Enigma Christmas Marathon Double Day One

Date: 14th Dec 2013
Distance: Marathon
Full results: http://www.enigmarunning.co.uk/files/Enigma%20Christmas%20Marathon%202013%20Day%201.pdf
Type: MT
Comments: Back to Caldecotte Lake, near Bletchley (south Milton Keynes) for the second jaunt of the week. There was a more Christmassy feeling with half of the 60 runners in various items of festive fancy dress. Grudgingly I joined in with a "Bah Humbug" hat that a friend bought for me! Saturday's weather was bright & sunny, but snippets of a brisk wind promised a slightly chilly day, which thankfully didn't get worse. We walked the half mile or so from the finish to the start, and almost immediately the Enigma Running "CEO" got us underway, whereupon we ran back to the start ready to complete another 7 laps of the lake. The tactic for the day was slightly different from Wednesday's run - knowing I had two marathons to do in two days. I opted for the run/walk approach: run a mile, walk a minute, run the rest of the mile, walk a minute, and so on. I also treated both races more like a combined "Ultra", making sure I topped up on food at the end of each 3.66 mile lap (jaffa cakes, flapjacks, sausage rolls to supplement the sports drinks & gels I'd normally use on a marathon). It was a pretty lonely race compared to Wednesday - no Graham to keep me company. But strangely enough the fact I'd just done another marathon round this course meant it was even less daunting than usual, as I'm becoming more familiar with the route each time I return. Anything under five hours would have suited me, I thought. Although I didn't want to expend too much energy and finish too quickly, knowing it would hurt all the more on the Sunday if I did. Therefore I was very pleased to get home in 4h45m, and thankful of a friend with a room at the inn for a hot bath ready to head back out to the course afterwards to cheer my friends over the line. Then back to Oxford for the HRR Christmas Curry to round the evening off!
Results:
Position
Name
Club
Gun Time
1
Jim Murray
Bideford AAC
2.55.52
9
Beth Taylor-Jones
Unaffiliated
3.40.42
39
Ulen Neale
Headington RR
4.45.42
60
Stephen Eaton
Lichfield
6.55.08
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