Well, I can now officially say been there, done that and even got the T-Shirt – one of the little rewards in our goody pack at the end!!
The event was amazing with a really electric atmosphere from the thousands of spectators lining the streets…lots of kids high fiving and handing out sweets and oranges! I’m also glad I wrote my name on my running vest as the crowds, perhaps responding to the pained expression on my face(?!) would shout out my name with words of encouragement during all the periods I needed a boost, which really did make a difference.
My final stats are:
Position (overall): 13368
Position (gender): 2429
Position (age group): 636
Splits:
KM10: 0:57:48 KM20: 1:56:24
HALF: 2:02:43 KM30: 2:54:57
KM40: 3:55:43 FINISH: 4:07:30
And while I finished behind 13,367 people, I beat Matthew Pinsent by a minute - not that I ever saw it as a race as such! However, I have to say that my competitive spirit did come out on the odd occasion, namely at mile 19/20 when on feeling fairly positive about my progress I was overtaken by Bob the Builder!!! And I don’t care whether it was Paula Radcliffe herself in that suit, I wasn’t going to let Bob the Builder get the better of me…I’ve yet to find his finishing time…
There were so many highlights of the course it’s all a bit of a blur to single out specific highs and lows, although between mile 21-24 were probably the toughest…I’m embarrassed to say it could have had something to do with the fact that I was expecting to go back over Tower Bridge, which obviously never came - hmm. The last stretch was definitely the most memorable as the crowd’s support was so uplifting and I really went for the last mile, deluding myself that I was running for Gold in the Olympics – you do get quite delirious come mile 25!
So it’s all over and while I’m chuffed to bits at having run the damn thing at last, I’m even more pleased with the sponsorship everyone’s so kindly donated. The current total is £2,317.82 and still rising, and having had my eyes opened over the last few months to all the facts and personal stories from people with cystic fibrosis, I’m so pleased that the money is going to such a deserving charity.
Thank you all so much for helping my bid and your words of encouragement on my webpage, you’ve provided a huge source of motivation to my marathon mission and I want you to know how much it is appreciated.
