Half marathon time and first marathon goal time

As someone who recently ran their first marathon, I was also interested in finding my goal time. Based on a 1.44 half, Mcmillan predicted a 3.45 I think...

I finished in 4.15 after my legs completely locked up around mile 20 forcing me to walk/struggle through the last 6.

For various reasons I did very little long runs which was obvious downfall.

so at what point can you say you are adequately trained to hit your marathon goal time and is there any way of measuring this in advance?

Name|HM place|HM time|Mcmillan prediction|1st marathon and what you did|Finish time|Comment
career_move|Athlone '12|1:46:39|3:44:27|Dublin '12 - went with 4hr pacers|3:57:49|Upped the pace at UCD. Was hurting a bit after mile 23 but pace didn't drop and finished with a negative split
RayCun|Dublin half '10|1:48:34|3:48:29|Dublin '10 - goal was 4 hours |3:58:06|reasonably comfortable. I was tired when I finished, but pace was consistent, never in real pain. Could have gone a few minutes faster perhaps, but not much under 3.55. Started behind pacers, passed them in the park, stayed a little ahead all the way
blockic|Athlone '12|1:32:29|3:14:38|Dublin '12 - went with 3:30 pacers|3:29:20|Comfortable up to about 18 miles, legs dead after Roebuck and started to suffer, clinging on for last 5 miles and wall truly hit. Could not have run a second faster. Met my 3:30 goal but in hindsight should have been more conservative to enjoy it more. Only get one first marathon. Plenty others to worry about times
hardCopy|Dublin half '11|1:57:44|4:07:46|Dublin '11 - went with 4:15 pacers|4:28:10|Felt good until I hit Foster's Avenue, my back went into spasm on the downhill and I started to drift away from the pacers. Caught them again at the next drinks table but then my ITBs and calves started to cramp as well and I lost them just before the flyover. Ended up walking most of Nutley Grove before digging in some more to run in from Merrion Tesco.
Statss|Bohermeen '13|1:35:09|3:20:15|Connemara 2013 |3:38:27|tough course, so not ideal for the macmillan comparison, I reckon it was 3.30 effort on a normal course, still 10 minutes out for predicted time. Felt okay most of the way around I wonder in retrospect could I have gone faster. Not to worry was a great experience for a first time. Report is here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=84043558&postcount=125
ncmc|Clonmel '12|1:48|3:47|DCM '12|3:57|Went with four hour pacers and pushed on some time after Roebuck Road. Was tired when I finished, but not exhausted, probably could have pushed on a bit in hindsight. Actually was probably more wrecked after the HM than the marathon!
murphd77|FrankDuffy 10m 2012|1:25:45|4:00:42|DCM '12|4:02:26|I was hopeful of a sub-4 and I think I'd have got it if I went with the pacers. My basic error was pacing myself but calculating the pace on the exact marathon distance and not allowing for the extra few hundred meters that most of us tend to run on the day. In fact if you subtract the time taken to run that extra distance from my overall time, I ran the first 42.2k in something like 4:00:40, which is pretty close to McMillan. Something to think about if you trust McMillan and you're going to be close to the wire.
RubyK| Kilkenny '10|1.49.20|3.50.06| DCM '10|3.59.19| Lined up a few rows back from the 4 hr pacers, and moved ahead of them before halfway mark. Had no watch as battery died before the start, so just concentrated on staying ahead of those balloons.
