Leeds Marathon 2024 – Alison Hargreaves

I don’t sleep after running a marathon, so thought I would write something about my experience of marathon running and how I’ve progressed to getting a sub 4.

Leeds was tough yesterday. Marathons are always tough, but a brutal course combined with humidity and heat made it next level. I mean, exactly the same thing happened last year and I still signed up again, so I only have myself to blame. 

As it turns out, having done it before in similar conditions meant not only did I know what to expect, but the long hours spent in May 2023 googling ‘how to deal with marathon cramp’ finally paid off. Cramp got me in mile 22. It was exactly where it happened last year, though the warning signs started much earlier then, and I ran through it, and by the time I got to Lawnswood I genuinely thought my thighs might snap apart. The ache in my legs lasted a solid 3 weeks, even with a massage. 

This year I remembered reading that the best thing to do is to stop and gently stretch out the cramp. It’s hard to stop and stand to one side during a marathon, especially when it’s going pretty well, but it was absolutely the thing to do. My 23rd mile was a solid 3min slower with two stretching stops, but it meant the cramp eased enough for me to get to the finish without it flaring up again (OK it did a little at mile 26 but I wasn’t stopping then). 

I finished in 3:56:24. Slower than I had planned but I was really happy with how it went, especially managing the cramp situation!

I did my first marathon in 2020. I’d signed up for Yorkshire but then the world fell apart so I ended up running it on my own – out to Otley and back. It was a huge learning experience – that is, learning what a beast the marathon is. Until you do it, you don’t really get why people say ‘a marathon has two halves – the first 20miles and the last 10k’. I vastly overestimated how fast I could do it and also just how hard that last 10k would be, and so unfortunately planned a route which meant laps of Woodhouse Moor at the end. 

I didn’t really tell anyone except my parents that I was doing it, and they saw me at various points along the way, heroes that they are. But, somehow, as if by magic, both Lizzie and Lou turned up and helped me finish it. I’ll never forget struggling around and having Harriers appear, and I did that marathon in just under 4 and half hours, which I was delighted with, though disappointed to have dropped off so much after mile 18. 

I got the marathon bug and trained a bit harder for the next Yorkshire (where they crossed out the 2020 on the shirts and changed it to 2021). Oh, but it turns out I overtrained, and I got to the start line feeling absolutely horrendous and sore, and with hindsight possibly mentally unwell, but heyho. I knew it wasn’t going to go well when I started to feel sick at mile 8 and I couldn’t stomach my gels. I found the whole thing pretty miserable. I stopped running at mile 16 and walked and chatted with a few people, which was quite nice, and did the same again a bit later on. I came in at about 4hrs 35min, and the person who gave out medals said “I’ve never seen anyone looking more miserable finishing a marathon”, which was…harsh but fair. 

It broke me a bit, that marathon, or maybe I was broken anyway and it just finished me off, but I stopped running for a solid five months, mainly because I couldn’t, but also I really didn’t want to. The upside of that was I went all in on strength training instead. I was gifted a cracking pair of adjustable dumbells for my 40th in April 2021, as I was already quite into lifting, but the time away from running meant I could really work on that. 

When I eventually started running again, it felt SO much easier with my new strong muscles, so when Leeds 2023 was announced I signed straight up. I trained less (I decided to make each week 10 days, meaning long runs didn’t come round as quickly and more time to recover) and I was much stronger from all the lifting. I did that in just over 4hrs 10, and really enjoyed it, despite the cramps, and signed up again the next day.

Though I did OK on less training, this time I did the opposite, and trained really hard for 2024. I started building my aerobic base up from summer 2023, adding in some very short runs until I was running six days, and by the time marathon training started I was comfortable doing 30+ miles a week. I also finally worked out how to combine running and lifting so I had enough recovery from each. The training went well, though I went a bit hard on my last 20miler and had a little niggle, which thankfully cleared up. I felt like I managed fuelling and hydration much better this time too. I’ll be taking some time off to properly recover now. 

Anyway, that’s my marathon history. I find marathons so fascinating, because it’s really not just about the running. It’s so interesting to find out what works best for you, and when all the pieces come together, which would have happened yesterday without the cramp, it’s very satisfying, especially getting the mental game right. I’m not sure I’ll put myself through Leeds again any time soon, but maybe try a flatter one next year, in the autumn to avoid the heat (though I do prefer hilly over flat!).

Thanks for all the support yesterday on route – it was magnificent (and thanks to my parents, who were in Otley before 8am because they were worried about missing me). I don’t make it to club as much as I’d like, as I’m always awake ridiculously early and tend to run then, as by the evening I’m too tired, but I really value being a part of it.

Hopefully I’ll sleep tonight!