Brussels (02.10.16)
Number 8 of 28 was a relatively last minute booking of Brussels Marathon in Belgium. Just 6 weeks after the race in Poland, I hit the hills around Bristol and managed to get in long training runs in Cornwall and Dorset.
The day after we arrived met up with Nancy Van Hoylandt from the Belgian ME Association who took us to a pasta fuelled dinner and also told me they were able to donate 250 Euros to the sponsorship total for Invest In ME's biomedical research. Amazing. We had some interesting conversations about ME in Belgium and the difficulties in getting treatment, building upon some of the info Nancy gave me in our interview prior to the trip. We also met with Gunther and Els from WUCB who told us all about the fantastic events that they put on to try to raise awareness in Belgium. It was great to meet both organisations and I'm totally behind them in everything they try to do. I had a bit of press thanks to Gunther from Het Nieuwsblad and also met a few ME patients online including Linda and Piki who I enjoyed talking to and am grateful for their efforts to contact press and translate for me.
Having picked up my race number from the Expo at the beautiful Parc Du Cinquantenaire on Saturday, I took the metro up on race day to line up as one of 1479 marathon entrants.
Start
I decided to start in the sub 4hrs pen (pretty last minute decision) and see if I could stay with the pace makers before the hills kicked in or as long as I could. The race started to cheering and chilly conditions as we left the park and headed downhill along the Belliardstraat through the EU quarter. It was tricky as usual to get out of the bunching and keep an even pace, especially when I was a bit pre-occupied checking out all the interesting/huge EU buildings but I started at a fairly steady 8.45-9 minute mile pace. There was a couple of brass bands playing within the early parts and some decent crowd support so I decided to hold off on the ipod and soak it all in. One band had an old chap belting out 'It's A Long Way To Tipperary' which made me laugh along with all the signs that the kids had made with pictures of beer and waffles followed by the km we had left to cover. Turning the corner at the awesome Palace Of Justice the route headed out of Brussels on the Louizalaan into the suburbs and those infamous hills that I'd read about. When I got to mile 5 I met two Brits who I got talking to about races we've completed and I tagged along with them as we found we're all running at a similar pace. They were warning me about the hills to come as they ran last year and I was starting to get a little concerned about what lay ahead! I got through the first 7 miles in exactly an hour, that's my normal pace and I was feeling pretty good, it had been mostly downhill so far and the beating of drums along the way and some good conversation took my mind off the running for the most part.
Middle
Up to mile 10 and I'd taken on a bit of water but given the temperature, cool wind and the over-hydrating I felt I did in the last two races I decided not to take on water from at least half of the refreshment stations. What's more I pulled away from the 4hr pacemakers and the crowds and used my two new friends to power up the first of the big hills and in decent time. The hills were long inclines rather than sharp steep climbs as in Sweden and Finland but they were draining and relentless nonetheless. Franklin Rooseveltlaan has some smart houses and reminds me of Surrey/Kent suburbia, full of embassies (Rwanda, Canada, UK), there's plenty to look at but I did my usual hill tactic of getting my head down and following the white line in the middle of the road for the climbs. At mile 12 there was a jolly old guy with a big white beard blowing what must have been a 15 foot viking horn, he was actually getting a tune out of that thing and it brought a laugh from those around me. At halfway I clocked in at 1.58 by my watch, nothing special, a fair bit slower than in training but I was saving my energy for the second half. I decided to put some tunes on and push forward on my own singing to myself to keep my mind occupied as the route headed up and down the Avenue de Tervueren, a pretty soulless dual carriageway albeit a bit more scenic (trees and bushes) than I'm used to. A few miles later we were in a park with a really nice lake and there were a few joggers and dog walkers about. Having applauded the elite runners from across the road earlier, it was clear what was in store as the race left the park for a 2 mile slow climb that had a good few walking and cursing. I was feeling good and kept on climbing, knowing that it had to level off or drop at some point.