menoscemo|Dublin'09|1:48:xx|3:48:xx|DCM '09|4:15:xx|Went with 4hr pacers. Started a minute behind and caught up by 6 miles, comfortable to 15 miles than started to slip. Dropped completely off pace by 19 miles and started walking, only picked up a jog home from 22 miles
RunningKing|Dublin '11|1:40:42|3:31:56|DCM '11|4:05|Went out just behind 3:30 pacers. Cramp from mile 13. ITB for all Oct meant no real running for 1 month before hand. Didn't enjoy it. If doing it again (for 1st time) would try to enjoy the atmosphere
pac_man|Dublin '11|1:37:48|3:25:xx|Dublin '11 |3:55:xx| I didn't really train for the marathon and am a prime example of someone who blew up from not doing long runs(longest run was the half marathon). I decided on the day that id be well able for 3:30 but but just after the KCR~ 15 miles, i had to start walking and struggled badly.I didn't get why people were carrying these belts around their waists,I was fairly naive and its quite funny when I think about it now.One thing I remember was how congested running with a pace group was especially up the Crumlin road, I had the same experience last weekend in a half marathon. If I was running my first marathon again, id wouldn't run for a time or with a pace group and u'll probably enjoy it a little bit more. Training for it would probably help as well.
wexford1996|Oilgate '12|1:37:34|3:25:20|Dublin '12 |3:27:20| Went with 3:30 pacers and managed to pick it up a bit from Milltown onwards. Had done five 20 mile runs in advance so was pretty strong at the end.
Clearlier|Sturminster Newton half 2010|1:38:39|3:27:37|Dublin '10 - positioned myself halfway between 3:15 and 3:30 pacers, kept to a certain heart rate to halfway, upped it to 20 miles and let fly from there|3:24:00|Felt very comfortable until just before halfway, picked up the effort without too much bother, ran out of energy at about 18 due to nutrition error but got my second wind within a mile or two, picked it up again at Nutley lane and was thinking about how close I could get to 3:20 before cramp hit at 24.5 miles. Just about held it together once I got going again.
kkcatlou|Athlone '12|01:47:52|03:47:01|DCM '12|03:56:07|Did a steady 9 min pace throughout although my last 6 miles were my fastest. Felt great throughout. Really took in the atmosphere and stayed "present" throughout. Didn't run with pacers, but did chat to a few people along the way
yaboya1|Dublin '10|1:47:53|3:47:03|DCM '10|3:39:36|Felt I could do better than the calculator, but injured my hamstring three weeks out meaning I did relatively nothing in the lead up to the race. Still went out with the 3:30 pacers and stuck with them comfortably until Terenure (17 miles). Hamstring started to hurt again badly at that stage. Once I knew 3:30 was gone I set my sights on getting under 3:40 (which I just about did). The last nine miles were very difficult
rom|Cork '11|1:51:57|3:55:36|Dublin '11 - went with 4hr pacers|4:27:43|Had run my marathon in training 3 weeks earlier. Didn't take any of the advise that I read on here to take my long runs 45-75 secs slower than marathon pace. 25 mins positive split says it all.
Mr.Wiggle|Mallow10 '12|1:11:30|3:18:02|Cork '12|3:23:00|started with 3.30 pacers but left them after mile 5 feeling the pace was that bit too slow for me. In hindsight I shoulda stayed with them and realy enjoyed my first marathon as it turned into a slog around the 20 mile mark for me and I wasn't able to enjoy the finishing straight on Patricks St.
AlanM|Dublin '12|1:38:58|3:28:17|Dublin '12|3:44:22|Started off thinking I could get close to 3:30 even though I hadn't really be training for that time. First 20 miles were ok, last 6 hurt, a lot. If I'd gone with the 3:45 pacers I probably wouldn't have had the same problems


