Yorkshire Marathon

 I ran my 2nd marathon in York and was thrilled to come away with a new personal best time of 4:44:47.

Happy with my marathon PB.

Why Yorkshire Marathon

After running my first marathon in Manchester last year, I wanted to challenge myself again to run another. I entered the London Marathon ballot, didn't get in, so had to find another marathon that checked all the boxes. 

I wanted something relatively flat, easy to get to, and in the autumn. Yorkshire Marathon met all the criteria.

Training with John

It would feel weird to recap a marathon without having written anything about the training previously, so here's a summary of training since July. 

This year I trained with my boyfriend, John, who ran the marathon with me. I was originally hesitant of running another marathon this year because this was going to be our first full summer together since we started dating, and training for a marathon limits your free time. 

When I told this to John, he secretly entered the London Marathon as well, and said he'd train with me, because he's all nice and adorable like that.

He didn't get into London either, so we both trained for the Yorkshire Marathon.

I used the exact same training schedule I used for Manchester: 4 runs a week, with normally 4-7 mile runs Tuesday and Thursdays, 3 miles Saturday, and long runs Sundays up to 20 miles.

I am very much a solo runner. I like my me time while I'm running, getting to listen to my music. So I wasn't sure how I'd find the experience of training with someone else.

Turns out, I actually liked it. We didn't do every training run together, but we did the majority of them. 

Me and John on one of our first training runs.

It ended up being nice quality time to spend together, and I think I ran a bit faster during training this year with John there. 

Equally, John didn't run so fast that I felt like I couldn't keep up. He did a good job of making me challenge my normal speed, and I helped him run at more sustainable paces for long distance.

The most telling run for how training this year felt compared with last year was our 20 mile training run.

I felt my 20 mile run in 2021 was disastrous. It was a struggle for so much of it. 

This year, I felt strong and like I could do another 10k by the end of it. So I had high expectations of slashing my marathon PB this year.

The journey

The journey down to York had some mild travel drama. There was work being done on the trainline between Edinburgh and Berwick-upon-Tweed, so we ended up having to get a rail replacement bus service for the first leg of the journey.

I've never had a first part of my train journey be by bus before, so I was getting nervous closer to the time because I had no clue where to get this bus from and couldn't find this information online.

I ended up having to message LNER on Twitter Friday to ask where to get this bus, and they said to go to Market Street, which is where one of the entrances to the train station is.

I'm so glad I did message because the only phone notification I got from LNER Saturday morning was that my train would be leaving from 'platform BUS'. Super helpful. 

When we got to the station, the departure boards said the bus was leaving from Jeffrey St. That is basically right next to Market Street, but I mention this distinction because when the bus started to leave, we ended up passing a person who must have thought the bus was leaving further up Market Street.

They tried to flag down the bus, but we didn't stop. So LNER comms are pretty crap and made a person miss their bus/train.

The bus ride felt so much longer compared with the train, but at least we were in the front row seats to admire the views. 

The Scottish coastline on the bus to Berwick.

Priority: milkshake

After checking in to our accommodation, my first priority was to go to an ice cream place to get a milkshake. 

I love milkshakes, but I normally don't have them because they are basically a meal in themselves.

The great thing about running a marathon is it's an excuse to have extra calories because you need them. I had one before Manchester Marathon, but it was after dinner and another dessert, so it felt like a bit much.

This year we went to find a daytime, pre-dinner milkshake. My pre-trip searches (and recommendation from a coworker) led me to LICC, the Luxury Ice Cream Co.

They had the most beautiful display of ice cream and even bakes (they had cookie pies!).

So tempted by pumpkin spice, but wasn't feeling it as a milkshake flavor.

Cookie pie!!

The milkshakes were gorgeous, both in looks and taste. They were also £7, which is reflective of the cost of living in the UK in 2022.

John got white chocolate smarties, and I got mint oreo chocolate chip.

The £7 shakes.