End
Hurrah, a bit of downhill. More than a bit. I put in my fastest mile of the race at the 22 mile mark quite unbelievably and it had me buzzing. I knew there was one more set of hills to go but there was only 4.5 miles left and it was possible I might accidentally hit a PB (sub 3hrs 59) if I could hold it together and stay under 9.30 minute miles. It was a tough ask but I decided to attack the hills as best I could and semi-sprint down the hills to even out the time. The crowd support was better at this point back at the Parc Du Cinquantenaire as the route headed through the huge arch, passed the start line and back down towards the EU quarter. I had Led Zeppelin 'When The Levee Breaks' in my ears and around 30 minutes to do 3 and a bit miles. My hamstring was twinging a bit and I grabbed a bit more water. After what felt like an absolute age the route dropped down towards the Grand Place and the final mile or so. I had to stop temporarily and frantically massage my right hamstring, it was hurting a fair bit also above my ropey knee and I gave myself 20 seconds before I knew I had to get going again. I reached the Grand Place and the course headed diagonally through the square with the crowd loudly cheering, it was a real rush. Lots of Belgian flags were waving and I knew it couldn't be more than a few hundred metres to go. More lactic acid and a hamstring tweak and I had stopped at the end of the square, the finish being literally around the corner. Another runner stopped to check on me, what a fantastic thing to do. But I waved him on, I had 2 minutes left to run my best ever race and I was brutally punishing my leg to get it going. Just about sorted I was off again and headed up the red carpet to the finish line. I found a bit of speed and darted (in my own way) for the line, the clock said 4.00.14 but my watch has 2 mins less than that. It'll be tight I thought as I looked back at the scoreboard. It shows 3.58.47 -a PB by nearly a minute from my time in Dublin. I grabbed my medal, waffles and water and punched the air, totally unexpected but the hot weather training and meetups I had the day before had to be key factors. It's been an unforgettable weekend for so many reasons.
Pics
Race photos here
Gallery photos here
Videos here
Weather
Chilly, cloudy with the odd bit of sunshine and a cooling headwind for the turn back towards the city, 12C
Ratings
The day after we arrived met up with Nancy Van Hoylandt from the Belgian ME Association who took us to a pasta fuelled dinner and also told me they were able to donate 250 Euros to the sponsorship total for Invest In ME's biomedical research. Amazing. We had some interesting conversations about ME in Belgium and the difficulties in getting treatment, building upon some of the info Nancy gave me in our interview prior to the trip. We also met with Gunther and Els from WUCB who told us all about the fantastic events that they put on to try to raise awareness in Belgium. It was great to meet both organisations and I'm totally behind them in everything they try to do. I had a bit of press thanks to Gunther from Het Nieuwsblad and also met a few ME patients online including Linda and Piki who I enjoyed talking to and am grateful for their efforts to contact press and translate for me.
Having picked up my race number from the Expo at the beautiful Parc Du Cinquantenaire on Saturday, I took the metro up on race day to line up as one of 1479 marathon entrants.
Start
I decided to start in the sub 4hrs pen (pretty last minute decision) and see if I could stay with the pace makers before the hills kicked in or as long as I could. The race started to cheering and chilly conditions as we left the park and headed downhill along the Belliardstraat through the EU quarter. It was tricky as usual to get out of the bunching and keep an even pace, especially when I was a bit pre-occupied checking out all the interesting/huge EU buildings but I started at a fairly steady 8.45-9 minute mile pace. There was a couple of brass bands playing within the early parts and some decent crowd support so I decided to hold off on the ipod and soak it all in. One band had an old chap belting out 'It's A Long Way To Tipperary' which made me laugh along with all the signs that the kids had made with pictures of beer and waffles followed by the km we had left to cover. Turning the corner at the awesome Palace Of Justice the route headed out of Brussels on the Louizalaan into the suburbs and those infamous hills that I'd read about. When I got to mile 5 I met two Brits who I got talking to about races we've completed and I tagged along with them as we found we're all running at a similar pace. They were warning me about the hills to come as they ran last year and I was starting to get a little concerned about what lay ahead! I got through the first 7 miles in exactly an hour, that's my normal pace and I was feeling pretty good, it had been mostly downhill so far and the beating of drums along the way and some good conversation took my mind off the running for the most part.
