May 18th 2025 Riga, Latvia Marathon

42km Run - Temperature 10oC 

Finish Time: 03:13:05   10k split: 00:44:41   Half marathon: 01:34:53   30k split: 02:16:01

MV60 Age Group 2nd  Overall 306th

Riga was never about chasing a PB — it was about closing the gap. After Tokyo, I’d set myself a clear progression: take five minutes off in Riga, then another five in Berlin this September to get under 3:10. This race was a stepping stone, and I’m pleased to say I’m right on track.

Riga came onto the radar thanks to a recommendation from a friend I met during the 777 challenge back in November. A few others from that event were heading there too, and it sounded like a fast course, well-timed for where I was in my training block.Training had gone well. I added more speed work while keeping the volume steady and, crucially, stayed injury-free. A sub-90 half marathon in early April gave me real confidence — it proved the pace was in the legs. My plan was to hold around 4:30/km to halfway and reassess from there. We all start with a plan until we get to 30km !

We arrived in Riga and stayed in the old town — compact and easy to navigate. Unfortunately, it rained most of the time, so there wasn’t much sightseeing. Still, the logistics were smooth and the race organisation was spot on. We met up with the 777 gang and swapped running stories and memories of our event last year, great to catch up in a less frantic setting.

Race morning was a little unusual. We arrived at the start area around 06:15 for a 07:05 gun — and it was completely deserted. Most major marathons are buzzing by then. So, we grabbed a coffee and came back at 06:45, just as the buzz finally started building although everybody was trying to stay out the rain until gun time.

The race itself started in the rain. It was cold and windy, especially on the bridges, but the flat course made up for it. In the first mile we hit a huge puddle and there was no way around it so we plashed through and all had soaked feet – not a fan of running with water sloshing in my shoes. I had been a way back on the start line so spent the first 5km catching up with the 03:15 pacer group, unfortunately there was no 03:10 pacer but by the time I caught up I was about a minute and half ahead of them on the gun time. 

When the headwinds kicked in, I tucked into the 3:15 pacer group to conserve energy — it wasn’t worth battling alone. I knew I could sit in with this group and make my target time but they were ahead of pace themselves so we hit the halfway mark in 1:34. By 30K though, I was starting to feel it. The group had slowed to the right pace and I’d fallen behind my original pace, and sub-3:10 was slipping away. But I stuck with the group and focused on staying on their heels.

With 2K to go, I found a final gear and pushed ahead for a clear run into the finish. Nutrition was bang on: 40mg gels every 30 minutes, 1g salt each hour, water only at the aid stations. That made a big difference in the final stretch.

Crossed the line in 03:13:05, 2nd in my age group. Chuffed.

Riga had a small city feel, and despite the weather, they had bands playing out on the course. Support was sparse early on but picked up once the rain eased. It may not have had the electric energy of Tokyo, but it was a solid, enjoyable event — and a valuable checkpoint in the journey toward Berlin.

Next stop: Berlin Marathon on 21st September. Sub-3:10 in sight.

March 2nd 2025 Tokyo Marathon

 42km Run - Temperature 15oC 

Finish Time: 03:17:49   10k split: 00:48:15   Half marathon: 01:39:17   30k split: 02:20:29

MV60 Age Group 67th  Overall 4113rd

 

2024 was all about recovery from my brain injury and getting my health back. That culminated in the 777 event and the resulting confidence that whilst I wasn’t back to my old self, I could still push the boundaries of my physical possibilities and come back stronger. Reflecting now, there is no doubt my physical capacity is somewhat diminished, and I will not make a full recovery but the place I am in now allows me to still enjoy exploring what I can physically achieve. Inevitably there is a transition from what I could do to what I might be able to do given my injury and my age. I am not certain which is the bigger limiting factor but for now I will ignore both in terms of goal setting. 

 

After 777 I waited a few weeks to recover then did a marathon in Peterborough just to see what my legs had in them in a normal state of fatigue. That was about 5 weeks post 777 and I cantered around in 03:26 and felt like a normal aerobic workout. This allowed me to think about some new goals for 2025 and beyond. I still was pretty unstable on the bike, and I never had a love for swimming so if my body would hold out, then I could return to my first love, running. Back in 1999 I discovered the joy of the simplicity of heading out the door and running and its therapeutic value. The challenge took over and so the opportunity of just running went on the back burner as I pursued my triathlon goals. 

