Confessions of a Marathon Runner: London Marathon 2014 Race Report

Part two - The Race

I woke up ridiculously early on the Sunday morning, well before my 5.30am alarm went off. It took a few seconds to remember why I would wake up at 4-something-am on a Sunday morning, then remember it was of course Marathon Day. I ended up doing exactly what I had done a week earlier, and lie in bed with my iphone on Twitter, joining the conversations with other London runners who were clearly also unable to sleep. Eventually I got up, had my pre-marathon pain au chocolates and cup of tea, got dressed and then had another sort out of my gear to make sure I had not forgotten anything.

Got the first train from St Albans, and there were already other runners waiting there! I chatted to a few of them – all very sociable for 6.50am! – and we talked about the different marathons we’d run and what our plans for today were. It was a nice train journey down to London as we were joined but some of the early spectators who were going to set up spots as early as possible along the best parts of the route, such as Tower Bridge and Westminster. I changed at London Bridge, and joined a full train of runners down to Greenwich for the red start zone. It was great fun, and bought back memories of arriving at Blackheath last year and all piling off the train and platform and towards the start. One of my favourite memories from last year was walking up the street with helicopters already buzzing overhead, past cafes and pubs which had opened early, filled with runners having a quick coffee or nipping in to use the loos. It was similar this year, although as most of the walk was through Greenwich Park we did not go past cafes and pubs. We had to show our race numbers before being allowed into the starting area, and it was quite familiar as I had done the Run To The Beat half marathon which started from the same place back in September. I also recognised the famous gates through which the runners pass just before crossing the start line. Almost time!

It was only about 8.30am, so I killed time by sorting my gear out, phoning my parents to see where they planned to watch me, queuing for the loos (very long queues as normal!) and putting my bag on the baggage lorries. It was a great atmosphere and there were huge TV screens up so we could watch the BBC show the live action from the elite’s tents and other start zones. Got to see coverage of the Wheelchairs, IPC and Women’s elite races set off, that was good, then finally made my way towards the start. There was music playing, and at one point they were playing Starlight by Slash, one of my favourite songs. I got me a quite emotional as this song has always reminded me of a friend who died a few years ago very suddenly. I had that song somewhere on my iPod so if that came on I decided I would run that mile in his memory.

I was in pen 9, which I think was the biggest pen, and was at the back for the not-quite-so-elite runners. It was a beautiful Sunday morning, very mild and sunny. Great for a day outdoors, but I hoped it would not get too hot for running 26 miles. I chatted to another lady, Liz, who was running for the same charity that I did last year (Shelter). She was aiming for 5 hours, I said I was just aiming to get round having just done Brighton! Around us were loads of crazy fancy dress outfits, including rhinos and a very feathery Big Bird. Mostly people wore charity vests. I’d not got a charity vest as Look UK are very small, but instead I’d printed out and laminated two signs to wear on my front and back, so everyone could see the charity I was running for. At 10am, the gun went, and way, way ahead of us, the first runners crossed the line!

It took a while to shuffle forward, and it was about 25 minutes before we finally came out of the gates and there it was, the start line, just in front of us! I said good luck to Liz, tuned on my iPod (I took it, but I didn’t listen to it much as the crowds are so loud and motivating), made sure my Garmin has picked up the GPS, and set my spare stopwatch (yes I bought two plus a 5.45 pace band) then shuffled forwards some more…. before finally crossing the start line! It was every bit as electric as last year, the crowds we great as we set off from Greenwich, and even better this year, we could see down the hill towards the green and blue starts at Blackheath – us running down Charlton Way, and the blues and greens down Shooter’s Hill Road. I tried not to go too fast in the first mile – I was still stiff from Brighton but it’s hard not to get caught up in the excitement! Around me people were sprinting past in various degrees of fancy dress and brightly coloured charity tee-shirts, and I wondered at what point they would crash and hit the wall. I couldn’t believe when I passed the first mile marker – a huge arch made up of hundreds of red and white balloons – I’d been running for just eleven minutes already yet it felt I had literally just began!