Edit - race name mistake fixed

this is brilliant lads, a mine of information, the main one seeming to be get your long runs done..
i did a reasonably easy 1.45 in athlone at the weekend and was curious whether to go with 4 pacers or a bit in front of them, il be going with the 4 hr guys for sure now....

[=mr.wiggle;86594548]Name|HM place|HM time|Mcmillan prediction|1st marathon and what you did|Finish time|Comment
career_move|Athlone '12|1:46:39|3:44:27|Dublin '12 - went with 4hr pacers|3:57:49|Upped the pace at UCD. Was hurting a bit after mile 23 but pace didn't drop and finished with a negative split
RayCun|Dublin half '10|1:48:34|3:48:29|Dublin '10 - goal was 4 hours |3:58:06|reasonably comfortable. I was tired when I finished, but pace was consistent, never in real pain. Could have gone a few minutes faster perhaps, but not much under 3.55. Started behind pacers, passed them in the park, stayed a little ahead all the way
blockic|Athlone '12|1:32:29|3:14:38|Dublin '12 - went with 3:30 pacers|3:29:20|Comfortable up to about 18 miles, legs dead after Roebuck and started to suffer, clinging on for last 5 miles and wall truly hit. Could not have run a second faster. Met my 3:30 goal but in hindsight should have been more conservative to enjoy it more. Only get one first marathon. Plenty others to worry about times
hardCopy|Dublin half '11|1:57:44|4:07:46|Dublin '11 - went with 4:15 pacers|4:28:10|Felt good until I hit Foster's Avenue, my back went into spasm on the downhill and I started to drift away from the pacers. Caught them again at the next drinks table but then my ITBs and calves started to cramp as well and I lost them just before the flyover. Ended up walking most of Nutley Grove before digging in some more to run in from Merrion Tesco.
Statss|Bohermeen '13|1:35:09|3:20:15|Connemara 2013 |3:38:27|tough course, so not ideal for the macmillan comparison, I reckon it was 3.30 effort on a normal course, still 10 minutes out for predicted time. Felt okay most of the way around I wonder in retrospect could I have gone faster. Not to worry was a great experience for a first time. Report is here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=84043558&postcount=125
ncmc|Clonmel '12|1:48|3:47|DCM '12|3:57|Went with four hour pacers and pushed on some time after Roebuck Road. Was tired when I finished, but not exhausted, probably could have pushed on a bit in hindsight. Actually was probably more wrecked after the HM than the marathon!
murphd77|FrankDuffy 10m 2012|1:25:45|4:00:42|DCM '12|4:02:26|I was hopeful of a sub-4 and I think I'd have got it if I went with the pacers. My basic error was pacing myself but calculating the pace on the exact marathon distance and not allowing for the extra few hundred meters that most of us tend to run on the day. In fact if you subtract the time taken to run that extra distance from my overall time, I ran the first 42.2k in something like 4:00:40, which is pretty close to McMillan. Something to think about if you trust McMillan and you're going to be close to the wire.
RubyK| Kilkenny '10|1.49.20|3.50.06| DCM '10|3.59.19| Lined up a few rows back from the 4 hr pacers, and moved ahead of them before halfway mark. Had no watch as battery died before the start, so just concentrated on staying ahead of those balloons.
menoscemo|Dublin'09|1:48:xx|3:48:xx|DCM '09|4:15:xx|Went with 4hr pacers. Started a minute behind and caught up by 6 miles, comfortable to 15 miles than started to slip. Dropped completely off pace by 19 miles and started walking, only picked up a jog home from 22 miles
