What a race, where do I start. On 3rd May 2026 I ran the Pittsburgh Marathon. Pennsylvania was a new state for me, and a quick trip, leaving Friday after work and landing Bank Holiday Monday, meaning I didn’t need to use any annual leave. I left a warm and sunny UK, and landed in 4ºc in Pittsburgh. Apparently it is known for being unpredictable weather. As I always say, perfect running weather is terrible spectator weather, and I froze my arse off all weekend, but it was perfect running conditions.
Pittsburgh was my 9th marathon of 2026, my 187th Marathon (plus) and my 139th time as an official pacer (including 76 marathons). Unfortunately I did not hit my time, which brings my pacing success rate down to 97%. I am obviously disappointed, but I think it is important to share the lows with the highs, and we are all human, and it won’t always go to plan.
I arrived late on Friday night, so I made my way straight to my hotel. I got a cheap hotel a few miles from the race on the freeway. I often get a hotel a little further out which brings the price down and makes my travel more affordable. I set off early on Saturday morning for the Pittsburgh 5k, picking up my bib in the morning. I got there to early, worried about being late. It was to early for anything to be open, so I spent an hour shivering. But slowly the race built up and it was a pretty big 5k.
I wanted a nice relaxed shake out run, so I set off at 8 minute miles and had a really enjoyable run.
After the 5k I went straight to the expo. I spent a few hours at the pace stand helping out and chatting to runners.
It was a decent expo, full of anything you would want. I was considering going back to the hotel, but wanted to make the most of my short trip, so I booked a game to watch the Pittsburgh Pirates. First I stayed for the pacer briefing, which was awesome, then went straight to the game.
My view of the stadium and city was pretty awesome. I will be honest. I wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but I enjoyed the atmosphere and the game.
After the game I went back to my hotel, and the first thing I did was sort my kit out, then pack to make sure I was organised. I had an early start, setting my alarm for 3am, and needed to check out before I left.
Pittsburgh Marathon 2026
I made my way to our pacer meeting at 05:30 and it was great to catch up with lots of familiar faces. We made our way to the start and as perfect OnPace tradition, did the Serenity prayer.
When we made our way to the start it was early and it took a while for runners to join us. It was freezing, which is uncomfortable at the start, but knew it would be perfect for running.
As runners joined our group, I provided the usual race day briefing. Just generally offering reassurance, providing information and motivating ready for the day. We had a huge group ready to run, full of many first timers.
I had originally signed up to pace 4:15 at Pittsburgh. I knew it was a hilly course and I would be doing London the week before, so I took a cautious approach. However, a few days before the race I was asked to cover the 4 hour slot, which I was happy to do. I don’t regret changing to support the team, because I set the pace for the entire run, leaving my group in capable hands for the finish.
The course started modestly, but the runners were simply amazing. We had a big group with us, all of whom were highly engaged, and I am pretty confident this had a positive impact on the day.
It was a hard day. I set off a few seconds per mile fast, aiming to be 45 seconds ahead of target by 12 miles. It was a bit faster than usual, but I knew 12 and 13 miles would be tough. We raced with lots of fun and happiness and I was so proud of my team sticking together. I captured a great moment at mile 10 before heading up the big climb.
The course is definitely hilly. I was told the hills were rolling and the big one was 12 to 13. The team managed these so well, but they just continued. For the most part the down made up for the incline, but at around 22 miles you have a steep decline. Everyone said this was the end of the hills, but the ups kept coming. On the decline a lot of our team went ahead which was great. It was pretty hard to hold back the pace, creating fatigue on the legs with the breaks on.
At mile 23 we were still 30 seconds ahead of target, but then we had another small incline. My co pacer started to pick up the pace going up, and my legs just wouldn’t speed up. At mile 24 my legs just felt numb, I was just on pace, but as my group pulled ahead I didn’t think I would maintain the pace needed on the hills and didnt want to confuse runners. So I stopped and walked for a bit to let my group all get ahead. It was a tough decision but I think it was the right one for my team. After a brief walking break I set and picked up new runners aiming to support as many as I could. I was on pace for most of the last couple of miles, but it fluctuated and didn’t feel fantastic.
I am sad not to hit my time, but know I got people over the line. My official time was 04:02:15. I could have likely finished in 04:00:xx but I did not want to confuse runners and have them stay with me whilst I fell off pace. So the break took away this risk.
I think Pittsburgh Marathon was a great race. Well organised, decent crowd support and large roads. If you like a challenge then these hills keep you honest.
I spent the rest of my evening with friends, before a 21:45 flight home.
Having done a race on both the Saturday and Sunday you get a 3rd challenge medal. The medals were a great quality and happy with the 3rd to add to the collection.