Well that is the first of my two challenges over. I managed to complete the full 26.2 miles in 4h 53m yesterday.
Saturday night was in a hotel in London, with a couple of friends who were also running, so it was pasta and an earlyish night.
We were up at 0630hrs on the day, kit prepared and caught the train from Charing Cross to the start at Blackheath. The first event to stand out in my mind is a man relieving himself against someone’s wall and the irate householder springing out from behind some bushes and soaking him with a high-pressure hosepipe. The runner was not amused, but I was.
My objective was to get round, one way or another. Having not run for 3 weeks, except to dodge traffic crossing a road in London on Thursday – which hurt, I honestly didn’t know until the start of the race whether I would be able to run or would have to walk. My strategy was to dose up on ibuprofen tablets and gel, start gently and hope that my ankle eased off, stretch after 10 minutes and frequently thereafter, then get on with it. I am very pleased to say that ibuprofen saved the day. I took 800mg before the race and 800mg 2 hours in, and kept applying gel on my ankle. It’s wonderful stuff, but remember I am NOT a doctor!
It also helped that my charity place got me a start right at the back so you have no choice but to start off slowly. The first 3 miles are pretty much walk, slow jog, stop because of the huge numbers of people. Even as far in as Cutty Sark at 7 miles we were still walking. I have not noticed it this badly in previous years, perhaps because I started nearer the front.
The great thing about the day is you see the very best of people. There are literally hundreds of thousands of spectators who are there just to cheer people on. They are giving out slices of orange, bananas, jelly babies, etc. to total strangers, and the support they give to runners really does help them get round. There are parties, bands, and discos all the way around.
There are too many inspirational runners to mention, but I ran with a few during the course of the race.
- A couple of miles in I overtook (that is I was going fastest) Buster, the 101 year old Pimlico Plumber. He retired at 97 but got bored and came out of retirement at 99. He started the day with a pint of bitter and had a few more on the way round. I'm not sure if he finished.
- Most of the race I was going at a similar pace to a man called Bernie Hollywood, who has run the equivalent of 35 marathons in 22 days to raise £100k for Barnardos.
- There was a woman walking on stilts aiming to be the tallest runner ever to complete the marathon. I don’t know if she made it but I was surprised to overtake her. I thought she would be really quick with legs that long.
- Blind Dave was running. I didn’t see him unfortunately, but London was the last of 7 marathons in 7 days in 7 continents. That is truly inspirational. If someone just asked you to fly around the world to 7 continents in 7 days most of us would be exhausted, let alone running a marathon in each place and recovering/sleeping whilst in the air. I couldn’t even think about running a mile today, let alone 26.
Also running was a group of Masai warriors, who are so fierce they kill male lions with their bare hands. Well I saw one of them collapsed and he couldn’t make it to the end.
I was a bit irritated to be overtaken, quite comfortably too, by a Womble. It wasn’t looking quite so cocky 30 minutes later when I surged by it again. There is nothing like a heavy rainstorm to slow a Womble right down – those costumes are like a giant sponge.
Getting towards the end it was hurting; very hard going. I was so pleased to see the finish line. Leukaemia Research had provided a room in Central Hall, Westminster for friends and families to view the race and look after their runners at the end. I hobbled round there to meet Zak, who was with baby Essa and couple of our friends. It was great to see them, and to refuel with sandwiches and peanuts.
LR had also provided a team of masseurs. Whilst I was waiting for my massage I got chatting to a fellow runner and regretfully I didn't get his name. He was running with his daughter in his son’s memory. He had lost his son, aged 24, to leukaemia last year. Six months later his son’s best friend from childhood committed suicide, unable to recover from the loss of his friend. This man was incredibly dignified when he told me it was the hardest thing to go on, but that he had to for his family. It was very moving.
I have mixed feelings about yesterday – on the one hand I am disappointed to not beat 4 hours having trained hard until my injury three weeks ago. On the other hand, I am delighted to have finished with a time starting with a 4. Until yesterday morning I honestly didn't know if I could run on my ankle and thought I may be walking the whole way, but with frequent stretching stops, I managed to run steadily the whole way.
This morning I ache like I have been in a car accident, have an ankle like a balloon and toe nails hanging off, yet despite all that and getting slower in each of the three I have competed in, I still believe I have a sub 4 marathon in me. You may yet get another one thrown in for free.
That said, I have been talked in to doing a triathlon next year, not for charity just for fun, so training for another marathon may get in the way of that.
Thank you very much for your support. The donations to date stand at £9,305 plus gift aid of £1,823, so a total of £11,128 with pledges still to come in. The focus will now turn to raising blood and completing the Kilimanjaro challenge, so watch out for a change of message!
