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

Day 132 - 24 hours to go!

It's official. In less than 24 hours the London Marathon 2008 will have started and I'll be making my way from the top of Greenwich Park towards Woolwich.

You can view an interactive map of the route here: http://www.rwpromo.co.uk/flm_map2008.html

This week has been full of short 5 mile or 20 minute jogs. I've just got back in from a 15 minute jog this morning - slightly diminutive when compared to the 26.2 miles ahead of me tomorrow! I'm looking forward to the run, especially the finish line(!), but talking to past runners, it's vital not to get carried away with the atmosphere and start too quickly. All I have to do is keep to the same schedule as training and I'll finish in under 4 hours. The main goal is still to just complete it. I don't think anyone who has been kind enough to sponsor me will mind what time I finish it in.

Look out for number 46825 (that's me!), with my bright green Macmillan running vest on, and CHRIS P written across the top.

So it's with a bag packed full of nutritional goodies for before, during and after, as well as a few nerves, that I set off out of the door...

Wish me luck!

Chris P

(sponsor me here)

Day 126 - 1 week to go!

Some people dream of success, while others wake up and work hard at it.
Dedication's what you need - if you want to be a record breaker!

As you can see from the picture, I was out putting in my 10 mile run this morning despite the heavy snowfall. I'd put off starting my run until after having watched Match Of The Day, so that I could see Newcastle put 3 past Reading (got to make the most of our good run!). By 8:30 the snow had been falling for 30 minutes and the ground was getting covered. It seemed that I was the first brave soul to be out in the blizzard, with only my footprints breaking up the white carpet that had been laid on the roads and pavements. Only on the main roads was there any sign of life or traffic. Looking out of the window now, having showered and warmed up, the scene looks beautiful. More winter than spring though! (I thought this was April?) As it was quite slippery on the run, I decided to take things fairly easily - I didn't want to be picking up an injury with only a week to go until the marathon. This was bourne out in my finishing time of 1:27:55 for the 10 miles, so just a couple of minutes under 9 minute mile pace - not too bad really. Even if I kept to that pace next Sunday I'd still finish in under 4 hours.

Here's to keeping warm for the rest of the day. Plenty of time to think about final preparations for next weekend!

Chris P

(sponsor me here)

Day 121

Less than 2 weeks!

The big day is fast approaching, and every now and then I get a little nervous flutter thinking about it. I think that the best plan on the actual day is to try and relax as much as possible. Sit down for as long as I can and remain calm - I'll need all the energy I can get for the race!

Sunday's run was a 10 mile race, so I thought I'd try and keep the pace up for the whole distance. I finished in 1:16:20, so nicely under the 8 minute mile mark. Again, I don't think it's realistic to expect this from the marathon itself, but running harder will definitely aid in preparation.

Tonight was a brisk 6 miles - 44:39. I felt as though I could have pushed harder at points, but there's no point in trying to kill myself at this stage and getting an injury with so little time left. This week has the last of the speed work sessions in, so I'll make the most of them, as next week is full of short slow runs. And then one big one!

Back tomorrow,

Chris P

(sponsor me here)

Day 118

This week's the start of tapering the training down before the marathon. It feels strange not having any big runs scheduled for the weekend. Don't get me wrong, I'm still running 10 miles tomorrow, and compared with 6 months ago, that's a good size run. However, I've been reading a book this week called 'Ultra Marathon Man' by Dean Karnazes, which I was given by my brother and his wife for my birthday. Now this guy talks about his childhood and how he used to run for the cross country team, until one day he gave it up. Then later on in life he picked it up again and is now running races which vary in length from a marathon to 125 miles!! It's quite inspiring stuff and makes me want to get out and train harder, right at the point in my schedule when I'm meant to be easing off. I think I'd better finish the book after the race is done!

On with the training...

Chris P

(sponsor me here)

Day 114

I hope everyone enjoyed the Easter holidays. What did I get up to? Well, apart from a 30 minute muddy run on grass, in the middle of hail storms on Saturday, I pretty much opted for more of the same on Sunday. Not one to let the weather get the better of me, I got out there in the cold of Sunday morning for my 20 mile run - the longest yet (until race day). It started out pleasant enough; a nice smattering of snow on the grass, ice on the pavements - so I kept to the roads. However, about 20 minutes in, it started snowing. Lightly at first, and then heavily. Later this turned to hail and finally to sleet, so I pretty much had the whole spectrum over the course of my 2hr 55min run.

What did appear to work though were two things - Firstly I ran for 50 mins and then walked for 2 mins in order to spread out the workload. This provided a loop of just over 6 miles, so that by the 3rd time of pausing, I knew I only had a mile and a half left to grind out. Secondly, I bought some Sorbothane insoles for my trainers during the week, and for the first time after a significantly long run my feet weren't sore and I didn't get any onset of cramps.

Bring on the Marathon!

Chris P

(sponsor me here)

Day 108

Yesterday was my birthday, and I still managed to get my 5 mile off-road run in before going out for dinner. I'm not sure Tapas would be on the strictest of training regimes, but then who said I'm being strict?! I got a birthday card from Mum and Dad, in which Mum had written a message for me a couple of weeks ago - I think that tops any list of presents.

Tonight was a 6 mile fartlek run, which I ended up finishing in 45:15, so getting back to a better pace after what has felt like a few weeks of slightly slower runs. Tomorrow has a slightly longer than usual midweek run of 8 miles in store, so I'll check back in afterwards.

See you then

Chris P

(sponsor me here)