Why am I doing the NY marathon?

I enjoy running and I love a challenge.The NYC marathon is the world's biggest marathon - close on 50,000 people ran it last year. It seems fitting to take this as an opportunity to try and raise money for a good cause which has affected people very close to me. And doesn't having turned 40 entitle me to embark on some mad undertaking?!

Why Prostate Cancer?

Both my father, Basil, and my partner's father, Claus, lost their lives to prostate cancer. Anna, my partner Susse's sister, is running NYC also, and I think both our dads would have been proud of us undertaking a challenge on the scale of the marathon. 

It's been 13 years since my dad passed away, and looking back I've always wanted to do something in his memory, something I can dedicate to him. He never visited NY, although as a young man in the navy he docked in Newfoundland, if that counts!

Part of the great work undertaken by the Prostate Cancer charity is the support they provide, often through volunteers, for both people themselves suffering from prostate cancer and their loved ones. The kindness such support provides is priceless.

Neither myself or Anna have ever attempted to run this distance, and although we both exercise a lot, I think the marathon is a wee beasty never to be underestimated!!

So my target is to run the distance in 3 hours. My best half marathon time is 1h 23m, which was about 4 years ago at Windsor, and as I train quite a lot I think that's a realistic, albeit challenging, target - especially as I turned my ankle in May which kept me away from the running track for a few weeks!

 

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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Thanks one and all, I really appreciate your donations.

Update - 2nd November 2010

Just a few days to go now and I'm starting to get nervous!! I just wanted to thank everyone who's donated and encouraged me for their support - it means so much to me! And that encouragement will help keep me going on Sunday!

Training has been going well, my longest run in training was 22 miles about 3 weeks ago, and for several weeks I have been averaging nearly 60 miles per week (my highest being a 73 mile week). Anna and I also competed in the Felixstowe Half Marathon on the 10th September. I finished in 1h 24m which I was a little disappointed with, but seeing as I'd run 21 miles 3 days before it was still encouraging!

Thanks again to all, will update this page again once the race is over.

What an Amazing Day!!!

What an experience for my first marathon!!

We arrived in NY on Thurs 4th Nov. Went to the Marathon Expo on Friday, which was mobbed, no discounts to be found, although I seem to have accumulated about 6 free bags!

Saturday I started feeling pretty nervous, found myself analysing
restaurant menus far too closely for carbo-high meals - which let's face it, is not a problem in the US, as long as you're not fussy about the type of carbs you have! You want fries with that? And a bagel? With waffles?

Didn't sleep very well Sat night, had a horrible dream that I was late for the marathon! We were up at 5am on Sunday, caught the 6am bus down to Statten Island, which took an hour. The organisation was amazing, so efficient, they were staff everywhere. We were very lucky with the weather, hardly any wind and clear skies, but it was cold at the start. I took some old clothes with me to wear, but even with 4 layers I was shivering! People were wearing all sorts - we saw tents and loads of people lying around in sleeping bags - my favourite was a lady in her pyjamas!

Anna and I hunted sucessfully for a hot drink - Anna did a brilliant job of somehow moving through what seemed an impenetrable crowd of sleeping bag clad runners queueing for Dunkin Donuts coffee!! Didn't taste great but it was hot :-)

I almost failed to make the start when my visit to the toilet was interrupted by a marshall banging on the door to say they were about to close the start so I'd better hurry up!!

Afetr a chorus of "Noo York Noo York" the start gun went at 9.40am, took me a couple of mins to cross the start line. At that point I was already well down the field - I could see one of the NYRR 3.30 pace runners ahead of me. For some reason my GPS lost signal just before crossing the start line, so I think I ended up pressing start a few metres after crossing the line. The first mile and a bit take you across the Verrazano-Narrows bridge, from Statten Island into Brooklyn (apparently it's the longest single span suspension bridge in the US, longer than the Golden Gate). First mile was uphill as the bridge rises, amazing views. It was pretty crowded so I took it easy, didn't want to waste energy trying to weave/barge my way through. Also almost immediately I could feel how warm it was in the sun, amazing contrast to my pre-race shivering state.

As we reached the other side I began to appreciate just how many runners there were, as the bridge is double-decker, and the guys who'd been running on the level below us peeled off and rejoined on the same road as me on the other side of the bridge. And then we were hit by a wall of noise!! The support was incredible, to be honest I'm lost for words. They reckon about 2 million people are out on the streets supporting throughout the race, and I can believe it. The charity had suggested having your name on your vest, so I opted for the words 'JimmyBoy' which I thought my get me the Irish
vote! And boy was I right! Honestly I lost cound of how many times I heard my name being called, it is the most amazing feeling, almost like running your own race!

