Domville eyes London landmark

THE build-up has been good, the miles have been put in and personal bests notched up but there is still one thing that Anna Domville can’t predict as she prepares for her marathon debut in London on Sunday.

- Kevin Fahey

“The preparations have gone well but a marathon is a bit of an unknown really” said Domville, the reigning Running Bath/Chron athlete of the year.

“I have done the long runs but racing is a different beast. But it is exciting and hopefully it goes well for me”

Seasoned hands, like her coach Paul King, will know from first-hand experience that the old mantra that states the marathon doesn’t start until you get to 20 miles can bite you and really hurt.

Whether you over-do it at the start - it is notoriously fast opening 10k to the Cutty Sark in London - get your hydration wrong or just run out of steam, the 26.2 miles test has so many pitfalls that can trip you up.

But talking to Domville it becomes clear that she heads to the capital with confidence that she is in good shape, not least because of her Bath half marathon PB of 74mins 16secs last month.