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HOW TO RUN A MARATHON

(ON YOUR BIRTHDAY!)

So, this month’s blog post isn’t entirely business related, but it is entirely me related so I think it’s relevant! 😉 Okay, okay, I’ll try to make it relevant, and we’ll go from there, okay? The closing line in my elevator pitch is usually “helping you to run your business, your way”. It’s nothing revolutionary, but it is relevance here (yes, that word again) is to do with the fact that I am second and second-most (first and foremost is taken up with motherhood, sorry, not sorry) a runner and I think it is safe to say a marathon runner 🙌🏽. So, now can we talk about running?…

 

This Isn’t My Thing, No Really It Isn’t

I’m happy to tell anyone that whilst I love to run, and that my absolute favourite distance is 13.1mi; a half marathon, running two halves back to back is most definitely not my thing. I know that if you really love something you should want to do it more than once, and I do, always, once a week even, but twice in one day? Like, without stopping you say? Now, why on Earth would I do that? 😳

 

Marathons just never appealed to me, but I wanted to do it once, and if I’m am going to run a marathon once it had to be London. I first ran London in 2011 which ended in injury and me limping across the finish line. My second time in 2023 was miserable and rainy, and as I ran virtually, I got bored and lost interest, surprisingly after 13.1 miles… This year’s London marathon was back on the course and a completely different experience, I managed to get to 15 miles before I questioned my sanity. So how on Earth did I end up halfway across the world in Chicago? Well, when a bunch of runners get together, they can talk you into ANYTHING, or should I say ANY RUN!

 

Watching others in my run club completing marathons and ultras made me want to do more (that’s how I got snared in 2023). I’d heard about the Abbott World Marathon Majors and whilst it would be fantastic, I did not think it was for me. That is until I noticed the Chicago marathon was being held on my birthday… I was sold and started planning my trip straight away. I didn’t think about the journey, I didn’t think about the training, I just told myself that Chicago was throwing a party for my birthday, and it would be rude not to attend! I kept that thought in mind all the way, I printed a vest telling everyone “It’s my birthday and I’ll run Chicago if it want to!” and even found a birthday balloon in Chicago the day before and dragged it all the way round with me. It may not be my favourite distance but was determined to make it a memorable race!

 

The Travel

The scariest thing about travelling out of the country to run is getting there on time. I was advised to arrive on the Friday, but I saw other runners arriving from a week before! I did consider moving my flights, but instead wrote out a detailed itinerary to reassure myself I could manage everything in the time I had even if my flight was late! My other concern was the environmental impact of flying ‘just to run’, but it was my birthday and therefore my present to myself, I added an extra night to my stay giving me five days in Chicago and made a holiday of it.

 

The Expo

Expos are one of my favourite things about marathons. It’s a bit of a tradition in BGDR to meet up at the Expo and enjoy it with friends. Luckily, I was one of three BGDR members running Chicago and I’d shared my plans to hit the Expo after my flight landed on Friday. I was checking in when Titi messaged to ask if I’d arrived. She’d already finished, but being the BGDR family we are she waited to me to shower, change and travel to the Expo. That really made my day, we went around getting all the photo ops in, Titi knew where to get the best goodies and we hit the Nike stand for merch. #thatishowitisdone

 

The parkrun

Visiting a new city wouldn’t be complete without doing the local parkrun. A chance meeting in Bushy Park put me in touch with a group arranging coaches for marathoners (that’s me, gush!) to the local Chicago parkruns; the closest two were around 1hr+ out of town. We met up at 06:50 on Saturday which allowed me to walk through the streets of Chicago when they were deserted and fully utilise the CTA transport system. I chose to visit Cornerstone Lakes, and we were warmly welcomed by the team there who had brought an army’s supply of bagels, cream cheese and everything else they could think of for a post run breakfast and chat. The parkrun itself was two flat laps around a picturesque lake with geese flying overhead and although their usual ~20 parkrunners grew to 130 the team took it all in stride making for a fantastic morning.

