The First Shrewsbury Marathon, my 26th marathon

Today 23rd June 2013 was the first running of the Shrewsbury marathon and my 26th marathon. With a little trepidation i approached the race. It is rare that things are perfect at first. The week preceding has been warm but mixed weather. I drove to Shrewsbury last Wednesday evening to test out the route and a trial run to the carpark. The evening was warm and even though i was running slowly , frequent stops to look at a map or to chat with the 4 other runners doing the same - it still felt warm in just a Technical T on top of technical shorts. As we were told that there would be around 3,000 runners - probably mainly in the half marathon - with a few hundred running the full, there was some discussions on Runners World Forums about how this would work and how smooth it would be. The half marathon with over 2000 runners was due to start 30minutes after the full. Overall I'll give the organisers, a 7.5/10. It seemed to run reasonably . That was after the 10minute delay -'as all the marshals were not in place' was the rumour. Positives- mostly good support , until lap4. Closed roads. Sufficient water for runners Negatives /Development areas - the 10minute delay. Other points which went ok but could have gone wrong- sufficient water, on lap 4 they reverted to paper cups-a bit more difficult to take on the run. 300 or 500ml bottles are not the easiest - and early on many runners took a few gulps and threw away. Perhaps smaller bottles would be better. If the day was hotter - i would be very nervous about runner doing the half marathon using all the water- but today was ok. LAPS- i like laps - especially when there is a chance to see other runners , it is good to see faster and slower runners. The switch backs in the eh Quarry park- after the first time - i managed to enjoy them again a chance to see faster and slower runners. Many folks didnt like them. Narrow lanes for running - worked ok today- if there a few 100 more in either race im not sure they would work. Undulating course- seemed ok for me - as i ran my fastest marathon race of around 10races for 2years ( 4hrs 29minutes - ) since a 4hr 24 at LLanelli early 2011. My running day - yes i'd count it as an enjoyable day- a great little run around the pretty town of Shrewsbury. 4x6mile laps seemed to work for me. And i am counting my 26th time around 26.2 as a success. Yes of course lots & lots to reflect on. My usual of pace going slower later on. On feel lap 4 of the UNDULATING course 'felt'better than lap 3- and i probably slowed less than others around me. So well done Shrewsbury. There may be some photographs