Exploring York

Milkshakes in hand, we started to walk around York.

We began by walking around some of the old city walls.

Exploring York with shake in hand.

We checked out Clifford's Tower, the keep of York Castle. As Historic Scotland members, we got in for free, which was good because it's definitely not worth the £10 entry fee for how small it is.

Clifford's Tower.

The top of the tower has some scenic views of the city, though.

It might not look like it, but it was raining when we were at the top of the tower. 

We strolled around the Shambles Market and passed by the magnificent York Minster cathedral.

John as resident cathedral poser.

We finished up with a walk around Yorkshire Museum Gardens, which has lots of ruins in it.

John as resident ruins poser.

Carbo loading

The most important part of day 1 in York was of course the pre-race carbo loading.

I had booked an Italian restaurant 5 weeks in advance, having learned my lesson last year not to leave finding a restaurant until the last week.

Dinner was a 3 course affair.

I forgot to take a pic of starters, but I had fried brie and asparagus in a tomato sauce, which was delicious.

My main was truffle mushrooms tagliatelle because when I see something with truffle, I eat it.

Pasta for me, burger for John.

And I finished things off with a chocolate fondant cake.

We love our chocolate.

I definitely didn't feel as stuffed as I did after my Manchester pre-race meal, which was for the best. But I felt full enough to be fueled for 26.2 miles.

The race

A bus, a long toilet queue and rushing to the start

John and I left our accommodation later than expected, which didn't give us much time for a pre-race experience.

We walked to York Station, where the race had handily organized for buses to take you directly to the University of York campus where the marathon started and finished.

Bus ride to the start.

Once there it was directly to a never-ending toilet queue that took 25 minutes to get through. Not a fan.

Runners gotta go.

We then had to make our way to the start line and got there with less than 10 minutes until the start.

Navigating to our pacing zone in the start line

When John and I entered the start line through the first open gate we could see, we had to walk fair bit to get to an area right for our pacing. 

It felt like it was taking forever to find our right place and the start was soon approaching. When we finally got to the sub-4:30 pacers, we stood behind them.

My goal was to get under 5 hours. Just over 4:30 felt unrealistic, but it didn't feel worth it to walk back any farther with the race about to start.

I asked John to take one of my race jumping photos of me in the crowded start line, but it became apparent this was not going to end well when someone crossed right in front of me.

My failed jumping attempt.

A little bit of town, a lot of countryside

The jump had to wait because the race started right on time.

Off we go.

York isn't exactly a big city, so the only bits of the route in the center were right at the beginning and not very long. 

Passing Monk Bar.

Running through central York.

Still, probably got the best York running experience having the incredible York Minster ringing its bells as runners passed.

York Minster, pictured the day before the race.

The rest of the run was primarily through the countryside. I didn't take any photos, but just imagine fields and sometimes livestock.

And sun. Lots of sun. I basically got the same temperature as Manchester, sunny with a high of 59F, but lucked out in that we started in the morning when it was cooler and it was a bit windy out, too.

From under 11 minute miles to under 12 minute miles

Starting just behind the 4:30 pacers probably motivated us off to a fast start. From mile 1 to 15, all our miles were under 11 minutes, averaging probably a minute faster than in training.

John seemed in good form, but it already felt tiring to me from early on, which seemed like a bad sign.

John crushing it, me trying to keep up.

However, I just kept telling ourselves to try and aim for under 11 minute miles up to mile 13. We could then reset our goal after halfway.

Once we got to 13 miles all under 11 minutes, I said, let's aim for the next 2 miles to be under 11 minutes as well. And they were.

Mile 16 was our first mile over 11 minutes, at 11:40. This is the point where we turned into the wind and were running uphill.

I then reset our targets to tell ourselves to run under 12 minute miles. John and I did together until mile 19 where I finally lost sight of him after he started to fall behind me around mile 18.

I told John before the race, at the end of the day, we will run our own races. I don't run a marathon every day and I had a time from last year I was looking to beat.

