London Marathon

Run for the Scleroderma Society in 2011!

London Marathon - 2009

Sunday 26th April 2009 was a sensational day, for the spectators of the 2009 London Marathon, it was glorious weather but for the 35,000 runners, it was about 10 degrees too warm. The crowd was phenomenal from start to finish with people in their thousands lining the streets to support the runners. My name was printed on the front of my shirt because I had heard it was a great way to get the crowds to cheer your name and hearing your name cheered by so many people is a wonderful and motivating feeling.

Not only are there the magnificent sights of London and the crowd to keep you entertained but there's the other runners who create an entertaining spectacle. I must have seen half a dozen people running along talking on their mobile phones. A couple of crowd stoppers included two rather Chippendale type men wearing nothing but g-strings with their race numbers tied around their chest with a piece of string! Some of the fancy dress runners included fairies, cops and robbers, firemen and one man wearing a shirt saying "Dave, The Iron Man, running in aid of my local hospice". On his back he carried an ironing board, shirt and an iron and stopped now and then to set up the ironing board and iron a shirt before continuing, incredible! There was a giant blue pig mounted on four poles carried by four beefy men with "PIG!" printed on each of their t-shirts, raising money for Cancer Research UK. I was a bit disgruntled at being overtaken by a giant Tigger, but redeemed myself as a serious runner by trundling past a giant rhino! There was also a large telephone running along (!) the old fashioned sort where you turn the wheel to dial the numbers. 

It starts to get tough psychologically around mile 14, you've just run over the magnificent Tower Bridge, crossed the half way mark whilst being aware there's half the race left to run. That's the hardest part! You continue round the Isle of Dogs, the quietest part of the route requiring mental strength for motivation. Miles 15-18 were quite challenging as my body was crying out for rest, but my mind would not and willed my legs to keep running. The crowds pick up again around mile 19 as did I and the route headed westwards through the City to deafening supporters! You're on the homeward straight until mile 22 where glycogen depletion hits you hard and you think about nothing but the finish line. But there are still four miles before triumphant completion of the race and each mile seems an eternity. You have the pressure of the crowds cheering so you couldn't give yourself a break and start walking without feeling you would be letting everyone down.

You really do feel like a star coming along Embankment with the Houses of Parliament in your sight. You round the corner into Birdcage Walk and the signs "800 metres to go". You think it's all over when you see the "26 mile" sign but there are 26.2 miles in a marathon. You round the bend in front of Buckingham Palace and finally see the long dreamt of finish line down the Mall. The atmosphere is incredible, roaring crowds who continue to cheer and congratulate each and every one of the runners streaming past. It was an incredible experience, crossing the finish line is a very proud moment and the memories of all the hard miles ebb away.

This achievement must be shared with my family and friends who supported me throughout both the training and fundraising, especially through the difficult last month before the race as a chest infection and lower leg injury forced me to stop training for weeks and threatened to put me out of the race. However rest in the weeks before the big day enabled me to recover.

Thank you to everyone who kindly sponsored and supported my different fundraising activities over the last year. Overall, I raised £4,282 for The Scleroderma Society. My t-shirt also had the name "The Scleroderma Society" printed on the back in the hope that many people would read it so if they ever encounter scleroderma they'll contact The Scleroderma Society for information and support.