 

The Expo

Expos are one of my favourite things about marathons. It’s a bit of a tradition in BGDR to meet up at the Expo and enjoy it with friends. Luckily, I was one of three BGDR members running Chicago and I’d shared my plans to hit the Expo after my flight landed on Friday. I was checking in when Titi messaged to ask if I’d arrived. She’d already finished, but being the BGDR family we are she waited to me to shower, change and travel to the Expo. That really made my day, we went around getting all the photo ops in, Titi knew where to get the best goodies and we hit the Nike stand for merch. #thatishowitisdone

 

The parkrun

Visiting a new city wouldn’t be complete without doing the local parkrun. A chance meeting in Bushy Park put me in touch with a group arranging coaches for marathoners (that’s me, gush!) to the local Chicago parkruns; the closest two were around 1hr+ out of town. We met up at 06:50 on Saturday which allowed me to walk through the streets of Chicago when they were deserted and fully utilise the CTA transport system. I chose to visit Cornerstone Lakes, and we were warmly welcomed by the team there who had brought an army’s supply of bagels, cream cheese and everything else they could think of for a post run breakfast and chat. The parkrun itself was two flat laps around a picturesque lake with geese flying overhead and although their usual ~20 parkrunners grew to 130 the team took it all in stride making for a fantastic morning.

The Big Day!

Did I mention that marathon day was also my birthday? Well, I picked up a helium balloon the day before to wear with my birthday race day kit and headed off to a pre-race breakfast at the wonderful time of 04:45. Thankfully, I was still on BST and had been up for a while! We had to get through security before entering Grant Park and I’d noted before leaving the UK that running vests and water bladders were not permitted; I panicked for 30 seconds before checking the hydration provided on route and was pleased to see there were water stations at approx. 1 mile intervals. If you’re from the UK you might be wondering why they needed all the security, I did for a hot minute before remembering the tragedy of Boston 2013 and then I was especially grateful for it.

 

Running with a balloon that says; “It’s all about me it’s my birthday!” is likely to get you some attention and I was expecting it, but boy was I overwhelmed! The Chicagoans were amazing, fabulous, beautiful and they were in the spirit and ready to enjoy every moment. They sung happy birthday to me, they screamed happy birthday at me, they jumped up and down, they applauded, they wolf whistled. There was no fading into the background for me! I have never experienced anything like it, and it swept me away! Around the halfway mark I checked my watch, and I was going great 2:45; the time I had planned to reach halfway and I was definitely loving it! Then Chicago really hit me, supporters over here offer you sweets and oranges as you run round, past the halfway point in Chicago I was offered PROSECCO! Normally, I wouldn’t, well normally who would? But it was my birthday and what better way to celebrate than with a shot of bubbly? I nearly ran past, backtracked, and accepted a shot glass! It took about 10m to hit me (straight in the head) and all I could do was laugh! It was my birthday; I was having fun and Chicago was the most amazing marathon I have ever ran. My pacing went out the window, I stopped and enjoyed the atmosphere, I turned down the mimosas, I said no to the beer, and I kept on running!

 The Finish

Well, I did something I never thought I’d do, I crossed the finish line and was so overwhelmed by it all I cried. I don’t know if it was the balloon, the birthday vibes or the sheer joy I felt from all the well wishers along the way, but it really hit hoe how far I’ve come from never wanting to run a marathon to travelling to Chicago for a World Major.

 

The people were amazing, it’s sad to say that I always feel part of a minority when running, especially at races, but I have never seen as much representation in a race as I did in Chicago, I did not feel alone, I did not feel out of place, I felt I belonged, and I felt at home. We were so well looked on this race, the fluids; water and Gatorade, the gels, the bananas, everything was taken care of on course and at the end there was enough food and fluid to help you recover quickly and of course everyone over the age of 21 also got a beer to finish off!

 

This definitely a race that must be experience and above all will be enjoyed. The one thing I can say is no longer hate marathons…

 

Please note this article in no way intends to promote drinking and running. Future Chicago marathons should probably have DON’T DRINK AND RUN posters made…

 

 

Sheryne xx

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