Yesterday was quite an experience. I was one of the 37, 675 amateur runners to finish the London Marathon. I crossed the finishing line in 4 hours and 11 minutes.
The week before London felt very long, as I came to the end of my taper and began to count down the days, hours and minutes until the big day. Keeping up to date on the latest weather forecast, monitoring my fundraising, reflecting on my training, thinking about what I was eating and drinking, planning how to get to registration and eventually to the start line.
On Saturday 25th April, Dad and I flew from Edinburgh into London City Airport, arriving around midday. We were staying at the Ramada Hotel, which was conveniently located beside ExCeL London (Marathon Expo Registration). Registration had been ongoing from Wednesday; with Saturday the last available day for registration – open from 9am-5pm.
I was unsure whether or not to expect queues so Dad and I dropped off our cases and headed straight over to register. When we got to registration, there were a huge number of people milling about however it was very well organised, with a number of registration stations split into different running numbers, such as 43480-44964, all the way up to 59,000. I was handed an envelope, which contained my running number, a timing chip, uniform drawstring bag, 4 safety pins and a booklet with final instructions. You then had to move round to an additional station to activate your timing chip.
The exhibition itself contained a number of exhibitors ranging from Bupa massages, charity information stalls to ranges of Adidas clothing. There was also an area called Experts corner, which included talks from Runners World, information on what to expect on race day, hydration and nutrition and importantly mental preparation. I also got my name printed on my running vest, which I now have as a lovely memento of the day.
The night before the race Dad and I went to the O2 and had dinner in Zizzi’s, lots of carbs were consumed – garlic bread and pasta with chicken and mushrooms. Dad was also on the pasta however was on the wine whilst I opted to stick to water. To get to the O2 we used the Emirates Airline – Aviation Experience, which initially opened in 2012 for the London Olympics. The pods can take up to 10 people and offer unique views of East London, including landmarks such as the Thames Barrier, Royal Docks and Canary Wharf. I headed to bed around 11pm and attempted to fall asleep with the prospect of the marathon less than 12 hours away.
On the morning of the race I got up around 6.30am, following a pretty rubbish nights sleep, due to both excitement and anxiety for Race Day. The hotel provided my breakfast; usually I would go all out at the opportunity to consume multiple courses of breakfast however yesterday morning was not such an occasion. I managed to eat some Weetabix, Crunchy Nut Cornflakes, a slice of toast with jam and a glass or orange juice. I had hoped to have porridge for breakfast however couldn’t bring myself to eat the hotel’s offering of some unidentifiable foreign looking substance labelled as ‘porridge’. Once breakfast was finished I got into my running vest and ensured my number was pinned on and my timing chip securely attached to me shoe.
Dad and I left the hotel around 8.30am and headed for the Docklands Light Railway to get us to Greenwich. Until running this year, I hadn’t appreciated that there are 3 starting points for the London Marathon to cope with the sheer volume of runners. I was designated to the Red Start area in Greenwich Park and assigned to starting pen 6/9. Only runners were allowed inside the red area, before the race participant’s handed their identical bags (issued at registration), with their number stuck on to go onto lorries – split into the same number blocks as registration. The lorries were then waiting at the finish line to reunite runners with their belongings. This is one prime example of the fantastic organisation and planning which goes into making the London Marathon an annual success.
Having handed in my bag and queued to use a portaloo, I then headed over to my pen and waited for the start of the race. People wearing fancy dress had been advised to head to the backs of their pens or to simply go to pen 9 so as not to impede other runners. I could see very little from my starting pen, except the backs of hundreds of heads, but there was a real buzz as strangers and friends shared their goals for the race ahead.
As the starting gun fired in the distance people began to slowly move forward. I remember feeling a sense of unity amongst all the strangers surrounding me, each individual running the race had been working towards this day. Everyone taking part had personal goals, different motivations and ambitions but we all had one thing in common we were all taking part in the 35th London Marathon.
The weather provided great running conditions for a Scottish girl – mild, around 12oC with clouds and patchy rain. I was hoping to complete the marathon in sub 4 hours, I realise this was perhaps a rather optimistic expectation for my first marathon however throughout my training it has been a goal. I crossed the starting line around 8 minutes after the initial timing clock had started and attempted to pace for a 4 hour run. I had picked up a pace band at the Lucozade information station at the Expo Exhibition the day before which told me my target split times for each mile. My timing chip started when I crossed the start line and recorded my split times every 5kms, up to and including the finish time. This year people were able to download an app, which allowed them, using a runner’s number or surname, to track a person as they ran around the route.
