Hastings Marathon (100th Anniversary)

[steve scott]

Could'nt sleep much Saturday night must be pre race nerves.Got up about 5 and trying to get dressed in the dark so as not to wake Mrs S put on the wrong head,it was the stupid one.
Driving to Hastings with Fiona and Simon i declared that i would run 8 to 8.30 min mile pace for the first 6 miles and then see how it goes.Running with Fiona we got to the 4 mile mark in under 30 mins and she said we were going to fast and i said keep going what could go wrong [something that would later come back to bite me.] I then said we should stop overtaking people and settle in to a pack, i did but Fiona carried on at the same pace and i did'nt see her again. I carried on to about 18 miles having passed fantastic support from Sweder Camilla Matt Bridget and her gang but my lags were starting to play up and i knew what was coming, by 20 mile mark the cramp had really kicked in and now it was all about survival.When i got to the hill between Bexhill and Hastings as i was really in trouble, along came Gary looking fresh with Ladyrunner and they offered help but i urged them on. Next Sweder appeared and he was fantastic running with me for what seemed like miles.The beach section was interesting [i'd like to meet the guy who came up with that idea] but i got through it and found myself on the prom, every spectator gave me encouragement and as with all my previous marathons i felt very emotional .The last 2 miles where a nightmare but the finish banner was a very welcome sight and i crossed the line in 3.50.
After about 10 minutes recovery and hearing about the rest of the teams efforts i realised that this had been a very special day spent with some very special people doing something extraordinary.
Thanks to everyone who supported us and thanks Simon and Fiona for talking me into taking part.

P.S Fiona you were amazing.