Stockport 10, 11/12/05

[Nigel]

Well done, SW, and great report. Phew - all those hills ! I don't think I'll be adding that race to my list just yet.

Interesting perspectives there, comparing the marathon with other distances. Just because the marathon is twice as long as a half, and 2.6 times as long as a 10 mile race, don't think that the difficulty of the event follows the same proportion.

Glaconman's diary holds the truth on the race itself: 10 easy miles, 10 harder miles and 6 gruelling ones.

The key is that you always run with that thought in mind, and so the first 20 is a mere warm-up for what lies ahead. But London offers such a great warm-up.

Much also depends on the type of runner you are. If you're a plodder like most of us here, then shorter distances might actually be harder to race. For example, I'd rather run a marathon than a 10 km race, at least once I've trained for it first.

On this note, Sweder mentions the effect of training as a help, but of course that cuts both ways. What I mean there is that the training for a 10 km race is so much less demanding than the training for a marathon.

But if the marathon demands more, then it rewards so much more, too, and London more than any other race.

Just keep up the good work, and it can all be yours.