ESTONIA (09.09.18)
Number 18 of 28 was Tallinn Marathon, Estonia on the country's 100th birthday! I'd been looking forward to this race for a while, pre-race communications were friendly and the organisers posted about my challenge on their Instagram page in support of ME research. I also secured some good press from the Blackmore Vale and Bristol Cable ahead of my trip and since the last marathon 3 months ago I managed to raise over £1700.
Sadly unable to find a patient to interview I set off for Estonia, flying out from Heathrow via Helsinki to Tallinn the day before the race. It was a little warmer than the UK at 23C and we got there in time to see the 10km race through the cobbled streets of the old town. With over 3,000 runners there was a real buzz at the expo and I fought my way through to pick up my race number and free t-shirt which was a really cool design in the countries colours. We were staying pretty near to Town Hall Square with it's stunning medieval architecture and outdoor restaurants, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Start
The race started at Freedom Square with a speech from the President of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid. It was sunny and around 17C as I went to pen 2 and got talking to some Irish runners. There was a guy who was going to juggle the whole way round, a couple of blind tethered runners to their guides and a mass of blue, black and white shirted participants following the marathon's requested 'dress code'. The race began to Underworld's 'Born Slippy' then Bon Jovi's 'Have A Nice Day' and the atmosphere was great with the streets lined with enthusiastic locals. With just 400 marathon runners, space opened up early as we headed downhill towards the 16th century-built, humorously named 'Fat Margaret's Tower' and out of the city gates. After the first couple of miles I settled into a decent rhythm of sub 8.30 min miles with one eye on beating last year's PB in Vilnius of 3 hrs 55 mins.
I ran passed cheerleaders and a DJ playing 'Enter Sandman' by Metallica; he got a thumbs up as I pushed on towards the bohemian district at Kalamaja. Here there were lots of Scandinavian looking houses with colourful pink, yellow and light blue wooded paneled fronts and corrugated roofs, inhabited historically by fisherman. It was quite warm and without much of a wind as the course headed west and out towards the coast, I was definitely sweating but with my cap on catching moisture. The first few water stations were poorly organised and it took a while to get served but after a while they got a lot better offering up cups of water and orange energy drinks. I was running OK at this point, well ahead of schedule and in a good rhythm passing more people than I was being passed by. I got through 7.3 miles in the first hour and was enjoying the relatively flat course and ever-changing views of what was a very interesting 1 lap course.
Middle
The middle part of the race took us through the suburb of Mustjoe and the fantastic Open Air Museum at Rocca Al Mare. Just like in Skansen Park in Stockholm, this was a collection of 18th century huts and a giant wooden windmill showing pre-industrial Estonian life within a small forest, it was really cool. As we lapped the park I heard sirens behind me as a police motorbike cut through the runners warning us that the elite runners were coming up behind us. They flew past, so impressive. 'Highway To The Dangerzone' was cranking out of the speakers at mile 10 and there was a good amount of cloud cover as the course now turned for 3(!) switchbacks. Kind of like when you queue at customs walking in slaloms seeing the same runners, never a great experience and fitting that the speakers were blaring out ACDC's 'Highway To Hell'. I'll be honest I didn't expect to be running by a beach in Estonia, the beaches of Stroomi and Kakumäe were pristine white sands and it was great to get a look at the Baltic Sea.
I'd managed to get to the halfway point at 1hr 53 mins or so which felt pretty good but after another mile or so I started to struggle a bit with my lower back and right foot. It had been niggling for a while but gradually a dull ache turned into a bit more pain and I could feel myself slowing down quite a lot. I turned to my Ipod to pep me up a bit and decided to walk through the next water station and try to get on a lot more fluid. I was up by 4 minutes still on the time I wanted but knew that this would soon evaporate. I decided to break the race down into water stations and that meant running for 2.5-3 miles then walking through them. There was the third switch-back of the course along the long road of Paljassaare Tee and I could see runners coming back in the opposite direction that would be around 4 miles ahead of us. We ran past a marine training centre, a University, a giant meat factory and a tactical shooting academy! The path had narrowed a bit and many around me were stopping abruptly to walk which became a bit of a nuisance but I weaved my way through.