The first few miles were more undulating than last year, and it felt strange to be running a slightly different route. I’d heard about this though, and I knew it would be very flat from 3 miles onwards. Soon we joined up with the blue/greens and I vaguely recognised the route. Having been right at the back of the biggest start zone, there weren’t many people left of on the blue route now so there wasn’t as much of the good-natured booing and hissing that there was last year when the slower blues joined up with the middle masses of the reds. Still good fun though!

For the next few miles, I just ran slowly to shake out my legs and make sure they were not going to start cramping. I hadn’t run at all since the Brighton Marathon and with my hamstrings having been so tight the day before I hoped they would hold out. This part of the route was mainly through residential areas, so most of the spectators were locals who were out in their gardens or walking to the shops. I recognised some of the route, but not all. We passed the Vineyard Church – I remembered them from last year! – they were playing loud, upbeat music and dancing outside! Plus every pub seemed to be packed with people, with those right on the route having posters, banners and balloons up outside as they were “official pubs” of the marathon. Hope they were having a few pints on us – they certainly had the perfect weather for watching, but us runners were getting a bit hot in the late morning heat by not!

The first big sight – and crowd-puller – was Cutty Sark, just after 10k. Definitely one of my favourite parts from last year but a drawback too. I remember coming up to about 6 miles last year and realising I had gone out much too fast, and falling way behind the 4.58 pacer, never to be seen again. It was still a great part of the route though, and it was even better this year as I had no target time in mind so could just enjoy it. Just before the crowds got really big, I found a song on my iPod to play as I remember hearing that song being played at a pub along this part of the course last year, and now I always associate it with the Greenwich section of the marathon (Bonfire by Knife Party), and I wanted to hear it again, while I was actually running it a second time. Of course in no time, the crowds were so loud I couldn’t hear the music, but that was good. We ran all the way round Cutty Sark, it looked spectacular in the bright sunlight and the crowds were bigger than last year. Everyone was waving to the television cameras here, too!

A few more miles through Deptford, not the most interesting part of the route, and annoying here I felt a bit of a blister coming on. I couldn’t believe it – I was wearing trainers I’d worn well in and no new gear, so why now!? I had to stop three times to sort it out, firstly to loosen the laces, then to tighten them up again, and finally to remove the shoe and check there wasn’t a stone in there, so all that faffing about used up time and meant bending down having run 8 miles. Luckily after that, the blister did not develop any further and it didn’t really bother me after that.

I was looking forward to the 9-11 mile point, as somewhere along this section my friends from skydiving would be watching. It was also where I’d gone to watch the 2012 London Marathon with them, when I’d decided I really wanted to run it next year. My parents might also be watching somewhere around here as well – I’d told them to go to Canada Water station and watch from either outside the Decathlon store or the church that gave our free drinks to spectators. I was looking out for Dennis’s Union jack flag, and at about 11 miles (I think!) I saw them! The first people I knew, spotted! I was really happy, and high fived them all as I ran passed. I think it may have been easier for me to spot them by now, as the crowds had thinned out a lot, with most of the masses having already passed through with the 4 to 5 hour pacers.

At mile 12, I knew that one of the best parts was coming up – Tower Bridge! I’d remembered being totally taken by surprise last year, having done a very sharp right and suddenly, there it was in front of us! This year I knew it roughly where it was, and as we rounded the corner, yes – there is was, looking amazing! It was basically just a wall of noise, with hundreds of people on both sides of the bridge and leading up to it, mostly charities hoping flags and banners. I definitely couldn’t hear my music at this point, so I took my iPod off and enjoyed the full atmosphere. There was a BBC TV camera up ahead, interviewing someone, and I ran passed wondering if I too would get on TV (I did!! I saw the coverage later and there was about two seconds of my running passed Karaoke Guy!). Even better, as we came over Tower Bridge and towards the half-way point, I suddenly saw my parents out of nowhere. They weren’t close to the barriers, so I couldn’t high-5 or hug them, but I waved and shouted hi to them. They told me later it was by total luck they had seen me hear as they had got trapped between two huge crowds unable to get back to the Tube easily, and had only just decided at the last second to go up onto a platform to see if they could spot me – which they did, almost immediately! That was really good to know.

