As this was starting at Lincoln you could get a seat on the bus which would transfer you from Sleaford to Lincoln, which was perfect for me as I didn't have to worry about the car.
This was a marathon that had no chip timing, so you had to time it yourself if you wanted to know how well you got on. For an end of season I was not bothered with what time I got but I just wanted to enjoy the run, the distance and of course the amount of food that I would be able to eat afterwards.
The race gets going and it wasn't long till we were heading down what is known as Steep Hill in Lincoln and the cobbles were slippery so had to be carful. It wasn't long till I was out of the city and running along the river Witham heading towards Washingbrough.
We had 5 checkpoints to pass through and we had 5 wristbands that we had to hand in at each checkpoint. At the checkpoints there was water to stay hydrated and it was also a place for family, friends or locals to gather a support and cheer us on.
The route was quite challenging and luckily we hadn't had much rain or running through the fields would have been tough. I think I chose the wrong trainers to run in. I don't like my trail running trainers that I have as I end up getting blisters all the time, so I decided to use my running trainers which probably had done over 600 miles and it didn't take long for my knee to start hurting. I thought it was just the terrain that was causing me pain, but after a few runs after the event and trying different trainers it was actually my trainers causing me problems. Now I have got myself a decent
pair of trail trainers and knee problem has gone away.
Last few miles became quite tough and I was happy to complete the race in 4 hours 11 mins. Not my fastest marathon but considering it was a trail marathon and that I had to walk some of it due to my knee I was quite happy with my time.
This was the first time I was able to use my Camelbak Ultra 10 hydration pack. I wanted to run this marathon with me carrying all my gear as next year I hope to a few more trail running events. The pack is very comfortable to wear and it has loads of storage for pretty much everything that you could possibly need for a day on the trails.
http://www.camelbak.com/en/International/Sports-Recreation/Packs/Ultra-10.aspx
It was also a good starting point for my training for London Marathon next year. Now I have no more events planned for 2015 and its time for me to have a rest and enjoy my training. Come January my training will intensify again trying to get myself in the best possible shape ready for London Marathon.
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