One trait common amongst many runners is the need to qualify a time they have recorded at an event with an explanation behind that time, particularly if things have not gone entirely to plan. If you take a few minutes to browse through activities on Strava, you’ll find so many runners doing this, either in brackets during the activity title, or in a bit more detail within the activity description. It’s as though they are placing an asterisk against the time – please don’t judge me on the time without reading the context behind that time.
I am just as guilty of this as anyone else, perhaps even moreso. These blogs often serve as extended explanations about why I recorded the time I recorded. If I was to actually place asterisks next to my Marathon times this year, I’d probably only leave the Liverbird New Year’s Day Marathon and the Yorkshire Marathon as times requiring no further information, as in both instances the time was a fair reflection of both my preparations and how I ran on the day. In every other case, I’d probably add an asterisk to my time.
Darwin Day Marathon – 4:26:03* (*Missed the timing strip once leading to an extra lap. Ran 44.5km in total and was demoralised by the prospect of having to run an extra lap to achieve an official result)
Dorney Lake Marathon – 4:18:30* (*Gale force winds which blew as a headwind for a 1km stretch of each of the 8 laps)
Greater Manchester Marathon – 4:27:10* (*Fell and cut my knee, had to wait at First Aid station for 8 minutes to get it cleaned and bandaged)
Roche Abbey Marathon – 4:45:25* (*Trail Marathon, stopped during final lap to take ‘Grim Shower’ under a waterfall)
Dartford Midnight Marathon – 4:46:47* (*7pm start, body felt like it was shutting down at around 10pm and found it very hard to take on food and drink after that)
Hallow 12 Parish Challenge Marathon – 6:54:45* (*Trail Marathon with limited signage on the course. 712m of elevation and ended up running 45.9km)
Birmingham Canal Canter – 5:55:22* (*Missed a 7km loop entirely, ended up walking around the car park on my own to make up the additional distance required)
New Forest Marathon – 5:04:25* (*Struggled with heat stroke and/or dehydration during the final 10km)
The question that could and perhaps should be asked is why runners like me feel the need to explain their time? Whilst it is a trait I’d prefer to get away from, there are times when I feel like it is justified. The wind conditions at the Dorney Lake Marathon for example was a factor completely beyond my control. A few gusts is one thing, but when you’re running into a headwind which was actually strong enough to knock over a portaloo, then that is going to have a significant impact on your time. Not only was the resistance from the wind costing me as much as 45 seconds per kilometre during the headwind stretch, but I was also using up a lot of extra energy to do that. My time therefore wasn’t a fair reflection of either my preparation for the event or how I ran the event.
However, some of factors listed above did not have a significant impact on my time, whilst others were factors within my control, so adding the asterisk does feel like making excuses. For the Roche Abbey Marathon for example, nobody forced me to take a shower under the waterfall and had I been in the least bit concerned about my time, I wouldn’t have done so. I stopped because my goals were to finish and have fun, and taking the shower looked like fun…and it was! The Dartford Midnight Marathon was another example of this habit of looking for an excuse. Yes, the start time was a challenge, but these were issues which I should have anticipated and adjusted my strategy around. It’s nobody’s fault but my own that I didn’t do that, though at least I should be better prepared if I ever attempt another night Marathon.
It’s a habit I want to get away from. Here’s hoping that when I write about the Phoenix Remembrance Sunday Marathon, I just write about my experience at the event and don’t feel the need to write an explanation for my time instead.
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