RunningKing|Dublin '11|1:40:42|3:31:56|DCM '11|4:05|Went out just behind 3:30 pacers. Cramp from mile 13. ITB for all Oct meant no real running for 1 month before hand. Didn't enjoy it. If doing it again (for 1st time) would try to enjoy the atmosphere
pac_man|Dublin '11|1:37:48|3:25:xx|Dublin '11 |3:55:xx| I didn't really train for the marathon and am a prime example of someone who blew up from not doing long runs(longest run was the half marathon). I decided on the day that id be well able for 3:30 but but just after the KCR~ 15 miles, i had to start walking and struggled badly.I didn't get why people were carrying these belts around their waists,I was fairly naive and its quite funny when I think about it now.One thing I remember was how congested running with a pace group was especially up the Crumlin road, I had the same experience last weekend in a half marathon. If I was running my first marathon again, id wouldn't run for a time or with a pace group and u'll probably enjoy it a little bit more. Training for it would probably help as well.
wexford1996|Oilgate '12|1:37:34|3:25:20|Dublin '12 |3:27:20| Went with 3:30 pacers and managed to pick it up a bit from Milltown onwards. Had done five 20 mile runs in advance so was pretty strong at the end.
Clearlier|Sturminster Newton half 2010|1:38:39|3:27:37|Dublin '10 - positioned myself halfway between 3:15 and 3:30 pacers, kept to a certain heart rate to halfway, upped it to 20 miles and let fly from there|3:24:00|Felt very comfortable until just before halfway, picked up the effort without too much bother, ran out of energy at about 18 due to nutrition error but got my second wind within a mile or two, picked it up again at Nutley lane and was thinking about how close I could get to 3:20 before cramp hit at 24.5 miles. Just about held it together once I got going again.
kkcatlou|Athlone '12|01:47:52|03:47:01|DCM '12|03:56:07|Did a steady 9 min pace throughout although my last 6 miles were my fastest. Felt great throughout. Really took in the atmosphere and stayed "present" throughout. Didn't run with pacers, but did chat to a few people along the way
yaboya1|Dublin '10|1:47:53|3:47:03|DCM '10|3:39:36|Felt I could do better than the calculator, but injured my hamstring three weeks out meaning I did relatively nothing in the lead up to the race. Still went out with the 3:30 pacers and stuck with them comfortably until Terenure (17 miles). Hamstring started to hurt again badly at that stage. Once I knew 3:30 was gone I set my sights on getting under 3:40 (which I just about did). The last nine miles were very difficult
rom|Cork '11|1:51:57|3:55:36|Dublin '11 - went with 4hr pacers|4:27:43|Had run my marathon in training 3 weeks earlier. Didn't take any of the advise that I read on here to take my long runs 45-75 secs slower than marathon pace. 25 mins positive split says it all.
Mr.Wiggle|Mallow10 '12|1:11:30|3:18:02|Cork '12|3:23:00|started with 3.30 pacers but left them after mile 5 feeling the pace was that bit too slow for me. In hindsight I shoulda stayed with them and realy enjoyed my first marathon as it turned into a slog around the 20 mile mark for me and I wasn't able to enjoy the finishing straight on Patricks St.
AlanM|Dublin '12|1:38:58|3:28:17|Dublin '12|3:44:22|Started off thinking I could get close to 3:30 even though I hadn't really be training for that time. First 20 miles were ok, last 6 hurt, a lot. If I'd gone with the 3:45 pacers I probably wouldn't have had the same problems
snailsong|Achill '11|1:39:59|3:30:25|DCM '11|3:29:12|I went with the 3:30 pacers knowing that it was an ambitious target but Achill is hard and I figured I'd improved since then. Loved the first half, under pressure from 20 miles or so. Lost the pacers at 23 miles but made a big effort and caught them on Nassau street.

