I did not mind in the end; 3:57 – at least its under 4; girl behind me vomited over my hind leg- at least it was only one leg; crowd encroached onto the finish area making it difficult to move- adds to atmosphere, keeps me upright; only a bag of Tayto as food – it’s cheese and onion, my favourite; got my first bottle of water from the sponsors -750ml bottle.

I did not mind because my race had finished 6.2 miles previous. Real textbook case. So I had a long time to reflect on the race. Enough time to be disappointed and get over it; to be devastated and recover; to think where it went wrong.....

The omens were good. I have always liked Belfast; lived there; worked there; sure I even met my wife there! What better way to strengthen my bond with the place then run 26 odd miles of her streets and bask in her warm affection. Arrived up Saturday, stayed with friends in Bangor, kids behaved, Munster lost, Lenister won, got technical top and number, fabulous BBQ that evening. Lovely day on Sunday spent at the country fair in Ballywater, county Down. Prepped gear, had pasta meal and relaxed that evening. Awoke Monday, cloudless skies, Bin Laden gone, bowl of porridge eaten, lift into town with Simon and Michael- right to start line-no hassle. City hall; majestic in the sunlight; the start area was a riot of bright colours, faces and lovely lilting northern accents. 20,000 runners, 3,000 for marathon the rest for relay (4 stages). Full water belt, 4 gels and a plan....3.45.

Followed pacers from start, took in the sights, over Albert bridge, stopped at first water station, grabbed a paper cup, ran on a little and stopped to drink the bit I had not spilt. Onwards up the Holywood road, next water station, same procedure except this time someone ran into the back of me- got the message- reverted to belt. Looped around into city by Sydenham by-pass. Crowds were thin on the ground as the preceding few miles were dual carriage way but this changed at the first relay changeover at mile six. Very chaotic as runners lined the pavement looking for their relay partners to arrive, lots of cheering and waving, ran by water station and headed on behind my 3.45 pacers. Across town, out the Falls road, cut across Shanklin and headed up towards the Antrim road against the backdrop of people cheering and clapping. Water belt was almost depleted so stopped at a water station on the Oldpark road just after the 2nd relay changeover point. No good, started to cough the water up; poured it over my head and so began my attempt at water osmosis. Up the Antrim road, 2 mile climb, met Jane, kids and friends at mile 11, got a 500ml bottle of water; saved my race; life; marriage etc. The climb was not bad, felt good, did not lose time, stuck with pacers, passed half timing at 1.51, found it was getting warm but a descend down to mile 15 compensated. Bottle was drained so I started to pour the cup of water into the bottle and then drink it. Some of the water stations were next to open fire hydrants, which the volunteers had opened and were filling large plastic buckets before pouring the water into the cups so I tried to stick my bottle into the bucket for a better fill – no joy. I had not minded the relay runners until I passed the 16 mile relay changeover point at Gideon’s Green. From that point the course ran parallel to the M5 motorway. Sadly it went from road to a cycle path. And Although the view across the bay was lovely, this 2 mile odd section was narrow, bush on one side and sea on other. It was very difficult to circumnavigate around relay walkers and slower runners and I was getting annoyed. Off the cycle path and back into my stride. Passed the 19 mile timing mat point at Dargan Road in 2.41 – on track. Then it happened, began to notice that I was not as close to the pacers as usual, slight blip I hoped. By mile 20 I recognised those dreaded signs. I knew my race was ended and my slog had started; - from now on people would stream by, I would struggle on and the rest of the course would become a blur.

So I began to think where it when wrong; training plan? taper? nutrition? pace? dehydration? In the end I was unsure but decided that I still liked the city, might even try the marathon again, but if you want to run it; be warned; Belfast has no bottle.