Thank you for this video I've just done Boston Marathon UK 3:50:56 torrential rain gail winds & flooded roads muddy everywhere. I like your assessment at the end of good & bad things to look at from the race. I'm thinking of Yorkshire marathon 2024 with what I've learned to progress.

The marathon takes no prisoners :) I did the Yorkshire marathon two weeks after the Barcelona ironman (I'm a cyclist mostly, not a runner), I thought I had recovered enough and was only really doing it to support a first timer at the club who planned to run at 8min/km. A week before the race he pulled out so rather than running at the very conservative pace intended, I was running at 6:30/km. Felt fine for the first half then the wheels came off the bus :) Finally finished in just under 6 hours, which is not much faster than I did the marathon at the end of the Barcelona ironman after riding for 112 miles :)

York has given us both a hard time! Well done regardless.

Sometimes it's not that you've done anything wrong or anything was overly lacking in a build up, it's just some days the legs feel shit...... It's just extra gutting when it dovetails with a race 👍🦾🏃‍♀🏃❤

thanks for such an honest video

Great togetherness and true running partners there....takes just as much willpower to stop when it's sensible as it does to the finish line, and just as much to stop to support your partner. Well done both! More marathons to come!

Marathons are hard and almost impossible to get perfect, probably right not to plough on if having difficulties. I will likely return to the marathon distance as it’s something I want another go at……

You crazy kids, that was heart warming and incredibly sweet. Forget the running. Dawn seriously love conquers all. Good for you! There's always a next time. ❤ Also John your face when Dawn says she loves you more. 😂 You're a lucky man. Keep on keeping on.

Heartwarming seeing Dawn not wanting to leave you alone ❤ Your day will come!

Well done, great job, roll on to the next one !! Appreciate you making the video too 😊

Marathons are tricky. Sometimes, it is just not your day. Thank you for sharing!!

John and Dawn, DNFing is part of marathoning. It IS a beast. The distance commands respect.

Great channel, great video!

Hi John and Dawn, I ran on Sunday and saw you both when you stopped and I did feel for you both…. I have a lot of respect for you both for listening to your body and knowing when it isn’t your day❤

Sorry to see it didn't go to plan but respect for calling it and not giving yourself a more serious injury. As always really clear headed and transparent reflections that I'm sure will put you in a good position for the comeback! Well done both

Solid running though both , awesome pace up until then ..Best wishes for the next one 👍😀

Sorry to hear about the hamstrings. That was very nice for Dawn to stop. The weather was great and scenery awesome in Yorkshire. I thought you had enough training. I am sure you will be ready for Manchester. I thought both of you were running a fast pace.

I'm sorry that the race didn't go to plan for you John, it was sensible to pull the plug, and I totally understand Dawn not wanting to continue! I would have done the same if I was in a race with Ben. On the bright side you guys got a bunch of things right and you know what to work on for your next block!

Great video Brooms. Sorry about the hammies!

Very heart warming,❤❤❤❤

Unlucky, but should add more fuel to the fire for a spring time attempt? And hats off to Dawn for stopping too I’m not sure that many partners would be so caring 😊!

Takecare

Keep on keeping on 😊

Oh gutted for you both. Hopefully the changes work for you and the recovery is quick. Have you ever tried xendurance tablets before a race?

Oh no, sorry guys -- heartwarming protectiveness from you though Dawn! -- CharlieW

