My fourth and perhaps most successful marathon - not for timings, no pb for me this time but in every respect this is a lovely marathon, deserving of its reputation as the friendliest marathon anywhere. To start with, the Expo was great. The race bag was excellent and the lovely blue bobble hat was fab for wearing around the city and spotting other runners. Loads of free stuff and just a generally exciting atmosphere. It’s not slick like London and there were few talks, but it was efficient, fun and welcoming. 

The race itself was very well organised. Lots of facilities and none of the gruesome communal loos that we had to endure at London last year. In fact, loads of loos throughout the course which meant there were very few if any queues. We started on time and took off at an easy pace. Once it thinned out a little and we were in the park we could just enjoy the beautiful greenery, odd squark from the zoo and stunning weather. Yes, another win for me was the cool, sunny day. Anyone who did London last year or indeed Paris 2017 knows that running in the heat is brutal. The reason I chose this marathon (having failed to get a ballot place for Berlin) was the hope that Ireland in October wouldn’t be hot. This made EVERYTHING so much more pleasurable. The route then wound around some beautiful streets and we got a sense of the city in its glory. The crowds were out in force with all kinds of jellies, high 5s, sweets and good cheer. Stops for water were every 1.5-2 miles and were fully stocked. Lucozade was I think at three or four stops and I picked up a gel at around mile 20. 

There are no really bad hills although it is gently wavy here and there. The hill towards the very end is short and not as much of a problem as I thought it would be. 

Whwn things get tough you rely on the crowds to gee you up and they certainly did that. The last few miles were the most enjoyable - first time I’ve ever got negative splits. The finish line is tantalisingly round a corner and what a relief it is to see. Very efficient at the end with medals, lovely long sleeve tech top and another bag of goodies. Bag retrieval was easy and soon enough we headed towards our families without the scrum you sometimes get, 

all in all, I would thoroughly recommend this lovely marathon. It’s getting v popular now though. Ballot for 2020!