End
As I hit 20 miles in just over 3 hours I knew it would be my fastest race of the year but as the 4 hour pacer passed me it wouldn't be a PB today. I was a bit disappointed but the primary goal was to finish and get back to the hotel before the 2pm late check out, if I didn't get it done inside 4 hrs 30 minutes then I'd have to pay 80 Euros just to use the shower! My pace had dropped quite considerably but I was still enjoying the course as we hit a bit of downhill. The weather was pretty overcast at this point which was good news and it was a lot more pleasant to run than the last 3 races in Malta, Austria and Denmark which were 24C, 32C and 25C respectively. I passed some more accordian players and grabbed a handful of raisins from the next water station. My hips had started to lock a bit and I had a panging pain in my lower back but my legs still felt OK and I dropped Cat a quick message that 4 hrs 15 mins was the most likely target to finish.
Running up to the city centre I could see the tower of the town hall and knew it couldn't be far away now. Suddenly there was a much bigger crowd and plenty of encouraging shouts, though I wasn't quite sure what the locals were saying (it sounded like blah blah blah!). The road turned into relatively good cobbles through the 18th century Viru Gate to the old town with it's iconic two towers and I passed Cat in the crowd with just under a mile to go. After a good few minutes climbing uphill I could see the finish area back at Freedom Square. I could see the clock and was keen to get under 4.15 so tried to speed up a little, I heard my name being announced and could see it on a screen which was cool. Over the line and grabbing the fantastic medal I was relieved to be done and walked towards the town hall. I munched on an apple pie choc ice(!) and downed the water and juice that had been handed out. That was a much better run and I'd be dedicating it to my friend Klara Wilson who died recently of cancer after suffering with M.E for a long period.
To sponsor me please visit: www.justgiving.com/mikeseumarathons
Pics
Gallery photos here
Weather
17C rising to 21C towards the end, sunny with some cloud and very little wind.
Ratings
Sadly unable to find a patient to interview I set off for Estonia, flying out from Heathrow via Helsinki to Tallinn the day before the race. It was a little warmer than the UK at 23C and we got there in time to see the 10km race through the cobbled streets of the old town. With over 3,000 runners there was a real buzz at the expo and I fought my way through to pick up my race number and free t-shirt which was a really cool design in the countries colours. We were staying pretty near to Town Hall Square with it's stunning medieval architecture and outdoor restaurants, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Start
The race started at Freedom Square with a speech from the President of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid. It was sunny and around 17C as I went to pen 2 and got talking to some Irish runners. There was a guy who was going to juggle the whole way round, a couple of blind tethered runners to their guides and a mass of blue, black and white shirted participants following the marathon's requested 'dress code'. The race began to Underworld's 'Born Slippy' then Bon Jovi's 'Have A Nice Day' and the atmosphere was great with the streets lined with enthusiastic locals. With just 400 marathon runners, space opened up early as we headed downhill towards the 16th century-built, humorously named 'Fat Margaret's Tower' and out of the city gates. After the first couple of miles I settled into a decent rhythm of sub 8.30 min miles with one eye on beating last year's PB in Vilnius of 3 hrs 55 mins.
I ran passed cheerleaders and a DJ playing 'Enter Sandman' by Metallica; he got a thumbs up as I pushed on towards the bohemian district at Kalamaja. Here there were lots of Scandinavian looking houses with colourful pink, yellow and light blue wooded paneled fronts and corrugated roofs, inhabited historically by fisherman. It was quite warm and without much of a wind as the course headed west and out towards the coast, I was definitely sweating but with my cap on catching moisture. The first few water stations were poorly organised and it took a while to get served but after a while they got a lot better offering up cups of water and orange energy drinks. I was running OK at this point, well ahead of schedule and in a good rhythm passing more people than I was being passed by. I got through 7.3 miles in the first hour and was enjoying the relatively flat course and ever-changing views of what was a very interesting 1 lap course.