Hi I was looking for some advice, I started running at the start of initially to lose weight but soon discovered I love it.I have built up my distance slowly, ran the Athlone half Marathon last weekend in 1.45.33.I'd love to do a full Marathon but would like the advice of anyone who has done one, to suggest what I need to do to hopefully complete one before Christmas.

A really good idea. It does highlight how optimistic most runners/ not just new runners about goal times. There is such a massive difference in the half and the full . Even with the long runs done and all your training going well there is never a guarantee of a good run on the day. I've done 8 now and only in 1 of those did everything go my way. In all the others things like the weather, a niggle, etc all played their part in affecting the time on the day. That's what people need to realise. So much can affect your marathon time compared to the half . So this thread is good for opening people's mind to the dangers and possible dissapoinments of setting the bar and the goals too high. I much prefer marathons debutantes to just run and let it happen . If you feel good and it goes well happy days. If its a bad day then by just letting it happen without having a time goal you can still enjoy your run without that pressure of not hitting your goal. To all those who missed their times above , can you recall honestly , how you felt immediately after the race. It would be another further delve into the mind of the runners and a useful insight

PVincent wrote: »

. To all those who missed their times above , can you recall honestly , how you felt immediately after the race. It would be another further delve into the mind of the runners and a useful insight

Great post PVincent. I achieved my goal time above for my first marathon and did I feel elated after..no, not really. Simply due to the fact I had a painful 5 mile finish and didn't really finish strong and on my own terms. And I was conservative with the goal. I reckon I would have had much more satisfaction and since of achievement by finishing strong. So my advice is to just enjoy your first be pretty conservative with the aim to finish strong. Much more appetite to return for seconds that way.

I have a huge interest in sports phycology and have read extensively about it. Have also coached a number of sports including running ( at Bros Pearse). I consider myself a very positive person . The thread really interested me because it brought back something that made a massive impact on me. Forgetting my first marathon in 1982 (as a naive 20 yr old) I revisited the marathon after a long no of years at other sports, in NY and Dublin in 2003/2004 clocking 3.39/3.24 . I was happy. I decided NY was the target for 2005 and as meno says , put the effort and the miles in , and was in top shape for a sub 3 attempt. An 85 mins in the half gave me the belief that it was possible. So off to NY to be met by really hot November temperatures . I was lucky to be rooming with the great Tony Mangan who had just done marathons on the sat/sun on a treadmill and then Dub on the Monday followed by NY the following week . Tony warned on the morning of the marathon to ease back on my goal due to the heat. Of course being less experienced I went gung ho at my pace and to be fair for maybe 10 miles it was ok, but thereafter it a mare. I even ran some of the early miles with Tony and he told me to ease back . I can still recall the sick feeling I had when Tony slowed down at about 21miles to see how I was . Tony ran 3.18 that day . I ran 3.24. I was devasted, for months. But I threw myself back into it. However this lead to a bigger issue eventually when I ended up with post viral fatigue syndrome. Whether overtraining was a factor is anyone's guess but it certainly did not help. I missed over 2 yrs of running due to it. I suppose what I am saying here is that with experience I might have listened to Tony , and I would have a much better PB than the 3.20 I now have at aged 51. But I didn't so what the heck does it matter. So to all the new runners, please please listen to those around you who have the experience , who know the pitfalls, the do's and the don'ts . The marathon is not something that you take for granted. There are no shortcuts , no guarantees but if you get it right , and things fall for you , and you do run your dream race there is surely no better feeling when you cross that line . I made up for NY in Dublin in 2010 . As poor the feeling was in NY in 2005 , the excitement of that 3.20 was simply the best sports feeling I ever had . I ran that year with no goal other than to 'leave nothing out there' and I never looked at the watch until I stopped it when i crossed the line . Sorry for the long post!

I felt terrible after my first. And I don't mean physically! I had no interest in the medal (see other thread!) and felt cheated by my body after all the training. I was actually angry at the performance. Of course, looking back I was being stupid but that is honestly how I felt. I'm not usually super-competitive but I do take the old running fairly seriously.

I was mildly disappointed with my 4:02 but only for about 10 seconds. It was far outweighed by the satisfaction of finishing without any stops, walk breaks, cramps, etc. I felt the time was a fair return for the work put in. And the few pints after were among the best ever.

