ZAGREB (CROATIA, 10.10.21)
4 weeks after a pretty tough race in Hamburg I landed in Croatia for the penultimate run of the challenge. Ahead of the race, Zagreb Marathon were very kind to support me with a post on their site, Facebook and Instagram. With the amazing help of Tea Pavkovic from the Croatian ME support group, I had managed to interview and translate the stories of 2 ME sufferers in Croatia, you can read them here. I was absolutely delighted to meet Tea and Ivan before the race and with their help sharing the challenge (Ivan mentioned me on Croatian TV!) we managed to raise £1300 for the run which was absolutely fantastic, taking the total to £33.5K.
I flew out solo for this one and got ludicrously lost following Google Maps to the hotel, arriving at around 8pm with the race starting at 9.30am the next morning. Luckily I was able to get to race number pick-up at 6.30am and then make the most of a pretty outstanding breakfast buffet at the hotel. It was pretty cold (7c) when I started the 15 minute walk up to Ban Jelacic Square where there was a relatively sparse crowd around the start line. I met Tea, her partner Andre and Ivan there and chatted for a bit before they waved me off and I tried to focus my mind towards the back of the starting pens.
Start
My teeth were chattering as the runners began the slow 100 metre jog to the start. It was overcast and very chilly which I was delighted about (my favourite running weather) as I crossed the line and tried to find some space. Surprisingly it took about half a mile for the field to spread as the narrow streets and mix of Half and Full marathon runners were jumbled together. I had to keep an eye out for tram tracks down Vlaska Street and through to Maksimir Park which looked quite pretty in it's autumnal colours. We passed an old lady on the balcony of her house waving a big national flag who caught a glimpse of my Croatia shirt and pointed at me smiling. As the course headed out of the centre, I could see that on the the right-hand side was Dynamo Zagreb's stadium and I could peer in a bit to see the seats which was cool. I was in a decent rhythm at this point running at around 8.30 min miles trying to stay disciplined and loose with Rolling Stones as my soundtrack for the first half of the race.
There wasn't a water station for a good 3-4 miles or so which was fine. I was pretty relieved to see it was bottles of water with caps on, ideal for me and my overheating issues but not great for the environment however few runners there were. A left turn in the course onto Svetosimunska Road was a nice change from the urban high-rise of the centre and there was an open field tracking a straight road with speed bumps. It looked like there were mostly stingy nettles in there but it was a welcome sight anyway with Zagreb University on the left hand side and the road passing over a small ditch. Then the road turned a little with the hospital on the right hand side complete with heli-pad on the grass. After a slight incline we were back in a built up suburban area before turning back to circle around the hospital and back to the main stretch back into town. I was feeling warmed up at this point apart from my fingers which were stinging a bit from the cold but I was happy enough with a steady sub 4hr pace and I was stretching my lead over the pacer.
Middle
Back past the football stadium and it started to drizzle a bit which was great and I was starting to feel at home in the race. I knew that mentally it was going to be tough doing a 2 lap marathon but I'd done a 4 lap marathon the first time I ran Sofia and weirdly enjoyed the reassuring monotony of it. I was making the water last pretty well from one station to the next although running with it in my hand had started to stiffen up my arm a bit. Approaching the end of lap 1 and there was some decent support along the big high street and junction where the Half runners finish and the marathon runners go round again. Some of the half runners were breaking into a sprint to end and passed me as I veered off taking the right-hand lane. I checked my watch and it showed 12.9 miles which was worrying. I didn't want to fight hard for a PB only to find that Garmin's satellites or inaccurate measuring of the course could take it away. I decided that if at the last few hundred metres of the race, it could be short, I would zigzag run and weave to add on the required distance -that could have been amusing!
At this point I could only see 2 runners in front of me and 1 behind and for the next few miles we spent a lot of time passing each other and then being passed by each other. Mile 16 past the stingy nestles and I couldn't fight the urge any longer, I needed to find a tree and offload some fluids. I had a sneaky feeling this 2-3 mins could cost me later but it did help me to re-focus at a point when I was struggling a bit. My average mile had dropped into the 9.30's and I needed to have a bit of a word with myself before I wrecked my race. It had turned from drizzle to pretty solid rain and my shirt felt pretty heavy but I kept telling myself that I had less than 10 miles left to run this year and that got me going. Back past the hospital again and around the corner there was a DJ stand and a guy trying his best, the only entertainment on the course but that wasn't that surprising in Covid times. Another water station and I decided to walk through this one and change up my playlist and put down some energy gels.
