Finished!!

Post race with Dad outside Buckingham Palace

The race has been run. There was no blood, a LOT of sweat and nearly a few tears at the end, but what a fantastic experience. I managed to haul myself over the finish line in a time of 3:58:08, beating the target of 4 hours which I'd set.

View my official timings on the London Marathon website

After arriving at the start with 45 minutes to kill, it was good to meet up with my friend Al who was also running and chat about last minute preparations and tactics(!). Upon taking to the starting pens I chatted to a few other runners and compared training regimes and expectations for the race. It was a comfort to speak to so many others who were also taking part in their first marathon; all with the same feeling of butterflies in the stomach, yet looking forward to the challenge and raising money for their individual causes.

The first few miles were quite congested (actually, so was most of the race), so getting the pace right was a little tricky to start with. What struck me straight away were the crowds lining the streets immediately after the start line. Small children leant over railings and held out their hands in anticipation of receiving 'high fives' from the runners, to which I obliged. After weaving through Woolwich and turning back towards Greenwich, we joined up with runners from the other starting points and the field effectively doubled in size. Just through the 5 mile marker I passed the Masai Warriors in their full dress carrying shields and spears, and at 6.5 miles I rounded the Cutty Sark and caught my first glimpse of Dad, brother John with his wife Mary, and my friend Richard.

Just after rounding the Cutty Sark

From there it was a 10 mile run until our next scheduled rendezvous on the Isle of Dogs. In the meantime I passed Batman and Spiderman, paid a visit to the bushes at the side of the road, and traversed Tower Bridge before heading down towards Limehouse and turning right onto the Isle of Dogs. I stuck to my game plan of running for an hour and then walking for 2 minutes, despite the urge to keep running at the first walking point. This obviously worked out well! The second meeting point was just past the speed camera(!) at 16.5 miles, and as you can see from the photo, we'd had a bit of a drowning by then. The heavens opened for about 25 minutes and everyone got a good drenching, but it wasn't unpleasant.

16.5 down, less than 10 to go!

For the next few miles we wound our way through Canary Wharf and the rest of the high rise buildings, before heading out past Billingsgate Fish Market and up towards the 19 and 20 mile points. Around this part of the course the crowds significantly thinned out and the race became noticeably quieter. In hindsight this was probably the lull before the storm, as soon the number of spectators began to build once more in anticipation of the last few miles. My final intersection with my own personal support team came around the 21 mile marker as we passed Limehouse and started to head back towards Tower Bridge. At the 13 mile and 22 mile points, the course runs parallel for about 1 mile and I got to glimpse some of the other runners making their way through the miles. At this point there were a lot of participants walking, jogging or just looking worn out, although there were also a noticeable number of runners in fancy dress costumes slowly eating up the course.

Once I hit the 22.5/23 mile section my legs began to feel the toll of the day. Although my breathing and health were all in check, I started to get sensations of cramps every now and then trying to get hold of my muscles and stunt my progress. At this point there's nothing for it but to grit your teeth and think 'left foot in front of right foot - and repeat'. I knew as long as I kept doing that, then even if I was putting in 10 minute miles I'd still finish within my target of sub 4 hours. The crowds along that last section of the route were incredible, measuring at least half a dozen deep along the side of the road. When there's that many people cheering you on coupled with the reason you're running the marathon in the first place (this was for you Mum), there's absolutely no way that you're going to stop running, short of someone physically removing you from the race. And there was no way I was going to let the Pink Panther beat me, whom I passed with around 1 mile to go.

On the final corner past Buckingham Palace the finish line came into sight and with one final push I made it across to the roars of the crowd in the grandstands lining the Mall. At that moment everything hits you. I'd finished the London Marathon. I'd hit my target and run a sub 4 hr time. I'd raised over £3,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support, and I'd made Mum proud.

With friend Al, just after finishing

So, the big question: Would I do it again?

Yes, but give me a couple of days to recover first!!

A HUGE thank you for everyone who sponsored me to run in this years marathon. With your generosity I've raised in excess of £3,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support. I know they really appreciate your donations as well.

And don't forget, if you haven't yet had a chance to make a donation it's still not too late. My justgiving website page is open for another 60 days.

See you next year!?

Chris P