Manchester Marathon April 2023 - My 5th marathon
On Sunday 16th April 2023 I completed my 2nd marathon in Manchester and my 5th marathon overall in the space of 4 years.
We arrived in Manchester Piccadilly at 12:45pm.
Medal photos
When I ran this back in Oct 2021 I picked up a knee injury with 2 weeks to go and thought I had recovered but unfortunately it played up again on the day. This led to me walking/jogging most of the marathon which wasn't a great experience at all. So that's why I decided to go for round 2 this year and have a better experience of it.
The day before
We caught the 10:33am train from London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly. We being my wife, son and me 😊 Always lovely to have them with me even though I put them through a lot with this thing I do called running lol.
Check in for the hotel was at 2pm so with time to spare we took Sherif to Pizza Express so he could eat. I was fasting as it's Ramadan so no food for me quite yet until 8pm.
After check in we went for a walk in the City Centre. Ofcourse went into the Adidas store where I got hold of these shoe tags which I engraved with Sherif and my name for race day.
My wife and son left me a lovely message of support on the wall.
For iftar I grabbed myself a doner to eat at the hotel and was in bed by 10pm.
Race day - T-2 hours
I woke up nice and early, had a shower and got myself ready. We left the hotel at 8:15am. Had a photo with my biggest supporter ❤️
They dropped me off at Piccadilly Gardens tram station, they both gave me words of encouragment "you can do it". I joined the queue of runners waiting for the tram to Old Trafford. Always comforting to be amongst runners at this point so you know you are going the right way plus you get chatting with them. We all experience different feelings but have one common goal to cross that finish line.
The tram was packed with runners as you would expect. It was about 20mins to get to Old Trafford where we arrived at 9am. You all know Old Trafford is home to the greatest football team in the World, Manchester United. Had to squeeze that one in 😜
I didn't need bag drop so I had 30 mins to wander around and see if I could spot any familiar races. Managed to catch up with Ollie briefly then went for a warm up and some stretches.
At 9:30 Wave Blue B were called up to make their way to the start line.
I remembered this walk from last time when I had Ash and Jeremy by my side but this time it was just me.
I kept thinking my shoe laces were too tight so a couple of times I loosened them up. After the second time I got a tap on the shoulder where I was greeted by fellow AR runner, Kritt which was great. We walked together to the start line and talked with the runners around us spreading positive vibes and energy.
Race day - 10am let's go
We all wished eachother good luck and were each on our 26.2miles/42km journey to greatness. I was buzzing from the start as you can see.
I was about 200m behind the 4hr pacer so I had to catch up with them as my plan was to run with them the whole way. Once I was just behind them I was feeling good so decided to push ahead of them and make sure they don't catch up with me.
I had told my wife to cheer me on at Deansgate Castlefield just after the 4 miles mark as you get to see me twice at that point.
Pleased to say I saw them at both points. Hugs and kisses gave me a super boost. Sherif just loves to say "daddy running". Running through the City Centre was definitely my favourite part of the course. Support coming from everywhere which means a lot to us runners.
Hello there spectators 👋
I finished the first 10km strong in 00:54:59 at an average pace of 05:30min/km
Thumbs up
I see you camera
By the halfway point of 21km my time was 01:57:39 so maintaining good pace at 05:42min/km.
Flying
United United United!
By 30km my time was 02:50:53 at an average pace of 05:55min/km. I was slowing down.
At this point my lack of training started to catch up with me as I could feel it physically, specifically in my right glute and quads. My goal of a sub 4hr finish ran past me as the 4hr pacer overtook me with the chasing pack of runners. I was disappointed to start with but then recalled how awful things were here the last time and felt better instantly. I had even remembered all the parts of the course that I had walked previously and I wasn't prepared to do that again. My goal switched to just finishing what I started even if I had to slow down to get it done.
Was so lovely to see Derek, Deo and Kritt during the run. You do get that energy boost when you see a friendly face and they certainly gave me that.
Marathons are not easy and it does take its toll on you physically but I know my mental strength can push me through it when I need it to.
As I passed the final bend and had the finish line in my sight, I heard my name being called. I looked back and to my surprise I saw my beautiful wife screaming my name so I could hear her. Bless her she pretty much lost her voice doing that. I was never going to run back at this point so I just waved and powered through to the finish line.
Here is how the final 12km went.
My overall time which was my 2nd fastest marathon of the 5. Very pleased with that 😊
The day after
I decided to take my wife and son to Old Trafford. As we were approaching the Stadium, a familiar face was walking towards me. It was my friend Katrina who had also completed the marathon. Was so lovely to see her as hadn't seen her for a few years and to bump into her on a random road shows how small the World is 😊
Photos at Old Trafford
My marathon history
1- Brighton 14th April 2019 "My debut marathon"
2- Berlin 29th September 2019 "My PB marathon and 1st World Major"
3- Manchester 10th October 2021 "My worst marathon where I was injured"
4- London 2nd October 2022 "My dream marathon and 2nd World Major"
Hope you enjoyed reading this blog and as always let me know what you thought. This is all for the love of running which I love to share with you. Until next time ❤️
