pickupthepacepaul

On 19 November 2023, I took part in the 6th edition of the Larnaka Marathon. I was also fortunate enough to be part of the inaugural pace team for Larnaka Marathon. My challenge of completing 26 marathons in 52 weeks for Cancer Research has extended, and Larnaka Marathon was my 30th marathon of 2023. This was my 145th marathon (plus) and my 108th time as a pacer, 46 times for the marathon distance.

It is clear that I have done a lot this year, both running marathons and travelling, and this has taken its toll on my body. I have still been feeling unwell since early September. I am going to spend some time now concentrating on recover, and taking the pressure off my body. It’s been a good year, but I need to recover to get ready for next year.

I flew to Larnaka alone as my family were unable to come with me, so again I made it a short trip, travelling Friday to Sunday. Larnaka is a fantastic location with a great strip for food and entertainment right where the race starts and finishes. I managed to book my hotel overlooking the start line, which was perfect, but there were plenty of options within walking distance.

There were plenty of friendly and familiar faces on the pace team, so it was great to catch up with them over a meal both before and after the race. On the Saturday I had a pretty free day, which started with a nice shake out run with Tony and Daniel, followed by breakfast and some chill out time where I had a walk along the beach and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine. Later, I went to race registration. It was nice to see all the pace team and collect our things before going for a meal together.

I had an early night on Saturday, going back to my hotel to rest. First, I sorted out my flatlay to make sure I was prepared for the morning. The event was sponsored by Saucony, and we were given the Elite Pro kit to wear, which was nice. I’m a little too broad for this kit to fit nicely. I wore my trusted adidas Boston 12 running shoes for their 5th Marathon outing. I think this will be their last event, although they have some more miles left for training runs.

Larnaka Marathon 2023

On race morning, the Marathon started at 07:00, and the half marathon started at 07:30. All the pacers met at 06:00, which meant it was a really early start. I didn’t sleep well, so I didn’t want to get out of bed in the morning. We all met for a quick brief and photo before going to the start.

It had been really hot for the few weeks leading up to Larnaka Marathon in the high 20s, but on Saturday, it reduced to 25, and then a thunderstorm at night cooled the air. Although it was a lovely day still, there was some wind and cloud, which made much better running conditions.

There was a main race start for the Marathon and Half Marathon, which is where all races finished. There was a second race start on the same strip, just over 100 metres away for the 10k, 5k, and 1 mile event. It was one lap for the Half Marathon and for the Marathon we did a main lap running passed the finish (this was about 12km), then we followed the rest of the Half Marathon route, followed by another 9km section at the furthest part of the course.

When we got into the starting area, I had a group of about 15 around me ready to run sub 4. It isn’t the biggest event I’ve run, but it is a beautiful start, and the loops on the course made it feel much busier. I also had a strong group that stayed with me throughout, probably a dozen sticking with me until the finish and another couple of dozen running with me for a long period of the course.

Larnaka Marathon really got their aid stations right. This was always going to be hot, but they were prepared with water in bottles every 2.5 km. There was also isotonic at a number of stations (also in bottles), and this was always well staffed and easy to access. I ran with a bottle of water with me at all times, ensuring that I drank little and often, trying to avoid heat exhaustion / dehydration, which has been a challenge for the latter part of this year. I managed to stay hydrated, but I felt sick from around 9km, but fortunately, I was able to control this.

The course was in KM, which is usual in most parts of Europe. Unfortunately, the markers were only placed every 2km, and it would have been better to have markers every km. I hope the organisers will be able to work on this for next year to enhance the experience.

I knew the course was more challenging from 29km, so I picked up the pace a few seconds a km up until this point to try and ensure this did not create difficulties. I explained this to runners as we went, and I think everyone was grateful. It isn’t overly challenging, but considering the rest of the course is very flat, the long gradual incline was noticeable once we hit it. The half marathon is completely flat as it doesn’t go on this part of the course. Along with being the most challenging part of the course, it is also the quietest with minimal spectators and a smaller field with only the marathon runners. The good thing about this part is that on the turn back, you knew it was mostly downhill and then flat until the finish. So, around 35km, I was encouraging those who felt strong to take advantage of this and run ahead (a number of runners did this).

The rest of the course felt good. It has some good PB potential as long as the conditions are not too hot, which the early start time helps to avoid the warmest part of the day.

I felt great on the way back to the finish. I had lost the extra time on the tougher section and was now around 30 seconds ahead of schedule. I encouraged the final runners around me to get ahead of me, and I was a little nervous at the end, as although I knew where the finish was, you don’t actually see it until you are about 300 metres from the finish. I knew I was OK, but until I see the finish I always worry about overshooting, although I knew that I had got all my runners ahead of me, calling to everyone behind me to pick up the pace.

The finish area was really busy full of spectators which made a great crowd to finish to. I was pleased to finish in 03:59:44, with lots of happy sub 4 finishers.

If you are looking for a nice marathon with lots to do with a family, I would recommend having a look at Larnaka. I run a lot of bigger events, which are great for very different reasons, but I always enjoy Cyprus.

I finished with a nice (free) massage, and a few cans of Carlsberg 0.0. If Carslberg made pacers, they would probably be the best pacers in the world…

After a stroll on the beach and a walk around the race area, it was time for a nice big burger and a few pints of Keo. A lovely finish to the weekend, with great company.

That’s me done for the year. There is every chance I will enter a marathon with Phoenix Running, but this would be relaxed and a no pressure training run. For now, it’s time for well needed rest and recovery, and it’s time to focus on some quality training so I can see if I can get into PB shape for next year.

Are you finished for the year, or do you have other events planned? What are your plans?