All done. Never again.

It’s been a long journey since I started training for the London Marathon 2026. Being a disciplined person, I stuck to the training… well, almost. There were a few interruptions of excessive food and booze along the way, but I still kept the running going.

As I said before I started this adventure: I am not a runner. I don’t like it, and I find it tedious and boring. And after all the training—and completing the London Marathon—I can confirm I still hate running, I still find it tedious and boring, and I now own a very expensive pair of size 9 running shoes that will never be used again.

The last week started badly. I didn’t feel quite right, and it got worse as the week went on. Mid-week I had to get antibiotics from the doctor to try and clear an infection that was causing headaches, temperature, fever, and other fun symptoms.

I put a brave face on it and told everyone I was getting better, even when it didn’t feel like I was. On Saturday evening I went to bed early and left the family to finish their Italian meal, thinking: if I feel like this tomorrow, it’s going to be a long day.

After a restless night, I finally fell asleep around 3am and woke up four hours later absolutely soaked in sweat—bedsheets and pillows drenched. I had a quick shower and got back into what was still a wet bed (not my finest decision), dozed off again for a bit, and then finally woke up feeling so much better than the night before—and a lot more confident about completing the marathon.

Doing the marathon—apart from the running—is a long day. There’s a fair bit of hanging around, and then eventually you’re off. I started and ran at the pace I wanted. As I’ve always said in life: run your own race, not anyone else’s.

My time of 6 hours 18 minutes wasn’t a world record, but I made history (in my own mind) by being able to say I was in the same marathon where a man broke the two-hour barrier for the first time in a competitive race.

All felt comfortable and I actually had no real issues during the whole day. My Garmin said my running/walking time to complete the marathon was about 5 hours 45 minutes—the rest of the time was spent stopping to talk to people who came to support me, and complete strangers. Samantha, my daughter, said: “If you hadn’t stopped so much, your time would have been quicker.” She’s right… but those stops were the best bit of the marathon—even better than crossing the finish line.

To everyone who ran the 2026 London Marathon—well done. It’s a tough, tough ask, even more so if the weather isn’t on your side, it was a hot day. It takes a lot of effort and determination. I saw runners along the way being helped by St John Ambulance, who were doing an amazing job. I also saw a man at 24 miles receiving CPR (I really hope he turned out to be OK). It’s serious stuff—so if you want to do this, make sure you train, train, train. I always knew I would finish, and not being bothered about the time takes a lot of stress away.

A massive thank you to everyone who came to wish me well during the day—especially our Greenwich store team who came out to support me. I could still hear them shouting “Tarsem, Tarsem!” from a mile down the road.

After finishing the marathon, I had to walk about 1.5 miles to meet my family and friends—and after that I had to walk another 1.5 miles to a restaurant to celebrate. So in total I probably did over 30 miles that day.

The restaurant staff at Piccolino’s in Heddon Street were amazing—looking after me, my family, my friends, and other runners and their guests (Rebecca, Selena, Sam and Matt—well and truly done!).

When I finally sat down and had a cold beer, it tasted amazing. It also gave me a moment to reflect on what I’d done—and, more importantly, what everyone else had helped do through the donations, the words of encouragement, the amazing inspiration video posted on Talking Iceland by the Iceland family, and everyone who made the effort to come to London.

After my third rum and coke, I realised I’d had enough and decided to order a margarita—mainly because I was dreading standing up.

I finally got to bed thinking it had been a great day all round. I know for a fact I could have done a faster time, but I wasn’t bothered. It’s not something I intend to engrave on my headstone. I also ran the marathon on my dad’s birthday. He passed away a couple of years ago, so it was quite an emotional day all round.

I’m pleased to have done it, and I’ll always admire everyone who takes on this challenge in the future.

Goodbye, and thank you.