This race is mine

The last 7 miles of the race were spent on my own. Although I was wearing headphones in case it ever got to this point, I didn't feel the need to play music. I was fully concentrated on running the best race I could.

With every mile that passed, I told myself to keep up an under 12 minute pace. Not only did I keep it up, I absolutely smashed it. I was primarily running below 11:30 each mile. That 11:40 mile 16 ended up being my longest for the race.

I could feel it from around 22: this race is mine. I kept chanting that to myself in my head. 

Me knowing this race is mine.

The thought filled me with such glee and determination. I was speeding past runners who started walking, with no feeling to start walking myself. I knew I was going to slash my Manchester time by a lot. 

Only question was, could I go from aiming for under 5 hours, to aiming for under 4:45?

A hilly but victorious finish

In the last mile of the race, the route became a bit hilly. For the most part, it was an incredibly flat race. There were maybe only 1 or 2 bits prior with any sort of noticeable incline.

And then with so little to go, there was a final incline to climb. If this was any earlier in the race, I would have taken it easy, but I was so close, I just had to run as hard as I could. But the hill was not appreciated!

About to finish, not seeing the camera, looking properly exhausted.

Once over the hill, the finish line was in sight. I could see my watch getting close to 4:45. I was determined to finish under it.

And I did it. I finished with an official time of 4:44:47.

Me realizing I'm going to get under 4:45.

The finishing distance according to my watch was 26.33, so a bit over 26.2. Strava is telling me my new marathon PB is 4:43:41, slashing my Manchester 26.2 time by over 17 minutes.

John was not far behind me, finishing in 5:01:28. He ended up having a knee injury 22 miles in, but successfully walked/ran the rest of the way to the finish. 

John right after finishing.

Pretty in pink race swag

I very much loved the pink color and floral scheme for the finishers medal and shirt.

Modeling the finishers top.

The medal even has glittery outlines over the 26.2, which feels appropriately fancy for a PB medal.

Glittery 26.2.

I do like the shirt, but have to gripe that the smallest size was small and not x-small. At least it is not as huge as the shirt I got from the Lincoln 10k, which was run by the same company.

Race reflections

I'm capable of anything

I'm incredibly proud of myself after this race and feeling like I'm capable of anything I set my mind to.

Last year, I wanted to run 11 minute miles, and it turned into 11:29 average pace.

This year, I just wanted to beat 5 hours, and I ended up beating 4:45 and my average pace was 10:49 per mile.

I ran the mile run my senior year of high school in 12 minutes. I didn't run any mile at York over 11:40.

Yes, I felt stronger in training this year, but I would have never imagined my longest mile being 11:40 and am amazed at what my body can do.

Capable and amazing Lauren.

I'm also amazed at what my mind can do. I didn't even feel like I met a mental block this year. 

From 20 miles at Manchester, the run turned so emotional, and I was struggling through the last 10k. In York, I felt at my strongest mentally and physically the last 10k of the race.

I'm the proudest girlfriend with the best boyfriend

I don't think I would have achieved a time like I got this year if it weren't for training with John. As I said earlier, I was motivated to run faster training with him. 

I'm also really happy with him, and it has to be said how much feeling good makes you run better. 

Beyond my performance, I am so proud of John and what he achieved in York.

He didn't really run much before we started dating, and he hadn't run more than 10k prior to us beginning training.

I had been regularly running half marathons before I started training for my first marathon. John had mainly been running 5ks before he started his training.

I'm in awe of his ability to work his way up to long distance running in such a short time, and finish his first marathon just over 5 hours, very similar to my time in Manchester.

So I'll end on a soppy note saying I'm the proudest girlfriend with the best boyfriend who is kind, caring, motivating, and capable of amazing things, too.

A riverside selfie after our post-run meal.

Next race

I don't have anything booked at the moment, so this might have been my last race of the year. And if it is, it was a great one to end on.