This post is a bit late as I‘ve been ill since returning from London but here’s my account of the Marathon weekend . . . be warned, it’s going to be a long read! The run itself didn’t go completely to plan, but I’m not going to let that spoil what has to be one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
On Saturday morning we left Weston on the train at 9:45 and arrived into Paddington at lunchtime. The kids love trains so this was the perfect start to the weekend for them and it was only going to get better as they were going to get plenty of trips on the tube and DLR while we were there.
From Paddington we got the tube to Canning Town which was only a few hundred yards away from our hotel. We checked-in, dumped our stuff and got the DLR to The Excel where I had to register and pick up my running number and kit bag for marathon day. After registration we went to the CLIC Sargent stand and met up with their running team. They gave us some CLIC Sargent T-shirts, hats & clapper balloons for the kids to wear when watching the Marathon and Ben wrote me a nice good luck message which was stuck up on the wall at the Expo and was later transferred to the venue of the CLIC Sargent runner’s reception. The kids were getting a bit tired by this point, so my Mum & Auntie took them somewhere quiet so that I could go and visit the trade stands for half an hour where I picked up a VLM branded coat, a new massage stick and a few other bits & pieces. I was very good and resisted the temptation to upgrade my Garmin, although after speaking with one of the Garmin reps, I now know exactly which watch I need to get now.
When we got back from the Expo, we quickly freshened up before going to the Italian restaurant next door to the hotel for an early evening meal. There were loads of lovely sounding dishes on the menu that I normally would’ve had, but I was good and avoided anything rich or spicy and just had a rather bland pasta dish.
After dinner I went back to my room and set about getting all my gear ready for the following day and packing it into the official kitbag. After pinning my number to my vest and attaching the timing chip to my running shoes I was ready to settle down to sleep, but I was far from tired for some reason. I couldn’t sleep, so I put Match of the Day on the TV and at some point it must have got boring because I nodded off while watching it and woke during the night with the TV still on.
The next morning I woke at 5:20am, 10 minutes before my alarm was due to go off, and opened the curtains to see what the weather was like. Clear skies over London . . . GET IN !! After applying the necessary nipple tape and Vaseline to all the appropriate areas I was ready to get into my PINK outfit. I left the tutu and wig in the bag until Greenwich, but the rest of it had to go on before I went down to breakfast. Breakfast was the first part of the day that didn’t go to plan. I always have porridge and a banana as a pre-race breakfast and the hotel didn’t have either on the menu. At first I thought this wouldn’t be a problem as I’d bought an emergency ‘porridge in a pot’ with me, but I added too much water to it when I went to make it so I couldn’t eat it. I had to resort to toast and jam and a rather battered banana that I had left in my bag from the journey to London.
After breakfast we got the DLR to Greenwich. It was during the walk through Greenwich with all the other runners that everything started to feel very real, especially when you start to spot some of the elaborate fancy dress costumes that some runners would be wearing. At the top of the hill in Greenwich Park I had to say my goodbyes to my Mum, Auntie and the kids as they weren’t allowed in the runner’s assembly area. When I entered the red assembly area first stop was the toilets. I’d heard about problems with queuing so I wanted to make sure I was able to visit the loos at least once. I needn’t have worried though, because I didn’t have to queue at all that morning. After getting the rest of my outfit on I dumped my kitbag on the lorry and went to find where the entrance to my starting pen was. I had been allocated Pen 3 out of 9 based on my predicted finish time and to my surprise pen 3 was right at the front of the park only about 30 yards from the Greenwich Park gates. Safe in the knowledge that I knew where I was going later on I went back to the main assembly area where I watched Jonathan Edwards interview several runners live on the BBC. At 9:15 I went for another quick pit stop, before going over to my Pen ready for the off. There was still 30 minutes to go before the start, but I like to be there early to avoid the crush. In my pen I met a fellow CLIC Sargent runner who had already run 6 marathons in the week building up to the VLM and not surprisingly he was feeling very tired.