Middle
Up to mile 10 and I'd taken on a bit of water but given the temperature, cool wind and the over-hydrating I felt I did in the last two races I decided not to take on water from at least half of the refreshment stations. What's more I pulled away from the 4hr pacemakers and the crowds and used my two new friends to power up the first of the big hills and in decent time. The hills were long inclines rather than sharp steep climbs as in Sweden and Finland but they were draining and relentless nonetheless. Franklin Rooseveltlaan has some smart houses and reminds me of Surrey/Kent suburbia, full of embassies (Rwanda, Canada, UK), there's plenty to look at but I did my usual hill tactic of getting my head down and following the white line in the middle of the road for the climbs. At mile 12 there was a jolly old guy with a big white beard blowing what must have been a 15 foot viking horn, he was actually getting a tune out of that thing and it brought a laugh from those around me. At halfway I clocked in at 1.58 by my watch, nothing special, a fair bit slower than in training but I was saving my energy for the second half. I decided to put some tunes on and push forward on my own singing to myself to keep my mind occupied as the route headed up and down the Avenue de Tervueren, a pretty soulless dual carriageway albeit a bit more scenic (trees and bushes) than I'm used to. A few miles later we were in a park with a really nice lake and there were a few joggers and dog walkers about. Having applauded the elite runners from across the road earlier, it was clear what was in store as the race left the park for a 2 mile slow climb that had a good few walking and cursing. I was feeling good and kept on climbing, knowing that it had to level off or drop at some point.
End
Hurrah, a bit of downhill. More than a bit. I put in my fastest mile of the race at the 22 mile mark quite unbelievably and it had me buzzing. I knew there was one more set of hills to go but there was only 4.5 miles left and it was possible I might accidentally hit a PB (sub 3hrs 59) if I could hold it together and stay under 9.30 minute miles. It was a tough ask but I decided to attack the hills as best I could and semi-sprint down the hills to even out the time. The crowd support was better at this point back at the Parc Du Cinquantenaire as the route headed through the huge arch, passed the start line and back down towards the EU quarter. I had Led Zeppelin 'When The Levee Breaks' in my ears and around 30 minutes to do 3 and a bit miles. My hamstring was twinging a bit and I grabbed a bit more water. After what felt like an absolute age the route dropped down towards the Grand Place and the final mile or so. I had to stop temporarily and frantically massage my right hamstring, it was hurting a fair bit also above my ropey knee and I gave myself 20 seconds before I knew I had to get going again. I reached the Grand Place and the course headed diagonally through the square with the crowd loudly cheering, it was a real rush. Lots of Belgian flags were waving and I knew it couldn't be more than a few hundred metres to go. More lactic acid and a hamstring tweak and I had stopped at the end of the square, the finish being literally around the corner. Another runner stopped to check on me, what a fantastic thing to do. But I waved him on, I had 2 minutes left to run my best ever race and I was brutally punishing my leg to get it going. Just about sorted I was off again and headed up the red carpet to the finish line. I found a bit of speed and darted (in my own way) for the line, the clock said 4.00.14 but my watch has 2 mins less than that. It'll be tight I thought as I looked back at the scoreboard. It shows 3.58.47 -a PB by nearly a minute from my time in Dublin. I grabbed my medal, waffles and water and punched the air, totally unexpected but the hot weather training and meetups I had the day before had to be key factors. It's been an unforgettable weekend for so many reasons.
Pics
Race photos here
Gallery photos here
Videos here
Weather
Chilly, cloudy with the odd bit of sunshine and a cooling headwind for the turn back towards the city, 12C
Ratings
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