Story
I ran my first London Marathon at the tender age of 18 and set myself the challenge of completing three in total before I reached 30 - an age that seemed in the distant future, at the time. Here is my story so far:
I turned up to the start line of my first marathon as a naive (or unprepared) teenager who wasn't entirely certain of the route. I had run round the block a few times and decided the next logical step was a marathon. Unable to get a place through the ballot, I found myself on the phone to charities after school. I agreed to raise more money than I had ever had in my bank account before, in exchange for several hours of pain and numerous juicy blisters. Training consisted of long-ish runs on a Sunday morning as i sweated out the Quodvods and tequila shots from the night before. I wasn't aware of the concept of tapering and did a 28 mile run during the week leading up to race day - just to make sure I could do it. I had no idea what my pace should be and had a shock when I arrived in Greenwich Park to see runners with ammunition belts of energy gels strapped to their bodies - something I had never heard of, let alone tasted. Stubbornness, rather than fitness, allowed me to limp across the finish line and my headteacher gave me special dispensation to wear Ugg boots to school the next day.
The second time, age 21, was the result of a bet with my cousin's wife, who had recently set up Hoola Nation. If we both got a place (unlikely) we would hoola hoop the entire thing. There is probably more chance of being struck by lightening but - contrary to the odds - it happened and I was back in Greenwich Park, this time with a hoola hoop around my waist. Training with a hoola hoop is impractical, but I knew how to hoola hoop and I'd run a marathon before, so I would use the 26.2 miles to figure the rest out! Three weeks before the marathon, I broke a rib. This was a spanner in the works since ribs take around 6 weeks to heel. I considered running without the hoop but as I hadn't really trained, I wasn't sure I'd be much better off. I managed to find a way to hoop on a slight angle so that it wouldn't hit the affected rib. Any pain was a welcome distraction from my blistered feet and aching legs, but I really wouldn't advise doing this! It was ridiculously hard but the support from the crowds was phenomenal, especially when we hooped our way down the mall with rows of spectators chanting our names. Overtaking Ed Balls and him tweeting about it the next day made it all-the-more worthwhile.
This year I am running in the City of London Marathon Team. I have trained, don't have any broken bones, and intend to run a nice, 'normal' marathon in a socially respectable time. I know the route and feel lucky to be dragging my considerably older and less-forgiving body through the city that has become home since my last two marathons.
I am raising money for the Lord Mayor's appeal. The Lord Mayor's appeal supports three charity partners: Samaritans, OnSide Youth Zones and Place2Be. These charities deliver ground breaking programmes to change people's lives and help create a better City for all.
Please donate if you can and I'm looking forward to seeing some of you along the way!
I turned up to the start line of my first marathon as a naive (or unprepared) teenager who wasn't entirely certain of the route. I had run round the block a few times and decided the next logical step was a marathon. Unable to get a place through the ballot, I found myself on the phone to charities after school. I agreed to raise more money than I had ever had in my bank account before, in exchange for several hours of pain and numerous juicy blisters. Training consisted of long-ish runs on a Sunday morning as i sweated out the Quodvods and tequila shots from the night before. I wasn't aware of the concept of tapering and did a 28 mile run during the week leading up to race day - just to make sure I could do it. I had no idea what my pace should be and had a shock when I arrived in Greenwich Park to see runners with ammunition belts of energy gels strapped to their bodies - something I had never heard of, let alone tasted. Stubbornness, rather than fitness, allowed me to limp across the finish line and my headteacher gave me special dispensation to wear Ugg boots to school the next day.
The second time, age 21, was the result of a bet with my cousin's wife, who had recently set up Hoola Nation. If we both got a place (unlikely) we would hoola hoop the entire thing. There is probably more chance of being struck by lightening but - contrary to the odds - it happened and I was back in Greenwich Park, this time with a hoola hoop around my waist. Training with a hoola hoop is impractical, but I knew how to hoola hoop and I'd run a marathon before, so I would use the 26.2 miles to figure the rest out! Three weeks before the marathon, I broke a rib. This was a spanner in the works since ribs take around 6 weeks to heel. I considered running without the hoop but as I hadn't really trained, I wasn't sure I'd be much better off. I managed to find a way to hoop on a slight angle so that it wouldn't hit the affected rib. Any pain was a welcome distraction from my blistered feet and aching legs, but I really wouldn't advise doing this! It was ridiculously hard but the support from the crowds was phenomenal, especially when we hooped our way down the mall with rows of spectators chanting our names. Overtaking Ed Balls and him tweeting about it the next day made it all-the-more worthwhile.
This year I am running in the City of London Marathon Team. I have trained, don't have any broken bones, and intend to run a nice, 'normal' marathon in a socially respectable time. I know the route and feel lucky to be dragging my considerably older and less-forgiving body through the city that has become home since my last two marathons.
I am raising money for the Lord Mayor's appeal. The Lord Mayor's appeal supports three charity partners: Samaritans, OnSide Youth Zones and Place2Be. These charities deliver ground breaking programmes to change people's lives and help create a better City for all.
Please donate if you can and I'm looking forward to seeing some of you along the way!