Royal Victoria Marathon - RunMarathon

I had some set goals for this race, my A goal was to run 3:10 to Boston Qualify, my B goal which was my realistic goal was to run between 3:25 and 3:35 and my worst case scenario was to run a 3:45. First half of the race was great, I settled into a good pace and was very comfortable holding it, I didn't waste energy chasing down people ahead of me(usually a problem I have doing running races) and I ran through the halfway mark at 1:45, right on goal pace for my realistic B goal. I still felt good although started to feel the strain a bit around the 25 km mark and then it started to absolutely pour down with rain. The next few km's were a struggle as my socks got soaked and bunched in my shoes causing the worst case of blisters that I have ever had. This ended up causing me to change my stride which was disasrous as I completely cramped up at the 30km mark and ended up having to walk/run for the next 5km's(mostly walking) to try and get my quads to release. I ended up chatting to a guy who had the same original goals as me but he was also having the same problems so we decided to finish the race together. I have to say, I don't think I would have made it as fast as I did without the company. It was nice having someone to talk to as the last few km's slowly passed behind us. Finally got to the finish and, to be honest, as happy as I was to see the finish, I have never been more dissapointed with myself at the end of a race. Even though I went in t this race undertrained I felt my goals were realistic yet I did not manage to put myself in a good enough position to achieve them. Oh well, next year maybe. On the plus side, Thanksgiving dinner that night was awesome!!!!

Train harder for more run specific efforts.

Got a plastic sheet to keep the rain off and walked around trying to keep my legs loose, grabbed some food and went home for a nice warm shower!!!


Lack of specific long run training and a surprising lack of mental effort to push myself, I just didn't have it on the day.


It was a good race and I would recommend it to anyone, the course is very manageable and the scenery is great.