On 12th April 2026 I ran the Milan Marathon for the second time. It was my 7th marathon of 2026, my 185th Marathon (plus) and my 137th time as an official pacer (including 74 marathons). This year I did not travel with family as they were not interested in coming back for a short weekend, so I travelled with my friend and shared with him.
I booked an evening flight on Friday, so I didn’t need to miss work, but it meant that I landed just before midnight. With the passport control madness in MXP airport and travel to hotel, I didn’t get into bed until about 02:00 on Saturday. Scott had landed earlier, and went for parkrun in the morning, this was not realistic for me, so I stayed in bed only getting up for breakfast.
We made the most of our one full day in Milan, going to the centre for a walk around and food. Plus going to the expo for our bib. We were there for over 3 hours because of our various pacing duties. We collected our pacing kit at a specified time, then had the presentation of pacers on the stage, before having a race briefing. So it was a long time at the expo for us. When we got away we went back into the city for an evening meal before trying to have an early night at the hotel.
Then of course we got our kit together ready for the morning.
Milan Marathon 2026
I set my alarm for 05:00 as we were meeting other pacers in the hotel lobby at 06:00. We had a late check-out so I could have left my bags there, but when factoring travel to and from hotel, I decided to take my bag with me, so I could make the most of the final day. Scott opted to leave his bag so he could shower, but it worked out as he started 30 minutes before me and ran 40 minutes quicker, which gave him time to get there and back.
We went by public transport to the start together. This year they changed the race start, preparing for a much bigger field. The start at Sforzesco Castle had Berlin Marathon vibes to it, similar set up and start line. Certainly has potential that was not possible at Duomo di Milano. We still finished at Duomo di Milano which is the best bit of the marathon.
Once we arrived we had a bit of a wait until the start, I went for a quick Italian coffee with my pace team, which was nice. We had a special tent for the pacers, so I could leave my bag which was taken to the finish for me.
We were in the 3rd and final wave, with a 08:45 start, which was the biggest wave. We decided to make our way to our starting pen at the same time as the first wave. This gave us plenty of time to chat to our runners and build an atmosphere and confidence. This is my favourite bit, the time to be able to ease anxiety, give advice, answer questions. I almost lost my voice before we even started, and I know this bit absolutely makes a difference to people’s race experience.
Finally we were off. We were a team of 9 pacers, I was the only English pacer. The team leader asked for us all to start together and finish together, aiming for 30 seconds under target. He asked that I take the lead and set the pace for the group, and I appreciate the trust and confidence.
I led the pace for about 80% of the marathon. Two other pacers stayed close to me, then we had some space with 3 in the middle and 3 at the back. This helped to support many more people.
I had a few critics at the start. It is always difficult being a British pacer in an Italian team in Italy, and being asked to lead the large team. Almost immediately I was being told I was going too fast and told to slow down. But I just stuck to my task and set the pace as asked. I always aim to gradually get to 30 seconds under by half way, then hold this until the end. I find this a good strategy, making the second half slightly easier than the first, and providing just a small margin for unforeseen issues, like misplaced markers, aid station delays, difficult sections, weather or incidents on course. I always shout out where we are against target so everyone is clear how we are doing.
My first 5km, I paced: 1km – perfect to the second; 2km – perfect to the second; 3km – 2 seconds under target; 4km – 3 seconds under target; 5km – 5 seconds under target. After being told I was fast in the first 2km when I had hit perfect splits, and I wanted to start building some time, I said “we are actually perfect but I need to be under”. I told them the target time at 5km and that I aimed to be around 5 seconds under, and that is exactly where we were at 5km. It is important in these situations to remain calm, polite and confident, that is why I am there.
The team leader worked really well with me. He told me that the next section was slightly down before an uphill, so a good time to get slightly ahead. So I explained to everyone that I would take us to 20 seconds under for 10km, and this is what I did. I then took us to 30 seconds under by 15km, and throughout the rest of the race we ranged between 32 seconds and 22 seconds under every KM.
I needed the toilet by this stage. I could have carried on, but it was uncomfortable, so I communicated with my team and the first free toilet I went in around 16km. This brief delay I went from front to back, but I went to the side and raced through to catch up to the leading group, and within 1km I was back leading the pace.
The rest of the route went really well, the water was every 5km until 20km, then changed to every 2.5km. All went well until around 34km where the volunteers at the final table were not keeping up with water. Rather than miss getting water I ran back to get some. This cost me about 20 seconds, and the rest of the pacers overtook me. I caught them up, but then they started to pull ahead slightly. When I got to 30 seconds ahead, which was the target, I did not seek to overtake them. Instead I held the pace with a view to take the back of the group and hold the pace.
It worked well, at the end I would have liked to have caught up, but they got to about 50 seconds ahead. In the last km the called for me, but I held, and they slowed slightly. As we approached the finish I was at exactly 30 seconds under, but wasn’t going to be able to catch them. Instead I shouted to the few still around me and slowed slightly (as I always do) to push on my group. I came in with an official time of 03:59:39. Perfect.
I was right behind my group, so a great finish. Genuinely a great team of pacers, there were 9 of us and we worked perfectly together. We had hundreds of runners with us in the whole group, and as I finished there were a dozen waiting for a high-five and to say thank you.
With so many first timers, and many others aiming for a sub 4 for the first time, I am confident we had many PB today.
We had a pacer tent at the finish next to Duomo di Milano, with our bag waiting. So I went and got ready, walking past McDonald’s where I picked up a large coke, which was exactly what I needed. I got ready and relaxed a little before meeting Scott for some drinks and something to eat.
We then made our way to the airport for a 18:20 flight.
All in all, a great weekend. I came into the weekend thinking I wouldn’t do Milan Marathon again next year. Purely because there are so many marathons this weekend and I want to explore new events. But honestly, I am not sure now. I would certainly be happy to return again next year.
How was your weekend. So many events. Where did you decide to go, and how did you get on?