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Miles Cudmore reports:
Veni Vidi Vici - Rome Marathon, 13th
March 2005
On Friday 11th March, “Team Rome” gathered in Hotel
Leonardo near the Colisseum. I trained with Connor, Patrick and Mark
(from the Esporta Club near the Lookout at Bracknell), and we agreed
on the “Italian Job” last October. In addition to the normal Windle
Valley Sunday Windsor Park loops, we did many of our long runs round
Bracknell Forest. This was painful at first due to the uneven ground
and hills, but it built strength and I am sure the softer surface
helped keep us injury free.
Saturday 12th
and time for a short warm up jog to shake off the flight …. what
better route than a gentle 3 mile loop around Circus Maximus in
cooling gentle rain ?? |
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Sunday 13th. Marathon day. Dry, overcast and 13 C.
Perfect. Connor and I had agreed to run together with the aim of
securing his first sub 3:30 marathon, and the starting officials
kindly let him through to my starting pen near the front. One minute
early, we were off. And what sights!! From the Colisseum, we headed
past the massive edifices of Plazza Venezia, and then along the river
Tiber … before coming to a screeching halt to let an ambulance go by.
After crossing the river, we passed the massive Basilica of St Peters
and the Vatican (the Pope was still in hospital and so could not give
us an encouraging wave) before meandering north by the river. By Km
10, our steady 4:35 min / km pace (5 sec faster than plan) still felt
very comfortable.
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At half way in 1:37:30, Connor went through a minor rough patch,
but was happy to keep the pace knowing from the confidence gained
in training that it was a passing blip. After losing 10 sec at the
first food station, we developed a routine – he went for a bottle
of water and I scooped up bananas. Much faster and easier !! By
km 25 we were back into the historic heart of town, whooping away
through plaza Navona and Plaza de Popolo, feeling great, gradually
increasing pace and passing people despite the narrow, cobbled
streets. But after 4:24 min for km 29 and a rising heart rate,
sense prevailed and we throttled back and avoided the temptation
to close the 100m between us and the 3:15 pace balloons. After
20 miles in 2hr 28 min, we came back through Plaza Venezia, with
the cobbles, slight hill and dips in the road now being
unwelcome. But maybe better than the awful joke I had been
building Connor up for all race (why do skeletons not run
marathons … because they have no guts ….). |
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The race ended with a long out and back loop
before returning to the Colisseum. This we thoroughly enjoyed,
with the strength gained from the Bracknell Forest paying
dividends and allowing us to soak up the atmosphere. We sprinted
in zig zags to the line with arms extended playing “aeroplanes”
with huge grins – luckily no-one was behind trying to get by ….
Our time of 3:17:29 was way better than
expectations. Patrick also had a PB in 3:44:30, and Mark (in his
first marathon) came in just under 4 hrs. A real case of Veni
Vidi Vici for all !!!
Sarah and I stayed a few more days to enjoy the
sights, and on Wednesday before leaving I had a wonderful recovery
run, looping round Circus Maximus seven times (the distance used
by racing chariots in Roman times) as the sun edged over the Forum
with pink skies. Rome is a fantastic marathon – amazing sights,
10,000 runners, great organisation …. strongly recommended.
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