You are both such genuine people reporting so quickly on a very disappointing race. Similar to John I returned to running last year after over 30 years and did a marathon in November after several long runs in training something I used to do back in the day. Unfortunately my head is back in the 80’s/90’s but my body isn’t and I found in the marathon my legs were dead before 10 miles. I knew my goal of 4.59 (good for age being 72) was out the window and finished with 5.36. This year I am doing the same marathon but my approach has been different not running volume weekly mileage and using a 7 runs in a 14 day cycle which allows my body time to recover which I didn’t allow last year. So far it seems to be working and my longest run has been 3hrs 45 min (20Miles) and have gone injury free so far (last long run this coming Sunday). I am not trying to tell such lovely people what has gone wrong but just what went wrong for me last year. Additionally I have adopted the “run,dream,achieve” guys policy of incorporating slightly quicker than marathon pace into a long run (for example in the 20 miler I ran 1 mile w/u, then 2 miles 30 secs or so faster than marathon pace then 1 mile slower than marathon pace 6 times + a cool down and the next week a shorter long run very steady. Maybe an idea for you and I won’t know if this will work for me until next month. Also a track session midweek with a day off before and after to fully recover. However idea sharing is something we have to adapt to our personal selves. Best wishes to you both and I am so impressed that you have shared your thoughts and the caring nature of Dawn as it must have been very worrying for her seeing you in trouble. Kind regards Trevor

Sensible to stop I think but well done for trying. Think you were one of the lucky ones in terms of pre race organisation. By the time we got to the airfield we’d queued for 45 minutes. Folk started driving across the grass etc etc. The queues for the portaloos were unbelievable in the event village to the point where we missed the start of the race. One of my friends missed it by 30 minutes! And we’d all set off in good time!

Unlucky you had to pull out, keep on keeping on as you say 👍🏻

At least there wasn't any uncomfortableness 😂 I'm at a loss to explain the problem you had, unless it was the cramp gremlins!

Gutted for you john, a dnf for any reason is a hard one to swallow, kudos for dawn for staying with you. Recover, analyse and come back stronger.

Yeah if ya had a virus there isn’t much ya can do, I’ve got bit of a chest cold & can run but nowhere near 100% yep I can understand Dawn stopping to help, what ya could do for the next marathon is say from the start if it happens again to either one of you, John Dawn agree will keep running finish her or his own race, it’s awesome that you filmed the race but, one idea could be have someone else you know do some filming so you & Dawn can concentrate fully on marathon pace, race, & any flat marathons without hills? onwards & upwards tomorrows another day, 👊🏼👏🌲👍🏼🏃🏽‍♂️👣

Sorry you weren't able to complete. This is first time I’ve seen your channel so I don’t know anything about your running background or about you as people. John - can't help thinking you let your head drop as you weren't going to hit your time target. It's nice to have a time target but any plan has to be adjustable depending on how the race pans out. Finishing in a slower time surely has to be better than a DNF. Dawn - nobody likes to see their loved ones struggle. I have a twin brother who has struggled at races in the past. It pains me to see this so I fully understand. John would've been perfectly ok waiting for his lift so you really should've pushed on and finished alone, especially as you seemed to be going perfectly ok. Again, I would say taking a slightly slower time for yourself is better than a DNF. In the future, I think both of you running your own race is the way forward. If one of you has a bad race, it seemed pointless for the other to stop. I wish you well with future challenges. Hopefully, lessons can be learnt. Fuelling for example is such a vital part of marathon running. Can’t stress that enough.

Well done you two, plenty of other races to come. Don’t feel bad about a dnf, I wouldn’t be able to run past my partner in that situation.

Unlucky, better luck next time

In one of your episodes you mentioned you that you both are running every day and sometimes twice a day. Maybe incorporating more rest into your training schedule would help. May help ward off illness as well.

Hello friends, sorry for the outcome of your race. It seems the decision made was justified. Additionally, considering Dawn's Marathon was right, as mentally you wouldn't have been able to get your head for running. In my opinion, it appears that there might be a nutritional factor contributing to your cramping issue. It is possible that you are deficient in a specific mineral, which could explain the cramps you experienced. Have you ever tried taking magnesium? Personally, I highly recommend it as I have never encountered any cramping issues while using it.

Soory you had to DNF

Good video Brooms and sorry to hear things didn't go to plan😢. Marathon roulette is fun but dangerous (I've got the bullet holes to prove it). Two questions for JB... Why 40g/hour carbs in-race, when 60-90g is recommended? How are you deciding what your MP is... and did you over-reach? Hypoyhesis: Slightly too fast + Slightly under-fuelled = Trouble at 16-20 miles