Name|HM place|HM time|Mcmillan prediction|1st marathon and what you did|Finish time|Comment
career_move|Athlone '12|1:46:39|3:44:27|Dublin '12 - went with 4hr pacers|3:57:49|Upped the pace at UCD. Was hurting a bit after mile 23 but pace didn't drop and finished with a negative split
RayCun|Dublin half '10|1:48:34|3:48:29|Dublin '10 - goal was 4 hours |3:58:06|reasonably comfortable. I was tired when I finished, but pace was consistent, never in real pain. Could have gone a few minutes faster perhaps, but not much under 3.55. Started behind pacers, passed them in the park, stayed a little ahead all the way
blockic|Athlone '12|1:32:29|3:14:38|Dublin '12 - went with 3:30 pacers|3:29:20|Comfortable up to about 18 miles, legs dead after Roebuck and started to suffer, clinging on for last 5 miles and wall truly hit. Could not have run a second faster. Met my 3:30 goal but in hindsight should have been more conservative to enjoy it more. Only get one first marathon. Plenty others to worry about times
hardCopy|Dublin half '11|1:57:44|4:07:46|Dublin '11 - went with 4:15 pacers|4:28:10|Felt good until I hit Foster's Avenue, my back went into spasm on the downhill and I started to drift away from the pacers. Caught them again at the next drinks table but then my ITBs and calves started to cramp as well and I lost them just before the flyover. Ended up walking most of Nutley Grove before digging in some more to run in from Merrion Tesco.
Statss|Bohermeen '13|1:35:09|3:20:15|Connemara 2013 |3:38:27|tough course, so not ideal for the macmillan comparison, I reckon it was 3.30 effort on a normal course, still 10 minutes out for predicted time. Felt okay most of the way around I wonder in retrospect could I have gone faster. Not to worry was a great experience for a first time. Report is here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=84043558&postcount=125
ncmc|Clonmel '12|1:48|3:47|DCM '12|3:57|Went with four hour pacers and pushed on some time after Roebuck Road. Was tired when I finished, but not exhausted, probably could have pushed on a bit in hindsight. Actually was probably more wrecked after the HM than the marathon!
murphd77|FrankDuffy 10m 2012|1:25:45|4:00:42|DCM '12|4:02:26|I was hopeful of a sub-4 and I think I'd have got it if I went with the pacers. My basic error was pacing myself but calculating the pace on the exact marathon distance and not allowing for the extra few hundred meters that most of us tend to run on the day. In fact if you subtract the time taken to run that extra distance from my overall time, I ran the first 42.2k in something like 4:00:40, which is pretty close to McMillan. Something to think about if you trust McMillan and you're going to be close to the wire.
RubyK| Kilkenny '10|1.49.20|3.50.06| DCM '10|3.59.19| Lined up a few rows back from the 4 hr pacers, and moved ahead of them before halfway mark. Had no watch as battery died before the start, so just concentrated on staying ahead of those balloons.
menoscemo|Dublin'09|1:48:xx|3:48:xx|DCM '09|4:15:xx|Went with 4hr pacers. Started a minute behind and caught up by 6 miles, comfortable to 15 miles than started to slip. Dropped completely off pace by 19 miles and started walking, only picked up a jog home from 22 miles
RunningKing|Dublin '11|1:40:42|3:31:56|DCM '11|4:05|Went out just behind 3:30 pacers. Cramp from mile 13. ITB for all Oct meant no real running for 1 month before hand. Didn't enjoy it. If doing it again (for 1st time) would try to enjoy the atmosphere
pac_man|Dublin '11|1:37:48|3:25:xx|Dublin '11 |3:55:xx| I didn't really train for the marathon and am a prime example of someone who blew up from not doing long runs(longest run was the half marathon). I decided on the day that id be well able for 3:30 but but just after the KCR~ 15 miles, i had to start walking and struggled badly.I didn't get why people were carrying these belts around their waists,I was fairly naive and its quite funny when I think about it now.One thing I remember was how congested running with a pace group was especially up the Crumlin road, I had the same experience last weekend in a half marathon. If I was running my first marathon again, id wouldn't run for a time or with a pace group and u'll probably enjoy it a little bit more. Training for it would probably help as well.