End
Past the football stadium yet again and all of it's windows and I'd hit the 20 mile mark. It was now lunchtime and I was pretty hungry! There were a few people under electric heaters eating burgers under canopies along some of the streets and I couldn't wait to be one of them. The course was running pretty close to my hotel and it was tempting to run in and get some food but I was doing OK, still a couple of minutes ahead of my PB and not in too much trouble. There were a handful of kids with signs trying to high-five the runners, I didn't want to potentially pass on illness so I left them to it which was a bit sad. 3 miles to go and I was trying to occupy my mind with the maths of trying to figure out how I would finish if I kept going at 9.30 pace. When the route passed Lidl I started to get a twinge in my left hip and had to stop to give it a quick rub before getting going again. We were back in the shopping districts and I knew there was the only real incline of the race left at mile 25, though I thought surely the route won't be exactly the same on the second lap as that bit would be pretty brutal. Sure enough we had the long climb up St. Ivana Kukuljevica and it felt like a real killer. I was losing time and now very unlikely to hit PB even if the course was generous and not too much beyond 26.2 miles. No worries I thought and I quickly reset to try to beat 4 hrs.
As I turned around the traffic cone at the top I knew I could pick up some time picking up pace down the hill. The 4 hr pacer was climbing the hill as I was running past it and couldn't be more than 2 minutes behind. Just a mile left and Aha's 'The Sun Only Shines On TV' playing I was starting to really look forward to finishing. There were a few more people out cheering and what seemed like an incredibly long street back to Ban Jelacic Square. I had 3 minutes left to get finished and I couldn't see the end so I tried to get my head down and follow the tram tracks without tripping up too much. Finally I could see the arch and the clock ticking and threw everything at it that I could getting over the line. I grabbed the medal and as there was no water or goodie bag, walked straight off the course and headed for the hotel. I didn't want to hang about as I was shivering a lot and knew I'd cramp up if I sat down so I headed back, showered got into bed fully clothed for 30 mins to warm up! Bittersweet feeling getting over the line, delighted to go sub 4 hrs for the first time in 4 years (16 marathons) but knowing that there was only 1 race left to go.
Pics
Found 3 pics after trawling through the 3500 that the marathon put on their Facebook account. It wasn't possible to download them so I had to screenshot, crop and save -they were free though. Trip pics here.
Weather
A rare frosty 7c start rising to 10c and for the last 2 hours steady rain. Only the 2nd of 26 races where I've had rain!
Ratings
I flew out solo for this one and got ludicrously lost following Google Maps to the hotel, arriving at around 8pm with the race starting at 9.30am the next morning. Luckily I was able to get to race number pick-up at 6.30am and then make the most of a pretty outstanding breakfast buffet at the hotel. It was pretty cold (7c) when I started the 15 minute walk up to Ban Jelacic Square where there was a relatively sparse crowd around the start line. I met Tea, her partner Andre and Ivan there and chatted for a bit before they waved me off and I tried to focus my mind towards the back of the starting pens.
Start
My teeth were chattering as the runners began the slow 100 metre jog to the start. It was overcast and very chilly which I was delighted about (my favourite running weather) as I crossed the line and tried to find some space. Surprisingly it took about half a mile for the field to spread as the narrow streets and mix of Half and Full marathon runners were jumbled together. I had to keep an eye out for tram tracks down Vlaska Street and through to Maksimir Park which looked quite pretty in it's autumnal colours. We passed an old lady on the balcony of her house waving a big national flag who caught a glimpse of my Croatia shirt and pointed at me smiling. As the course headed out of the centre, I could see that on the the right-hand side was Dynamo Zagreb's stadium and I could peer in a bit to see the seats which was cool. I was in a decent rhythm at this point running at around 8.30 min miles trying to stay disciplined and loose with Rolling Stones as my soundtrack for the first half of the race.
There wasn't a water station for a good 3-4 miles or so which was fine. I was pretty relieved to see it was bottles of water with caps on, ideal for me and my overheating issues but not great for the environment however few runners there were. A left turn in the course onto Svetosimunska Road was a nice change from the urban high-rise of the centre and there was an open field tracking a straight road with speed bumps. It looked like there were mostly stingy nettles in there but it was a welcome sight anyway with Zagreb University on the left hand side and the road passing over a small ditch. Then the road turned a little with the hospital on the right hand side complete with heli-pad on the grass. After a slight incline we were back in a built up suburban area before turning back to circle around the hospital and back to the main stretch back into town. I was feeling warmed up at this point apart from my fingers which were stinging a bit from the cold but I was happy enough with a steady sub 4hr pace and I was stretching my lead over the pacer.
