Stirling Marathon Route

Today I drove something that will be approximately the Stirling Marathon route.  I know that the start point won’t be exact, and that the final mile or so inside the city won’t be exact, but it’s not going to be far off.  It will be my last chance to drive the route for a while, as the A820 (from Doune to Dunblane) will be closed for the next three months.

So, here’s what I saw:

The route seems to start at approximately 25ft above sea level.  The first ten and a half miles are a fearsome climb all the way to Dunblane, at about 280ft.  That’s the same kind of height gain as nemesis, the Wallace Stone Brae – but it takes over ten miles to achieve it.

After that we have another two mile uphill stretch from Bridge of Allan to Innovation Park to contend with, where we will gain 100ft.  And the final stretch will involve a bit of a hill too, as we come in to the city.

This is clearly going to have to have some kind of impact on my training.  I need to learn to be able to cope with hills, and I need to re-think my pacing.  

It’s going to be brutal!