .
It's a very Special Occasion ,and will be a memorable day for you .


Especially if you are raising money for a charity .
I always found It an Honour and a privilege to help others .


'So go for It'
Do your best on the day  .  
Good luck everybody
Ps remember , Who and Why you are doing It for:


 when your tireing and hurting.........


 " No Pain No Gain "
Zizag.

[WhitstableDave]

Thank you Zizag. 

My wife will be setting off from home very early tomorrow to run the marathon.

My daughter is driving me to my starting point near Lenham on the North Downs Way for the start of my walk. If all goes well, I hope to be home by mid-afternoon.

[harland]

I finished just after 14.00 - not telling when I set off. However thankfully the weather forecast was wrong - no rain at all. However I chose the easy option of an old railway cycle path as I didn't fancy wading through the mud. Knackered, time for a sleep!

[Zizag]

I finished just after 14.00 - not telling when I set off. However thankfully the weather forecast was wrong - no rain at all. However I chose the easy option of an old railway cycle path as I didn't fancy wading through the mud. Knackered, time for a sleep!

[Zizag]

Well done .
It's an excellent achievement .
The weather was kind to you as well.
And it was a wise decision to use an old railway cycle path .
A day to remember.

[WhitstableDave]

We had a fantastic day, despite the weather. 

My wife completed her first ever marathon, having never run further than a half-marathon distance before. She loved it and can't wait to do another. I think she likes the camaraderie and the cheering, which was in abundance on her route along the seafront. I'm in awe! 

I finished my walking marathon in 6 hours 15 minutes, which I'm delighted about. The time is 5 minutes over my PB, but that was set on a level route on good surfaces in ideal conditions. Today, it rained most of the time and I wore waterproofs (including the socks!). The ground was often extremely muddy and very slippery (I had an unpleasant fall on some smooth, wet chalk). And the North Downs Way has several steep sections, which made the overall ascent about 2,200ft. Despite everything, I managed to average 4.2mph. 

(I think the next challenge has to be to do a 32 fell miles walk in one day...  )

[Zizag]

We had a fantastic day, despite the weather. 

My wife completed her first ever marathon, having never run further than a half-marathon distance before. She loved it and can't wait to do another. I think she likes the camaraderie and the cheering, which was in abundance on her route along the seafront. I'm in awe! 

I finished my walking marathon in 6 hours 15 minutes, which I'm delighted about. The time is 5 minutes over my PB, but that was set on a level route on good surfaces in ideal conditions. Today, it rained most of the time and I wore waterproofs (including the socks!). The ground was often extremely muddy and very slippery (I had an unpleasant fall on some smooth, wet chalk). And the North Downs Way has several steep sections, which made the overall ascent about 2,200ft. Despite everything, I managed to average 4.2mph. 

(I think the next challenge has to be to do a 32 fell miles walk in one day...  )

[Zizag]

Well    that was a brilliant achievement for you two ,
Your wife's super run going from half marathon to a full marathon .
That takes some doing .
You must be very proud of her 


And your marathon walk wow .
Excellent time ,I would not worry to much about been 5 minutes over your pb   .  
As you have to consider the terrain and steep ascents and conditions .
So we'll done .


Glad you had a memorable day .
Time to rest and recuperate and put your feet up .

[PatrickJ]

We had a fantastic day, despite the weather. 

My wife completed her first ever marathon, having never run further than a half-marathon distance before. She loved it and can't wait to do another. I think she likes the camaraderie and the cheering, which was in abundance on her route along the seafront. I'm in awe! 

I finished my walking marathon in 6 hours 15 minutes, which I'm delighted about. The time is 5 minutes over my PB, but that was set on a level route on good surfaces in ideal conditions. Today, it rained most of the time and I wore waterproofs (including the socks!). The ground was often extremely muddy and very slippery (I had an unpleasant fall on some smooth, wet chalk). And the North Downs Way has several steep sections, which made the overall ascent about 2,200ft. Despite everything, I managed to average 4.2mph. 

(I think the next challenge has to be to do a 32 fell miles walk in one day...  )

Congrats.. amazing achievement.


4.2 mph, that"s a quick pace over that distance in these conditions...

[BuzyG]

We had a fantastic day, despite the weather. 

My wife completed her first ever marathon, having never run further than a half-marathon distance before. She loved it and can't wait to do another. I think she likes the camaraderie and the cheering, which was in abundance on her route along the seafront. I'm in awe! 

I finished my walking marathon in 6 hours 15 minutes, which I'm delighted about. The time is 5 minutes over my PB, but that was set on a level route on good surfaces in ideal conditions. Today, it rained most of the time and I wore waterproofs (including the socks!). The ground was often extremely muddy and very slippery (I had an unpleasant fall on some smooth, wet chalk). And the North Downs Way has several steep sections, which made the overall ascent about 2,200ft. Despite everything, I managed to average 4.2mph. 

(I think the next challenge has to be to do a 32 fell miles walk in one day...  )

Really well done to you both. 4.2mph is shifting up and down those hills in poor weather.