wexford1996|Oilgate '12|1:37:34|3:25:20|Dublin '12 |3:27:20| Went with 3:30 pacers and managed to pick it up a bit from Milltown onwards. Had done five 20 mile runs in advance so was pretty strong at the end.
Clearlier|Sturminster Newton half 2010|1:38:39|3:27:37|Dublin '10 - positioned myself halfway between 3:15 and 3:30 pacers, kept to a certain heart rate to halfway, upped it to 20 miles and let fly from there|3:24:00|Felt very comfortable until just before halfway, picked up the effort without too much bother, ran out of energy at about 18 due to nutrition error but got my second wind within a mile or two, picked it up again at Nutley lane and was thinking about how close I could get to 3:20 before cramp hit at 24.5 miles. Just about held it together once I got going again.
kkcatlou|Athlone '12|01:47:52|03:47:01|DCM '12|03:56:07|Did a steady 9 min pace throughout although my last 6 miles were my fastest. Felt great throughout. Really took in the atmosphere and stayed "present" throughout. Didn't run with pacers, but did chat to a few people along the way
yaboya1|Dublin '10|1:47:53|3:47:03|DCM '10|3:39:36|Felt I could do better than the calculator, but injured my hamstring three weeks out meaning I did relatively nothing in the lead up to the race. Still went out with the 3:30 pacers and stuck with them comfortably until Terenure (17 miles). Hamstring started to hurt again badly at that stage. Once I knew 3:30 was gone I set my sights on getting under 3:40 (which I just about did). The last nine miles were very difficult
rom|Cork '11|1:51:57|3:55:36|Dublin '11 - went with 4hr pacers|4:27:43|Had run my marathon in training 3 weeks earlier. Didn't take any of the advise that I read on here to take my long runs 45-75 secs slower than marathon pace. 25 mins positive split says it all.
Mr.Wiggle|Mallow10 '12|1:11:30|3:18:02|Cork '12|3:23:00|started with 3.30 pacers but left them after mile 5 feeling the pace was that bit too slow for me. In hindsight I shoulda stayed with them and realy enjoyed my first marathon as it turned into a slog around the 20 mile mark for me and I wasn't able to enjoy the finishing straight on Patricks St.
AlanM|Dublin '12|1:38:58|3:28:17|Dublin '12|3:44:22|Started off thinking I could get close to 3:30 even though I hadn't really be training for that time. First 20 miles were ok, last 6 hurt, a lot. If I'd gone with the 3:45 pacers I probably wouldn't have had the same problems
snailsong|Achill '11|1:39:59|3:30:25|DCM '11|3:29:12|I went with the 3:30 pacers knowing that it was an ambitious target but Achill is hard and I figured I'd improved since then. Loved the first half, under pressure from 20 miles or so. Lost the pacers at 23 miles but made a big effort and caught them on Nassau street.
Rainbow Kirby|Dublin half '09|1:58:55|4:10:16|DCM '09|4:24:56|Was extremely conservative with any predictions for the marathon - had made a 4:45 and 5:00 pace band but left them in my bag by mistake on race morning. Ran pretty much purely by feel on the day, trying to feel comfortable for as much of it as I could, ignored the pacers (though it was nice to know that the 4:30 group never passed me) and only ran about a 1 minute positive split in the end (close enough to 2:12/2:13)
Killian Byrne|Dublin half '12|1:56:04|4:04:10|DCM '12|4:30:29|I thought I had done everything right, trained hard, good nutrition etc and was really hoping leading up to DCM for a sub 4, however i was cautioned by everyones scepticism of the McMillan times and decided on the day to follow the 4.15 pacers. I thought this would be just fine, breeze around just ahead of these guys and break away at the RDS for a decent fast time for my first marathon. everything was just about fine until we got out of the park and through chapelizod and I started to feel the legs tire. I started a walk/run in Terenure and fell behind from there. Some poor lad beside me asked me to stop asking him how far we had left on Merrion Road and it was a battle to finish. The thickening crowds kept me going and I was caught by the 4.30 pacers which spurred me on for the last 2 miles to the end. By the looks of things here, my 1/2 time and full time seem pretty similar to others