Before we had even reached the first mile marker, there were a number of runners – mainly males, already peeing at the side of the road. We had all been well warned prior to race day not to pee in people’s gardens and informed that there were toilets every couple of miles lining the route. However due to the long queues for portaloo’s many people had not left enough time to go before the start of the race or had been waiting at the backs of pens – drinking litres of water. This was rather amusing and offered a distraction to fellow runners from the very congested opening miles at hand. As I passed the second mile marker, I began to appreciate the number of spectators already out lining the streets in this early stage of the race. A few residents had even opened their windows and doors blaring music and cheering us all on with megaphones. The next few miles passed without any issues, I was enjoying myself lapping up the atmosphere, which exploded around the Cutty Sark, everyone was cheering on people, I could hear uplifting shouts of ‘Go Molly’ from complete strangers reading my name on my vest. The spectators were fantastic, some had even sliced up oranges and offered jelly babies and other sweeties to runners. My legs felt good, but I made sure not to get carried away and stuck to my pace. I had expected that the mass of runners would spread out by 7 miles however, that was not the case.
The atmosphere running over Tower Bridge was electric; spectators at this particular point had come out in force. When we came off Tower Bridge the route swung to the right as we headed out towards Canary Wharf and passed the half-way mark, I felt comfortable, 13 miles behind me and on track for a 3 hour 58 finish. As we ran out, still chock-a-block, many of the elite athlete’s ran passed on the other side of the route, including Paula Radcliffe with approximately 6 miles left of their race. For the following 5 miles I felt fine, my legs continued to run and make my desired pace despite the overcrowded conditions. I had been taking on gels, drinking water and sipping Lucozade at various stations along the route as and when I needed to.
18 miles in and finally the crowd of runners began to dissipate and I felt that for the first time throughout the race that I had space to move. Unfortunately from this point onwards I began to get cramp, at first I thought it would wear off but by 22 miles it was only getting worse and spreading across both the front and back of my two legs. I was absolutely gutted as I realised that my sub 4 hour time was slipping away, I desperately tried to ignore the pain, to stretch, to walk it off for a bit but nothing was helping.
The last 4 and a bit miles were absolute agony, as I ran/hobbled/jogged/moved in anyway I could towards the finish line. I wanted to stop so badly but kept thinking about all the kind people who have sponsored me over the past few weeks and how me running will hopefully make a difference to the lives of some MS sufferers. Even if it only helps a few individuals I feel that is definitely worth a few miles of excruciating pain.
Having never really experienced cramp on any of my training runs, including my longer runs 18 and 21 miles, I am not entirely sure as to why it happened. Perhaps due to the sheer number of people on the day, meaning I was unable to run as I normally would, my body was tense for around 3 hours to try to avoid losing my space. As the race had progressed I was conscious of people becoming increasingly unaware of other runners around them leading to many people tripping and runners even falling over. On the whole, people became very lethargic, increasing numbers of people required medical attention and as expected the number of runners forced to walk soared in the latter stages of the race.
For me the final stages of the race are a bit of a blur, however this was not because I was going at any great speed, much to my disappointment, but because I was counting down the mile markers, counting down how long I had to go until I could stop. Only when I hobbled under the ‘385 YARDS TO GO’ sign did I manage to find the strength from somewhere to increase my speed towards the finish.
It wasn’t quite the finish I had imagined, having watched the London Marathon on TV for years, and dreamt about this day for the past few months I had hoped to sprint across the line and feel a great sense of achievement but instead I simply felt relief. I am so grateful to the crowds yesterday, particularly towards the end of the race when I was really struggling to move one leg in front of the other, for cheering me on and helping me to cross the finish line.
I am undeniably frustrated to have missed out on running sub 4 hours, however on reflection when your body doesn’t do what you want it to do then there is little you can do about it. This was my first marathon; one of the 6 world majors completed and one to tick of my bucket list.
I don’t know if it will be my last marathon or if one day soon or in the future I shall run another. For now I am enjoying putting my feet up, as walking is rather laboured, and reflecting on the how lucky I am to have had the opportunity to run in one of the greatest sporting events in the world to raise money and awareness for MS.
motweerunlon2015 