Hello everyone,

Well, I have reached the end of my journey to the 26.2 mark in Central Park. It was fantastic – perfect 13C weather and sun shining all day. It made up for the 3am wake up call for the bus to Staten Island!

The day began with the very early start (ever try forcing breakfast down at 3am?) and a short walk from the hotel in Times Square to catch the 4am bus outside the New York Public Library. Any reservations I had about wandering around Times Square at that time of the morning were dispelled when I saw how many other marathoners were heading in the same direction as me! Fortunately 4am was more like 8am on my body clock, so it wasn’t too hard going.

Half an hour later we were on Staten Island and 6 hours to kill until the 10am start! There were huge marquees set up on the grass and we all squeezed under and got whatever extra sleep we could. Two layers of track pants and fleeces were just about enough to ward off the pre dawn chill. With all the sleeping bodies under plastic bags, if it weren’t for the nice running shoes and expensive base layers, we could have been mistaken for some kind of vagrant convention!

Fast forward past the sunrise, endless toilet visits, reading the New Yorker cover to cover,  three coffees (yes, three!) and a whole box of fig newtons (a good idea?) to the corral to the start. I was ready to go with my anti chafe cream applied, shoe laces double knotted and a belt stuffed full of ‘Espresso Love’ carbohydrate gel pouches. The atmosphere was positively electric as people jostled forward clapping and whooping towards the Verrazano Bridge.

The start was marked by a giant archway and four double decker buses with loud speakers blasting Sinatra’s ‘New York, New York’; provoking a huge response from everyone, me included. I was taken aback by how emotional it was and the tears of absolute delight as I witnessed the carpet of runners’ bobbing heads before me on the bridge of one of the most famous scenes in marathoning history.

And so to the home run down 5^th Avenue and spanning the length of Central Park past the biggest spectator crowds I have ever witnessed- six people deep in some places against the railings for the last 4 miles. Exuberant clapping and shouts of ‘you’re almost there!’ and ‘looking strong!’ kept us all going, as by this point there were almost as many walkers as there were runners. Ian and Liz were standing by again at 25 miles to usher me towards the finish. It seemed like an eternity away when I looped onto Central Park South and Columbus Circle at the far end looked like a speck on the horizon in my foggied and fatigued mind. But the end came at 3 hours and 51 minutes ( 6 minutes later than my outside estimate L) and with it, hundreds of volunteers with space blankets, finishers’ medals and packets of salt for the dehydrated. Medics were carting off those fainting from exhaustion to makeshift first aid tents. We all walked rustling along- a sea of metallic ponchos towards the edges of the park to meet friends and family. What followed was a trip to Stage Deli on 6^th Avenue and the most enormous Reuben Sandwich and slice of cheesecake that would probably feed a small country - shared with Ian and good friends Emily and Liz.

Phew- you made it to the end and all that remains is for me to thank all of you who contributed to my Get Kids Going Appeal for the New York Marathon with the bottom of my heart. With your contributions, I raised a whopping £1,115.00  - well over my target! I could not have hoped to achieve nearly this much without your help and enthusiasm, so thank you all so, so much!!  Your donations and comments have made the journey here all the more fun, and easier in a way knowing I had so much support. Most importantly, your contributions have gone a long way towards the purchase of sports equipment for disabled kids across the UK- well done!

With very much love and thanks,

Becky xx