Manx Mountain Marathon 2022
by George Blackwell
My favourite race of the calendar will likely always be the Manx Mountain Marathon (MMM), ran by the Manx Fell Runners in the Isle of Man. Growing up in the Isle of Man and spending vast amounts of time on the local fells, there’s nowhere I’d rather race. 30 miles from the top to bottom of the island over all the fells between, cumulatively leading to 2500m of elevation gain over a brutal course. The route has something for everyone, with steep climbs, technical descents, short sections on fire track and road, as well as more typical trails you’d find in other races across the UK.
At heart, the MMM is a fell race, so has some route choice between checkpoints and can leave you waist deep in heather at points, however after 50 years of the race running, the best route is well established…local knowledge for navigation is always a bonus! The MMM was one of my two ‘A Races’ in my 2022 season, alongside Ironman UK (which was later swapped for Ultra-Trail Snowdonia 50k). Thinking I was preparing for an Ironman two months following this race significantly influenced my training approach, which ironically made for one of my best physical and psychological performances to date.
Training Approach
I’m currently based at Loughborough University, which is home to many top athletes, however when attempting to train for a mountain race, the elevation profile of the surrounding area is less than desirable! To balance this, I tried to use S+C and some specific indoor climbing sessions on the treadmill to help with the specific muscular endurance I needed to develop.
The target each week within this block was for 50-60km of running with one key longer run and one key run session, approximately 7-8 hours on the bike, 10km a week swimming alongside 2-3 S+C sessions a week. This is no mean feat to fit in every week, so intensity management was extremely important. I didn’t hit those targets every week, but a key part to give myself the opportunity to do so when work + university commitments allowed was ensuring my easy running and cycling was at the right intensity. I paid for a physiology assessment with the team at Loughborough Sport, getting specific zones for my aerobic intensity on the run and bike and understanding my ‘substrate utilisation’ – in layman’s terms, how my body is fuelling the exercise I’m doing to give me an idea of how sustainable it is. Another key focus for me was practicing fuelling and understanding what my stomach was able to tolerate and absorb at different intensities.
Are you racing the Manx Mountain Marathon?
Get 10% off a TMR Training Plan using the code TMR10!
The Race
Like for many people, pacing the start of a long-distance race is always difficult. The adrenaline that takes over when you’re starting an event you’ve been building up to for months can be overwhelming and despite how easy the first hour or so might feel, it’s rarely actually easy enough! My own strategy here was to run my own pace, and to get to the second half of the course in good condition, ready to capitalise on the faster trails that are much more runnable than the first. Two early leaders went out hard from the start, and I managed to refrain from chasing them up the initial steep climb of North Barule (560m elevation over 4km). Although I felt my effort was controlled, my heart rate was sat above my target range for the race, so I was continually trying to hold myself back as I watched them get away from me. Ironically, the eventual race winner was currently sat several minutes behind me, so maybe I should have taken things back even more!
From the top of the first climb to the middle of the race I ran mostly by myself, executing my nutrition plan as I picked up my inov8 soft flasks I’d left on the course at specific places. I was fueling at approximately 80g carbohydrate / hour using Maurten, which is uncomfortable while running at a strong pace, however, I knew it would pay off in the later stages of the race. I came through the half-way point having just caught one of the early leaders, and we ran together through some faster flat sections. As we made our way to the top of the short punchy climb up Slieau Whallian, the eventual race winner came flying past us both which made for a frustrating period psychologically. The next hour was a battle trying to bring in the gap to the front of the race, but also not let the gap grow to the athlete who’d just come past.
The end to the race is a steep and technical descent down to Fleshwick Bay, followed by a steep 800m climb at an average grade of 20% that finishes many people off at this stage in the event. Although the eventual winner had disappeared away, I had been gaining on the second of the early leaders that disappeared initially up North Barule. Thankfully the legs just about had enough left to get past him up the climb and hold on to 2nd position to the finish, coming into the finish in a time of 4:58:11, 24 minutes faster than the time I ran the year before.
lessons and reflection from the manx mountain marathon
1. Pacing is everything. Knowing your limit and being disciplined on it is key to performing well. I did this substantially better than in other races, but it wasn’t perfect!
2. Fuelling is key – this is another discipline in and of itself. Knowing how much you need to fuel and sticking to it, even when you don’t want to in the final few sections of races, can be the difference between running a PB or the legs saying no.
3. Intensity management in training is pivotal. Training at the right intensities for the right sessions is a huge part of turning up to races fit and healthy, but also in a position to push your own limits. If you’ve been overdoing it for a short period of time, you may feel fit and not be overtrained, but it’s unlikely you’ll have that extra spark when things get tough at the back end of events to get the best out of yourself.
Are you running the Manx Mountain Marathon?
Train with a TMR Training Plan and enjoy a 10% discount by using the code TMR10 below!