At half way, I still felt good, although aching quite a lot by now and took a minute to walk at the drinks stations. Although slower than last year, my pacing was far better, as in 2013 I’d been feeling totally worn out by this point and knew I’d screwed up any chance of getting a sub-5 hour. This year I still had plenty of energy and could just enjoy it a lot more. I watched the faster runners on the other side of the road go by, they were already up to 21 miles – nearly done! Mo Farah was long finished though. The miles between 13 and 16 did seem to drag a bit though, plus it was really heating up now and I had to pour water on myself to cool down. Lots of people around me seemed to be struggling. I was glad I’d made sure to do some long runs at midday this year to help acclimatize. I was having the dilemma of what to do with my iPod; the earphones were bouncing around after taking them off at Tower Bridge and were annoying me. But I didn’t have the energy to try and take it off completely, wind up the cords and find somewhere in my pockets to stuff it. So I decided to leave them on, in my ears, with the music playing but fairly low so I could still enjoy the cheers. When things got really painful (or if people started saying that old chestnut, “not far to go now!” with still 10 miles left!) I could just turn the music up and zone out.

Somewhere around 16- 17 miles, on the Isle of Dogs, I saw Mary from work and waved. This was a real boost, as I was feeling the miles seemed to be getting longer and longer, and I was having to have more short walking breaks. Annoyingly, my Garmin battery was getting very low, again! This happened in Brighton, when it totally died at mile 21. It is meant to last at least 5 hours and it generally lasts closer to 6! Must contact them about this! I decided to stop the GPS at mile 17 and just use the timer instead so at least, it wouldn’t run out completely and I still had an idea of my time. I’d got my second stopwatch anyway just in case. The 18 mile point was good, as you run through Canary Wharf, which is quite spectacular and filled with spectators. It’s all a bit twisty-turny, so I was quite disorientated and wasn’t sure how far was left before we got back out on the final 6 mile stretch to Westminster. I was glad I hadn’t put my iPod away now, as there were some times were I really needed music as a distraction from the pain.

Finally, at 21 miles, we were back on The Highway, where the route turns back on itself. Here I saw my parents again! This time they were right at the front of the barrier and I got close enough to give them a hug. My dad even ran alongside me for a very short distance while my mum took photos! That was awesome. There were virtually no runners at the half way point any more, just sweeper trucks clearing up the road and one person who looked like they were still taking part – just very, very slowly. I picked up a couple of Lucozade energy gels here for the final hour. I’d taken a few already of my own, but good to have a couple spare in case I crashed. We passed Tower Bridge (I think, it’s a bit of a blur now!) and the Tower of London (which I do remember seeing) and finally came up to the Embankment, whoohoo – on the home straight! Last year this part seemed to take forever, and I’d totally forgotten that you don’t come right onto the Embankment, next to the Thames particularly early. We were running parallel for a while, with building between us and the river, but all I kept thinking was “when are we going to reach the Embankment!”. Eventually I started seeing signed we were coming up – first, the mile 23 arch. Then, the start of the Mini London Marathon (if the kids can run this – so can I!). Just a parkrun to go…. I was determined to run the last bit and not walk any more. I was also looking out for the tunnel soon afterwards, which is a very weird, surreal section that Lucozade totally take over, I think it was called the “Lucozade Tunnel of Yes” last year although I think it was shortened to just #mile23 now, presumably so you can tweet a selfie halfway through and hashtag it. And then I reached it – you leave the crowds behind for a few minutes as it’s runners only down here, so you finally get a bit of privacy and most people but this point were walking (or peeing up against the wall!). I carried on running as best as I could. They play Eye Of The Tiger here and have these huge glowing balls with motivating words on them (i.e. the tunnel of YES), and with the darkness, glowing balls and the smell of thousands of sweaty runners, it’s all a bit trippy. Even coming out the other side is bizarre, back into the bright sunlight and hundreds of screaming spectators, it takes a few moments to readjust and work out where you are. I am sure people come out really disorientated!

