Water way to have a good time

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With only six weeks to go until the Manchester Marathon I need to start getting some long runs in. My aim is to get up to 20 miles by Easter which will give me two weeks to taper. I've never done any serious marathon training before and I hope this will help me reach my target of sub 3:30.

As I have been concentrating on half marathons up to this point I have already done 15 miles including a warm up so an extra mile a week should do the trick. The issue is finding the time. My goal is to complete the training at marathon pace - 8 minute miles.

The other challenge this brings with it is finding a route. This week I decided to head out along the Grand Union canal from the centre of Northampton. I've run part of it before as a night run with Parklands Jog and Run but this would take me further.

I parked the car in St James retail park and initially followed the River Nene which runs west, parallel to the canal, through to Upton. A sharp left turn took me over a small bridge and brought me down onto the towpath.

From here the canal turned south past Hunsbury Meadows and under the M1 at junction 15. This part is known as Rothersthorpe Locks and includes a flight of thriteen locks. It is a steady incline but the wind was at my back and I managed to complete each mile at a consistent 8:10-8:12.

Once through the locks I passed Gayton Marina and came to Blisworth Marina where the Northampton arm meets the Grand Union proper. I headed west again following the West Coast Main  Line. The motorway noise faded away and I finally felt as though I was able to relax and enjoy the surroundings. 

The paths were empty save for a lone fisherman and a couple walking their dog. They were the only people I saw in two hours of running. My only company were the ducks and geese, a large heron which led me for a while and the Virgin trains sweeping their way northwest from London to Birmingham.


After eight miles I turned back and retraced my steps. I was still managing 8:10 pace and stepped that up with four miles to go managing to clock sub 7:50's and a 7:24 final mile. At the end I was tired but felt I still had more miles in my legs which is a positive to take into the final weeks of training.

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