So, the marathon went well...

My wife and I had estimated our times very conservatively, and so we were at the last pen of the red start. We were probably among the last few hundred people to start, crossing the line almost 29 minutes after the klaxon. So, as we both set off at our own paces, we spent most of the first few miles passing other runners. I settled into a comfortable pace, and realised a few miles in (after passing the man in the impressive dinosaur costume) that I was running better than my goal pace. I decided to hold it, and see where it took me, trying to keep even splits and hoping that my legs held out for the whole race. You can see my results here, which show that I did alright at that.

I passed the majority of the heavy-costumed runners in the first 5 miles or so, including a lot of men carrying what looked like very heavy packs, a very spread out herd of rhinoceroses, a kiwi, a very disturbing ostrich (no shorts, just tights over a pair of flesh coloured briefs) and started to really enjoy myself. The wider sections of road give you an opportunity to set your own pace, without getting in people’s way, which was great, and even at the more bottle-necked areas, the crowd make such a huge amount of noise that you don’t mind being a bit more cramped. Having my name on my t-shirt meant I got plenty of individual encouragement (and a lot of small children yelling “Princess-Man!” in what I can only imagine was a mixture of surprise and befuddlement), and wearing a tutu, tiara and leg-warmers got me plenty of compliments (which I tried to return with a mini curtsy when I could).

Heading onto Tower Bridge was a fantastic high point, I passed the FRU cheer team (and completely forgot to pick up my Snickers bar from them) and kept up a strong pace. It was only once I got to around mile 20 that the pain in my legs got more insistent, and the thought of running further than ever before became pretty intimidating. My pace took a dip, and the smile I’d maintained for most of the run gave way to a determined grimace. Some close friends were at mile 21 and gave me a huge boost, and I rallied my pace somewhat.  As I reached the last few miles, I accelerated, knowing that I could just drain the tanks. The run profile here gives a great profile of your last 7.2km, and I managed to overtake over two thousand people in that distance. I always wanted a strong finish, and as I rounded the corner onto the Mall, I could see my mum in the crowd, waiving furiously, which got me a little choked up (combined with the numerous heartfelt messages on the back of runners' t-shirts that I’d been reading for over 4 hours) but I managed an (almost) sprint finish.

A few photos of me (attempting a curtsy, and looking surprisingly intense whilst running) are here.

This was all in aid of FRU, a fantastic pro bono organisation. FRU provides much needed free representation in employment and social security tribunals for people challenging unfair dismissals, refusal to pay wages, workplace discrimination, or appealing benefits decisions. Every year hundreds of clients (for whom no legal aid is available) are helped by FRU's enthusiastic and dedicated volunteers.

So please, if you want to support an excellent legal charity, then donate, either online, by throwing money at me in the street, or by texting "EFRY99 £_" to 70070.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.