By: Brian Jenkins

Race Date: 6^th October, 2024

I had been looking forward to this race for some time. I had the good luck to be able to do a few races in the spring and was on a “bit of a roll”, but the niggles were stacking up. The Damflask Relay marked the point when my legs went into full-on mutiny as I hobbled to the finish line and passed-on the baton.

I had a Grade 2 tear in a calf muscle, and lesser issues in both legs.

My recovery took longer than I expected. One particular highlight was during a tentative return to running at a Parkrun tourism trip to Sewerby (with a few other Striders). I finished, but 2 different marshals asked me during the run (if that is the right word) if I was alright (finish time: 45:22 my P.W.– Parkrun Cup officials take note).

After 2 months of injury, the most significant injury had abated and the other niggles became manageable. I returned to club runs starting with a walking group and slowly made my way through the distances.

I had sufficient time to fit in a Half Marathon and a 10k before the marathon itself, which gave me the confidence to make the trip to Chester.

I arrived at Chester race course (the start line) and was impressed how easy it was to get around with manageable queues around the usual pre-race facilities.

The start line was on the race track itself, the race started, and we inched toward the start timing mat and were sent out. The rain that looked like it was going to fall (Mother Nature’s intention was shown by a few earlier showers) but in the end, held off for the whole race.

The runners of the Metric Marathon (26.2 km) were to form up and be sent out once the marathoners had vacated the area.

The race headed into the city centre, past all the touristy sights, and through the crowds of supporters, we left the city and headed off to the border.

After an out-and-back section we were then confronted by bilingual signs, a sure-fire signal that we were now in Wales (“Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau” as they say in this part of the world). The route then became decidedly less urban, and after a bit, crossed the River Dee back into England.

The route headed back to Chester, and in the last few miles went though the outskirts of the city with a few minor hills, with the last 1k following the course of the river Dee through crowds of supporters, to the finish.

Job done, bling and goodie bags were doled-out, complete with a nifty long sleeved finishers’ top.

Once we had trudged out of the finishers section, after 26.2 miles / Kms (delete as applicable) of running there wasn’t much sense of urgency, but the stop/start nature of movement in the friends and family meeting area was particularly annoying.

I then followed the disheveled crowd heading back to the race course (and the bag drop), down some steps (always welcome after a marathon)

and to the bag drop queue (which was substantial), but the presence of Striders made the challenge more manageable.

So yes, I had a few gripes (but I usually do, and I feel better for letting them out), but on the whole I enjoyed the race and would advise anybody looking for a good first road marathon (or indeed a marathon P.B.) on a varied course without too many hills and good crowd support, to seriously consider having a go.

Despite my inauspicious preparation for the race, I finished with a P.B. (only by 12 seconds, but a P.B. is a P.B) and more importantly with functioning legs. Congratulations to Katelyn McKeown who not only got a P.B., but completed her first ever sub-4 hour marathon.

The race was won by Marshall Smith (Ashford AC) in 02:16:59 and by Naomi Mitchell (Reading AC) in 02:41:12 .

Striders’ Results: