Bungay Marathon

I did the Bungay Marathon yesterday. I've run this a couple of times before and have a real soft spot for it. Not sure why exactly, but it's a really charming event. Bungay is a small village in Suffolk and the route is a two-lap road course taking in more cute villages where the locals come out to cheer us along. There are some undulations (I had remembered them as significant hills but was pleased to find them relatively undemanding this time). There are some great views from the higher parts of the route and then there's a mile and a half along a track through trees towards the end.

A half marathon starts 2 hours after the full and I arrived for the start of lap 2 just as they were setting off. This meant that I was surrounded by hundreds of runners from mile 13 to 14 before the field spread again. I briefly considered walking the last hill, but I saw Mick n Phil jogging up it ahead of me and was inspired to continue at a run. [Mick Curry has done hundreds of runs including lots of half and full marathons, always pushing his son Phil in a wheelchair.] I found myself overtaking runners in both the full and the half on my second lap, even though I was running at a comfortable and relaxed pace. I finished in 4:03:22 which is actually quite quick for me.

I stayed the previous night in a lovely B&B in Earsham, a nearby village, which meant I had a pleasant 3 mile walk from there to Bungay as a warm up in th morning. I met lots of people I knew at the run, including several of the '100 Club' runners and lots of Fetchies. I got a lift back to the train station with one, a lovely chap called John, which made the journey home far quicker and more interesting (and cheaper). There was a Fetchpoint at mile 20 which was great for extra encouragement too. A Fetchpoint is a place where some Fetchies set up to cheer us on and provide food etc, but this one also had the added attraction of cowbells!