Before I knew it the countdown for the start of the Marathon was ringing in our ears and the horn signalled the start. Wow, I’m now actually running in the London Marathon. From my starting position it only took 2 minutes to cross the start line and I was up and running. The first half a mile was quite slow (8:30-9:00 min/mile pace) as people were dodging and weaving to run at their required pace, but after this I was able to settle down to my target pace. My race plan was to run at 7:50 min/mile for the first 15-18 miles and then think about upping the pace slightly if I felt ok. During the second mile I had a quick chat with a fellow pink wig & tutu wearing guy and we were discussing how warm we thought the wigs were going to get in these glorious sunny conditions. We came to the conclusion that it would be warm, but we really shouldn’t be thinking about it so early in the run.
At somewhere between miles 2 and 3 a vicar was stood on the kerb side throwing holy water over the runners and because I was running quite close to the side of the road I got a face full . . . cheers!! Apparently he does this every year, but there was another ritual that I hadn’t been warned about before the run . . . the hand slapping. Most of the kids on the side of the road were holding their hands out waiting to be slapped by runners as they go by and because I was running close to the kerb and the fact that it was my first marathon, I found myself getting rather carried away with this and any hand that came out I slapped it. I kept this up for more than 8 miles and later on in the race I fear this was to be the cause of my downfall due to running with one foot higher than the other. Running around the iconic London marathon landmark of The Cutty Sark was every bit of a buzz as I was expecting. The cheer from the crowds was a very ‘hairs up on the back of the neck’ moment. Shortly after The Cutty Sark I knew I would be able to see my kids for the first time during the race. When I spotted their CLIC Sargent clapper balloons I made a dash over to see them and gave them a big hand slap before running on. It was only a short reunion, but it gave me a good burst of adrenalin. The next major landmark for me to focus on was reaching Tower Bridge at the 12.5 mile point. Now that I had seen my kids, I was a little more relaxed and moved away from the side of the road and concentrated on nailing my target pace. I had gone a little quicker than I should’ve done during miles 3 & 4, but other than that I was bang on, give or take a few seconds per mile. I don’t know why but I really enjoyed miles 7-12 and then I remembered what was coming next . . . Tower Bridge. CLIC Sargent had an official cheering point on the bridge and I wanted to make sure I was on the correct side of the road to see them. Turning the corner that brought Tower Bridge into view was another goose bump moment and a major adrenalin boost. I powered up the slope to the crest of the bridge and then when I spotted the CLIC Sargent team I veered carefully across the road to run close by them. I was desperately trying to take all these moments in, but everything goes so quickly.
I was now at the half way point and feeling good. I was on target with my pacing and thinking about spotting the family somewhere on the Isle of Dogs. At about the 13.5 mile point the lead Elite men’s athletes went by on the other side of the dual carriage way. Without wanting to state the obvious, they are moving very quickly. I don’t think I could keep up with one of them for more than 100 meters and they manage that pace for 26 miles.
I was expecting to see the kids again at the CLIC Sargent cheer point at the Millwall Firestaion at about mile 15, but they weren’t there. My wife and sister in-law were there, but I didn’t see them. I was slightly down hearted about not seeing the kids but I knew that if they weren’t there they would be somewhere between 17-18 miles.
At 16.5 miles I got an unexpected boost as my friends Martin & Charlie gave me a big shout out. They asked how I was feeling and I gave them the big thumbs up. I was feeling great and I started to think about when I was going to up the pace. I decided that I would wait until I’d done 19 miles because of a slightly quicker pace that I’d set at the beginning of the run. Unfortunately at 17 miles things started to go pear shaped. As I was running up a slight uphill section through a water station my left calf suddenly tightened up completely out of the blue. When I reached the top of the incline I stopped at the side of the road where I stretched it out for 30 seconds. I hated myself for stopping as I’ve never had to stop during any run, but I knew it was for the best. When I got going again I felt okay and was able to maintain a pace 20 secs /mile off of my target. Not great, but not the end of the world for a sub 3:30 time. A double disappointment was that because I was worrying too much about my calf I missed seeing my kids at 17.5 miles. They saw me though, so they were happy. A little further on there was a steel band playing which lifted my mood as I love that kind of music and when I watched the TV coverage of the marathon when I got home, I saw myself on TV running by at this point when Peter Storey was interviewing the chap from Emerdale dressed as a school boy.
