Portsmouth Waterfront Coastal Marathon – 17th December 2017

By Chris Jones

After a year of injuries, I really wasn’t convinced I should be lining up for this even up to a week before – but was so glad I did. Voted one of the top 10 UK marathons, this fitted perfectly with a pre-Christmas visit to family. An out-and-back horseshoe route following the waters edge from Portsmouth around Langstone Harbour to Hayling Island, it had a bit of everything – promenade, sea walls, shingle, muddy tracks, icy puddles, pine forest but 99.9% traffic free. Cracking sunrise over the Solent for the 08:30 start. I was in the groove for the middle section from 13 to 22 miles, flagging by 24 but hauled myself across the line thanks to great support along Southsea promenade. A really well organised event, I would recommend it to anyone.

Time – 3:48:11