So from mile 2 to nearly mile 15 through Brooklyn and Queens there was constant support. There was a fair bit of undulation, couple of steady climbs. I felt good, and I was steadily overtaking people all the time. I didn't look at my watch at all, which with hindsight was perhaps a mistake, but took great encouragement from the regularly positioned official clock. I think by halfway the official clock read approx 1.32, which I knew was good as I must have taken me at least 2 mins to cross the start line.

Mile 13 was a climb up onto the Pulaski Bridge - one of my running buddies in London had warned me of the climb at 13 miles. To be honest this one didn't seem too bad, which I took heart from. Quite a short bridge this one, and as with all the bridges, it all goes quiet for a while as there are no supporters on any of them.

Then mile 15 was a tough climb onto the Queensboro bridge which was just over a mile of steel and concrete - that's where the great man Haile G came to grief. I was very careful on the climbs to not try and race people up - a couple of times I was overtaken uphill, only for me to pass the offenders on the following flat.

Coming off the bridge just after 16 miles the noise of the supporters
waiting was just incredible. I still felt good, continued moving through
the field with no-one passing me. Continued on the long straight along First Avenue, thronged with people cheering. I found myself grinning and laughing out loud at the cheers! At around mile 18/19 we faced another bridge/climb, at which point I was starting to feel more fatigued. It was when we reached mile 21/22 that I really started to feel it. I was passed by a couple of guys aiming for 3 hours, so I stuck with them for a bit, but soon started to feel unwell. The last 3 miles in particular were hell, even the crowds couldn't raise me. I was very disorientated, for some reason never checked my watch, and I found it hard to tell how far I had to go, odd as that must sound. I heard people calling out "only 3 to go!!" but in my state I couldn't decide if that was 3 miles or km's. Susse saw me at 25 miles and said I wasn't looking good, head down, starting to stoop
forward a bit - most disheartening seeing loads of runners overtaking me. Had some water and an energy gel but I suspect I had left it too late to do so.

And then I saw the 800m to go sign - and I went bonkers!! Started shouting "C'mon!!!" at myself, over and over, managed to accelerate, more or less kept it up til I crossed the line. My god the relief!!!!! I actually didn't know what to do with myself, my legs were aching so much. My watch read 3:01:44 - to be honest I was so exhausted I didn't really care.

It then took a mile's walk to reach my baggage collection point - I drank and ate everything I could find - even the sickly gatorade tasted good!!

Also it was at that point that I think it all hit me. I phoned Susse to tell her I'd finished - when she asked me how I felt I simply couldn't speak, I was completely overcome with the emotion of the day, all the support from the crowds. I was reduced to a sobbing mess!!

Looking back through my splits I was a bit too quick from mile 5 onwards - all under 6.40 until mile 19, with the exception of the climb over the Queensboro bridge at 15/16. First mile was slow of course but with a packed field and an uphill I'm not surprised. I have to say I had no idea I was going that quick, for some reason I didn't want to look at my watch. Miles 19-22 were all still 3hour pace or just under, but it was the last 3 miles in particular that did me in - all just under 8 min pace. Looking at my splits now I realise how close I came to breaking 3 hours. At 40k my split was 2:51:09 - if I'd known that maybe I would have started shouting at myself a little earlier!!!

Official time was 3:01:59, I finished 1016th (just missed the top thousand!), but I'm pretty satisfied with that, and I'll never forget the amazing support on the route.

I found out later that Anna had been going well until mile 10, at which point she pulled up with pain in her knee, suspected ITB (iliotibial band). To her enormous credit she carried on running and finished in just over 4:30 despite running for 16 miles with a dodgy knee, amazing!!

Thanks to everyone who sponsored me and for all the encouragement and support. I've now raised over £2000 which is fantastic. It all helped keep me going and inspire me as I ran. Susse's nutritional advice was invaluable (she sorted Anna and I out for breakfast on marathon day!) and the running advice from my Ravens running club pals paid huge dividends!

How your Money is Used

£100 could pay for six calls to be answered by our Helpline nurses and essential information to be sent to men concerned about prostate cancer.

£500 could pay for 75 Tool Kits, our comprehensive information pack for men diagnosed with prostate cancer.

£1,000 could support a week's worth of research into treating advanced prostate cancer.

£2,500 could fund an Information Officer for a month, to write a fact sheet for the 9,000 men diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer.