Took part in my second Clarendon Way Marathon today from Winchester to Salisbury (having done the half a number of times before that). Set off far too fast but then I was also running the first leg for an IBM Hursley Runners relay team. There were two other relay teams out in front and then three of us marathon runners together. After the first changeover one of the three made a break and I went after him.
We made it through the halfway point at Broughton before the half marathon competitors started (an hour and a half after we set off). I was out in front at this point after the Pewsey Vale runner had slowed to take on fuel. The first half marathon runner went past at about eighteen miles (he later took the course record in a time of 72 minutes).
By this point I was starting to slow on the hills and, at around twenty miles, I was finally overtaken. There was no way I could keep up and, as the miles dragged on, I was starting to worry I wouldn’t make it back in under three hours as I had hoped. I eventually staggered over the finish line in 2:58:57, five minutes down on the winner but still in second place.