Mile 24 and well onto the Embankment now. The crowds were epic, and I saw Ben, Wai Meng and Richard here! Just 2.2 miles to go, it was well within sight. I was just over 5 hours now, and I was really happy to see that I might get a reasonably respectable time of about 5 and a half hours, when the day before I’d have been happy with anything under 6. I was still running – slowly – and passing just about everyone else. Many people were waling the rest of the way now. I found out later on the results page that I passed 979 people in the final 7km and only over took me! I got loads of people shouting my name here which was great, I guess because I looked like I was still going strong but more likely because it was simply less crowded and there was no’one to hide behind anymore! All good though, I was glad I had written my name on my vest after all.

At 25 miles I was actually, for a second, really disappointed that the race was almost over. I only had less than 14 minutes left of running to do and then it would all be over. I even caught myself wishing (just for a moment, mind you!) that the race was an ultra, so I could carry on for another couple of miles and make the most of the crowds! But not for long, I now couldn’t wait to finish. Soon Big Ben was well in sight, we passed the London Eye and turned a sharp right onto Bridge Street and Birdcage Walk. Here, you are so close to the finish, and you expect to be able to see the finish line – but this road is deceptively long and seems to go on forever! It’s actually a good half mile or more from when you go past Big Ben, which feels like another 5k after all the miles you’ve done so far. I told myself this, and made sure I did not kid myself into thinking there was only a minute of running left, especially when passing the 800m To Go sign, which you assume is the 26 mile marker! Or when you turn another right at the top of St James’s Park – I was nearly there, but not quite! But I was loving it, and was taking in so much more than last year. When I passed in front of Buckingham Palace, it felt like I was in the Olympics, the crowds were bigger than anything I’d seen until now. Last year I’d barely noticed Buckingham Palace, but this year I knew it was there and just as you carry on turning to the right, there is the 385 Yards To Go sign. 26 miles done, could I manage a sprint finish? Well not quite a sprint, but just about a slight quickening of pace, and over the finish line! I looked at my watch – just gone 5 hours 28, I was so happy. Two marathons in one week and they were within about 22 minutes of each other.

I hobbled through the finishing funnel, and had my timing chip removed. Then, my medal! Behold the beautiful, shiny bling. It was very impressive this year, a huge, round medal with a very detailed engraving of London and Tower Bridge from the air on one side, and a route of the marathon and the Thames on the other. I tried to keep walking, as my legs were so tired and they were starting to seize up. I managed to pose for the finisher’s photo and then went to collect my goody bag and baggage. The goody bag contained a few basic items, mostly I just want food so that was fine. A finisher’s tee-shirt (great colour but about 5 sizes too big), an apple, a bottle of Lucozade, a bottle of water, can of adidas deodorant, an energy gel and some other bits and pieces. I ate the food and drank the drinks, then stuffed everything else into my backpack. Once out in St James’s park, I finally sat down on the grass – bliss! It was really busy and extremely crowded so I text my parents to say I’d finished and to meet me at the J meet-up zone. I then had to attempt to get back up again – with the help of a tree! – and make my way slowly to the changing tent where I got into clean clothes and felt a bit more human again. Finally I met my parents and gave them a big (sore) hug.

After a rest – my parents needed it as well! – we wandered back along the Embankment watching the later runners. There were still quite a few going, 6 or 7 hours later. We had a cup of tea in a nearby café, then slowly made our way to Blackfriars to catch the train home. It was really strange being back in the “real world” – with non-runners milling about everywhere, but got plenty of “well dones” from total strangers on the way home! When I was finally home I ate a huge pizza, a chocolate milkshake and a glass of Bailey’s delicious! Even better was having the day off work on the Monday, so I could enjoy a lovely long lie in, a bath and watch the high lights of both the Brighton and London Marathons on the TV with a huge bowl of Ben & Jerries ice cream.

What a day! I really want to run London again, it's such an incredible race. The ballot for the 2015 race opens next week, so I'll be setting my alarm to ensure I get my application in. I would love another chance to run this excellent marathon again. I'm also thrilled to have just hit my fundraising target for Look UK, so a huge thank you to anyone who has sponsored me.

Until then, there's just Milton Keynes, Liverpool, Kent, Berlin, the Royal Parks Ultra and another Brighton to go!