Middle
The middle part of the race took us through the suburb of Mustjoe and the fantastic Open Air Museum at Rocca Al Mare. Just like in Skansen Park in Stockholm, this was a collection of 18th century huts and a giant wooden windmill showing pre-industrial Estonian life within a small forest, it was really cool. As we lapped the park I heard sirens behind me as a police motorbike cut through the runners warning us that the elite runners were coming up behind us. They flew past, so impressive. 'Highway To The Dangerzone' was cranking out of the speakers at mile 10 and there was a good amount of cloud cover as the course now turned for 3(!) switchbacks. Kind of like when you queue at customs walking in slaloms seeing the same runners, never a great experience and fitting that the speakers were blaring out ACDC's 'Highway To Hell'. I'll be honest I didn't expect to be running by a beach in Estonia, the beaches of Stroomi and Kakumäe were pristine white sands and it was great to get a look at the Baltic Sea.
I'd managed to get to the halfway point at 1hr 53 mins or so which felt pretty good but after another mile or so I started to struggle a bit with my lower back and right foot. It had been niggling for a while but gradually a dull ache turned into a bit more pain and I could feel myself slowing down quite a lot. I turned to my Ipod to pep me up a bit and decided to walk through the next water station and try to get on a lot more fluid. I was up by 4 minutes still on the time I wanted but knew that this would soon evaporate. I decided to break the race down into water stations and that meant running for 2.5-3 miles then walking through them. There was the third switch-back of the course along the long road of Paljassaare Tee and I could see runners coming back in the opposite direction that would be around 4 miles ahead of us. We ran past a marine training centre, a University, a giant meat factory and a tactical shooting academy! The path had narrowed a bit and many around me were stopping abruptly to walk which became a bit of a nuisance but I weaved my way through.
End
As I hit 20 miles in just over 3 hours I knew it would be my fastest race of the year but as the 4 hour pacer passed me it wouldn't be a PB today. I was a bit disappointed but the primary goal was to finish and get back to the hotel before the 2pm late check out, if I didn't get it done inside 4 hrs 30 minutes then I'd have to pay 80 Euros just to use the shower! My pace had dropped quite considerably but I was still enjoying the course as we hit a bit of downhill. The weather was pretty overcast at this point which was good news and it was a lot more pleasant to run than the last 3 races in Malta, Austria and Denmark which were 24C, 32C and 25C respectively. I passed some more accordian players and grabbed a handful of raisins from the next water station. My hips had started to lock a bit and I had a panging pain in my lower back but my legs still felt OK and I dropped Cat a quick message that 4 hrs 15 mins was the most likely target to finish.
Running up to the city centre I could see the tower of the town hall and knew it couldn't be far away now. Suddenly there was a much bigger crowd and plenty of encouraging shouts, though I wasn't quite sure what the locals were saying (it sounded like blah blah blah!). The road turned into relatively good cobbles through the 18th century Viru Gate to the old town with it's iconic two towers and I passed Cat in the crowd with just under a mile to go. After a good few minutes climbing uphill I could see the finish area back at Freedom Square. I could see the clock and was keen to get under 4.15 so tried to speed up a little, I heard my name being announced and could see it on a screen which was cool. Over the line and grabbing the fantastic medal I was relieved to be done and walked towards the town hall. I munched on an apple pie choc ice(!) and downed the water and juice that had been handed out. That was a much better run and I'd be dedicating it to my friend Klara Wilson who died recently of cancer after suffering with M.E for a long period.
To sponsor me please visit: www.justgiving.com/mikeseumarathons
Pics
Gallery photos here
Weather
17C rising to 21C towards the end, sunny with some cloud and very little wind.
Ratings
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