Unfortunately at about the 20 mile point I had to stop again on a downhill section as the IT band on the side of my left knee was now starting to tighten up as a result of my calf problem. Now I was getting worried, because with 6 miles to go I knew the rest of the run was going to be painful. I was receiving plenty of encouragement from the crowd to keep going at this point and then I heard a friendly voice saying “Come on Dave” running by me. It was Helen, a friend of Martin & Charlie who I’d seen earlier. I picked myself up and got going again. My pace was good again, but I knew it wouldn’t last as things started to tighten up gradually. At about 21 miles the sub 3:30 Runners World Pace Maker ran by me and I thought I’d try and latch onto him until the finish, but alas my calf tightened up badly near mile 22 and I had to stop again. I’ll never forget the reaction of the crowd that I got here. I was in a really bad place mentally and was beginning to doubt whether I was going to be able to finish. The chanting of my name was deafening whilst I was stretching out and when I got going again the cheers I got were even louder. It sounded like I’d scored the winner in the Cup Final at Wembley. This gave me a real boost and I knew I had to finish no matter what and I remembered why I was doing this run and how much money I’d raised for them.
The next 4 miles was a very stop start affair. As well as my calf and IT band, my groins and hips on my left side had started to tighten up as well. I was offered a massage by a St. Johns Ambulance crew member and a VLM official, but I stupidly said I’d be ok both times. Maybe if I’d taken one of them up on their offer my final 10K wouldn’t have been so painful. To make things worse every time I stopped, an old guy running in a mankini would go past me, and then I’d overtake him only for me to have to stop again. This happened on 6 occasions, and I still don’t know if I finished ahead of him. Big Ben was a very welcome sight as I knew that meant there was only a mile to go. I was determined to enjoy my moment on The Mall, so at the 600m to go marker on Birdcage Walk I stopped for a final stretch out before attacking the finish. As soon as I went under the 385 yards to go banner I got a major adrenalin rush and I felt like I was coming off the bend in a 200m race and really went for it up The Mall with a sprint finish, arms spread wide above my head. All thoughts of my injuries were totally forgotten during those few hundred meters and I crossed the line in 3 hours 44 minutes 40 seconds. I’d done it !!! When I stopped a few meters after crossing the line I couldn’t move. My groin had totally ceased up and I was in agony. The medal must have super healing powers because as soon as that was put around my neck I was able to walk again . . . gingerly.
After picking up my kitbag and having a quick rest in The Mall with my feet up I walked very slowly over to Trafalgar Square to meet up with my family. They were still near Big Ben, which meant I had some time to kill, so I perched myself under the Olympic countdown clock and reflected on what I had just achieved until they arrived.
I went to the CLIC Sargent post marathon reception where I had a very welcome massage and plate of pasta. I also spotted the message that Ben had written for me at the Expo which had been stuck to the wall in the reception venue. The support I have received from the CLIC Sargent running team has been fabulous from the start and it was lovely to meet some of the team in person. My marathon fundraising total for them currently stands at over £5000 and on top of this we are hoping to raise over £1000 this weekend at an event we are holding at the kids local football club.
We eventually left the reception at about 5:30pm and there were still people on the course running along The Embankment. One of the Rhinos was walking very slowly along the road and unfortunately for them this area of the course is completely different at this time of day when all the crowds have gone. It must feel very lonely out there with nobody about to cheer you on.
Luckily we were staying on for one more night in London so we were in no rush to go anywhere. Our route back to the hotel let us give the kids a look at a couple of the sights they’d wanted to see. We were catching the DLR from Tower Gateway so they got to see Tower Bridge and the Tower of London which they were both very happy about.
Needless to say, we all slept very well that night and I managed to wangle a late 2pm checkout with the hotel receptionist, so no need to rush about in the morning. When we did finally leave we finished the weekend with a quick trip up to Stratford on the DLR to take a look at the Olympic Stadium before heading straight on to Paddington to catch our train home.
So after 14 weeks of training covering 454 miles in 62 hours, many visits to the chiropractor and physio, 6 toe nail casualties and 3 blisters, would I put myself through it again . . . YOU BET!! . . . I’ve already set myself a reminder to enter the ballot on 30th April.