Middle
Back past the football stadium and it started to drizzle a bit which was great and I was starting to feel at home in the race. I knew that mentally it was going to be tough doing a 2 lap marathon but I'd done a 4 lap marathon the first time I ran Sofia and weirdly enjoyed the reassuring monotony of it. I was making the water last pretty well from one station to the next although running with it in my hand had started to stiffen up my arm a bit. Approaching the end of lap 1 and there was some decent support along the big high street and junction where the Half runners finish and the marathon runners go round again. Some of the half runners were breaking into a sprint to end and passed me as I veered off taking the right-hand lane. I checked my watch and it showed 12.9 miles which was worrying. I didn't want to fight hard for a PB only to find that Garmin's satellites or inaccurate measuring of the course could take it away. I decided that if at the last few hundred metres of the race, it could be short, I would zigzag run and weave to add on the required distance -that could have been amusing!
At this point I could only see 2 runners in front of me and 1 behind and for the next few miles we spent a lot of time passing each other and then being passed by each other. Mile 16 past the stingy nestles and I couldn't fight the urge any longer, I needed to find a tree and offload some fluids. I had a sneaky feeling this 2-3 mins could cost me later but it did help me to re-focus at a point when I was struggling a bit. My average mile had dropped into the 9.30's and I needed to have a bit of a word with myself before I wrecked my race. It had turned from drizzle to pretty solid rain and my shirt felt pretty heavy but I kept telling myself that I had less than 10 miles left to run this year and that got me going. Back past the hospital again and around the corner there was a DJ stand and a guy trying his best, the only entertainment on the course but that wasn't that surprising in Covid times. Another water station and I decided to walk through this one and change up my playlist and put down some energy gels.
End
Past the football stadium yet again and all of it's windows and I'd hit the 20 mile mark. It was now lunchtime and I was pretty hungry! There were a few people under electric heaters eating burgers under canopies along some of the streets and I couldn't wait to be one of them. The course was running pretty close to my hotel and it was tempting to run in and get some food but I was doing OK, still a couple of minutes ahead of my PB and not in too much trouble. There were a handful of kids with signs trying to high-five the runners, I didn't want to potentially pass on illness so I left them to it which was a bit sad. 3 miles to go and I was trying to occupy my mind with the maths of trying to figure out how I would finish if I kept going at 9.30 pace. When the route passed Lidl I started to get a twinge in my left hip and had to stop to give it a quick rub before getting going again. We were back in the shopping districts and I knew there was the only real incline of the race left at mile 25, though I thought surely the route won't be exactly the same on the second lap as that bit would be pretty brutal. Sure enough we had the long climb up St. Ivana Kukuljevica and it felt like a real killer. I was losing time and now very unlikely to hit PB even if the course was generous and not too much beyond 26.2 miles. No worries I thought and I quickly reset to try to beat 4 hrs.
As I turned around the traffic cone at the top I knew I could pick up some time picking up pace down the hill. The 4 hr pacer was climbing the hill as I was running past it and couldn't be more than 2 minutes behind. Just a mile left and Aha's 'The Sun Only Shines On TV' playing I was starting to really look forward to finishing. There were a few more people out cheering and what seemed like an incredibly long street back to Ban Jelacic Square. I had 3 minutes left to get finished and I couldn't see the end so I tried to get my head down and follow the tram tracks without tripping up too much. Finally I could see the arch and the clock ticking and threw everything at it that I could getting over the line. I grabbed the medal and as there was no water or goodie bag, walked straight off the course and headed for the hotel. I didn't want to hang about as I was shivering a lot and knew I'd cramp up if I sat down so I headed back, showered got into bed fully clothed for 30 mins to warm up! Bittersweet feeling getting over the line, delighted to go sub 4 hrs for the first time in 4 years (16 marathons) but knowing that there was only 1 race left to go.
Pics
Found 3 pics after trawling through the 3500 that the marathon put on their Facebook account. It wasn't possible to download them so I had to screenshot, crop and save -they were free though. Trip pics here.
Weather
A rare frosty 7c start rising to 10c and for the last 2 hours steady rain. Only the 2nd of 26 races where I've had rain!
Ratings
Course: 5/10 - 2 lap course with a good amount of old-town, some cobbles but predominantly out of town dual carriageway. Flat with a tricky incline at mile 13 and 25.
Expo: 1/10 - Nothing open on Sunday morning before the race but there were a handful of tented stalls.
Support: 4/10 - Not helped by the cold weather and rain for the second half of the race, support was thin. Just one DJ, no bands or cheer sections.
Expo: 1/10 - Nothing open on Sunday morning before the race but there were a handful of tented stalls.
Support: 4/10 - Not helped by the cold weather and rain for the second half of the race, support was thin. Just one DJ, no bands or cheer sections.
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Refreshments: 7/10 - Bottled water easy to carry and well spread across the course. Oranges, Gatorade.
Goodie Bag: 4/10 - Very nice long sleeve t-shirt, weird thick bag and a bunch of leaflets. Medal & Pics: 6/10 - Really chunky medal with striking dark blue ribbon. Free pics on Facebook. Time Completed: 3hrs 58 mins - click here for race stats (266th out of 398) |