Story
Hello All,
Just a note to thank you for your donations. The total raised was around £1,700 ($3,122), well above the £500 ($920) I was aiming for. I've attached a brief race report and some photos,
Cheers,
Steve
The race was as good as all the hype and it was a perfect sunny day with a high of 17 degrees. With a field of almost 40,000 and a crowd of half a million I thought it'd be near impossible to see my friends and family who were cheering us on but with a bit of careful planning and spotting I was able to see them twice along the route. The first time at a spot aptly known as "Canada Waters", the second time just by The Houses Of Parliament with a mile to the finish line. Although we all ran our own race and started in different areas my friend Mike picked me out along the route and we ran together for a few minutes before he zipped off. I managed to pass him later in the race but didn't see him. I was, however, beaten to the finish line by a bloke dressed as a carrot. I finished in 4:08:20. I was hoping for under 4 hours but just couldn't do it. No pain or cramping. My old, rickety 40 year old legs just wouldn't move fast enough! ;-) On Sunday May 4th I did the Toronto Marathon and managed 3:58:23 so I was happy to still be able to run under four hours.
The finish line was impossible to find each other so the only sensible thing to do was head to the pub where my old University mates were waiting with a cold pint. I'm sure you can guess the rest as everyone else turned up with their friends and families. Not sure if it was my head or legs that hurt more on Monday morning. It was a great experience to participate in such an iconic event alongside two childhood friends and raise money for such worthy local charities. I'll leave you with a few photographs of the weekend and a note from the carers centre. The only thing that could've made the weekend any better was if Wigan has beaten Arsenal in The FA Cup Semi Final but I guess you can't have everything …….