 

I recognise that running punishes the body and so at any moment I am one step away from injury but whilst I can, I am all in. I love the element I travel that goes hand in hand with competing, so the Abbott series of races provided the perfect set up for travel to places we were keen to experience and a goal simple enough to be doable in my current short-term horizon. I had done London and New York more than once so just Tokyo, Berlin, Chicago and Boston to tick off. Given I had done 7 in 7 days this doesn’t feel like too much of a stretch. There might be Sydney and couple of others to pick up but that doesn’t feel too much of a chore.  So, the goals are to tick off Tokyo (tick) Berlin and Chicago this year and qualify for Boston in 2026. For male 60+ the entry criteria is sub 3:50 but slots are awarded on the basis of fastest first and so by my reckoning sub 3:20 should be good enough. There is just one other event for 2026 I am secretly (well not now I guess) aiming at and that’s the age group marathon world champs which has a qualification criterion of sub 03:10

 

I lined up for Tokyo with a goal of sub 03:20 as a nice progression on 03:26 and a building block for my season’s goal of sub 03:10 at Berlin or Chicago. We arrived a week before the race and really enjoyed seeing the city and settling into the time zone. By the time the race morning came around my Aura ring was giving me top marks for sleep and recovery, all set.

 

We arrived at the start in good time and went through the motions of Starbucks coffee, bag drop and then proceeded to the start pen, arriving there 40 minutes before go time. I went straight to the Portaloo line, which was over 100 deep, the only poor element of the event planning. By the time I was lining up to race in the sub 03:20 corral it was only 10 minutes to go time. The gun sounded, the fireworks lit up the sky then the crowd started to surge to the start line, breaking into a trot and then finally starting to run as we crossed the timing mats. It was chaotic as we weaved through the masses of runners who had seeded themselves much higher than their ability, very frustrating with an element of danger as tripping or being pushed were a real possibility.

 The first km was 04:16 so I eased up only to clock close to 04:00 for the second km. I resolved not to worry about pace at this point but to focus on finding some clear space so I could settle into a solid rhythm. The first 5km were nett downhill so the faster pace was to be expected although I was a little bit concerned as to how fast I was going. I decided to lean into the pace I was feeling relaxed at and just be sure not to feel at these early stages that I was working at the pace. I hit 10km at under 45 mins which gave me a good deal of time against my target pace of 47:30 at this point. It wasn’t plain sailing from a pace perspective as my watch told me 10.5km at the 10km course marker so I was aware that the gps in a city of skyscrapers was a bit off. Best case was my watch, and worst case was the course markers but for both I was inside my target pace.

 

By the time I reached halfway my watch told me a split of 01:33 and the 21km sign was 1:39 (gun time) and of course I didn’t know how long I had taken to cross the timing mat compared to gun time. There was voice that said maybe I would push to go under 03:10 now but even at halfway that felt a bit of a stretch. To be honest, there wasn’t a great deal to distract you from the job in hand, the route was lined with supporters but only one or two deep unlike London or New York. There were maybe two or three dance troupes and a couple of bands but that was about it, just a long road of skyscrapers and shops covered in indecipherable Japanese writing. On reflection, it was a big city marathon that lacked big city vistas to distract one from the job of putting one foot in front of the other.

 

Mary was at 30km so that kept me on it but as my legs started to tire, my original plan of pushing hard for the last 10km seemed less and less appealing. At 30km I wasn’t going under 03:10, not even 03:15 so the goal was under 03:20 and that just required a trudge to the finish line. When you know you just need to trudge, even a trudge becomes hard work. It’s hard to hurt yourself when the goal you are aiming for doesn’t require you to do so. The group of 03:20 pacers passed me at 39km but I was pretty sure they had crossed the starting mats on time, so I had a minute or two in hand. I did step up my pace for a few hundred metres to stay with them, but my sore legs got the better of my enthusiasm. I trudged across the finish line and settled for job done. Early in the race with my Garmin pace looking strong I had harboured the notion I could go much quicker but in reality I got the time I had trained for.

 

For now, I must be happy and patient, the training process had delivered the required result and now it is time to build to the next goal. Time to be patient and do the work. Onwards.