I awoke this morning to the sad news that some poor 42 year old man had collapsed at the finishing line and didn't make it. May he RIP. So sad.
What a fabulous day we had down at the marathon as spectators. Our friend Lee was running it and we went down to see if we could spot him and yell wildly at him! We set off early and got to Cutty Sark around 9am. The buzz on the Dockland Light Railway carriages was already at fever pitch, with runners decked out in their gear, numbers on their vests and all clutching Virgin Money plastic bags. We got off a stop before them at the Cutty Sark and left them to go to the start line. We had planned to meet up with Lees wife along the way, so we could be mad and wild together, but during the course of the day this never happened! The throngs of people were such that it was very hard to get from one point to another, and the tube stations were temporarily closed at times cos of the crowds.
We saw Mo. He ran past us and I pressed "record" on my phone to video the ONE second of him passing us. Unfortunately I didn't press the button properly and all I got was....well.....nothing!! Never mind. The atmosphere was electric and the sense of goodwill from everyone was awe inspiring.
We hopped back on the DLR and got off at Mile 14 in the hope we'd meet up with Mrs Lee. We were in constant phone contact but she was stuck back at mile 7, where they'd closed the tube!! We watched and yelled from the sidelines at the runners in any case, shouting "well done" and "Come on guys!" to everyone that passed. Mrs Dan then had a genius idea - "Let's walk across the road and up a bit to Mile 21 and see if we can get a glimpse of Lee passing there" she said. The Mile 21 marker was very close to the mile 14 marker, it's the runners that had to do the massive loop - NOT US! So we reached our destination and called Mrs Lee. She'd made it to Mile 19(Canary Wharf) and said if she saw her husband passed, then she'd call us in readiness to wait for him two miles up the road!! Great fun all this I must say. Whilst we waited we had our gourmet lunch that Mrs Dan had prepared - smoked salmon salad, with new potatoes and hard boiled egg in a simply deeeelicious dressing! I knelt down on the pavement and opened the lids of our tupperware boxes and dressed both salads and we stood in the sun, chomping away and yelling "Well done Dave...Ken...Claire...Carl...." at whoever passed us. Then the call came in....
"He's just passed me at Canary Wharf!" screamed Mrs Lee to Mrs Dan down the phone. We girded our loins and waited, still yelling and clapping at everyone that passed. This Mile 21 mark was where folks were starting to fade a bit. Lots of runners stopped for a recovery walk, one lady was being pulled along by her partner, tears streaming down her cheeks at the pain she was in. One bloke collapsed and couldn't get up for a few mins, but then luckily he recovered and was on his way. We scanned the hoardes of runners hoping to see our chum - and then suddenly, there he was. We screamed his name, yelled and waved but he didn't see us. It wasn't until I yelled his WHOLE NAME that he looked around and waved, smiled and then he was gone! But oh, what a moment! You couldn't help but feel in awe of everyone running and giving it their all and to see a face in the crowd that we knew well, was just the icing on't cake!
More phone calls between the ladies. The new plan was to meet at the meeting point M at Westminster - once Lee had completed his race. We got the DLR back towards somewhere, where we tried to get on the tube to Westminster. NO WAY JOSE! There were so many people at the tube that we decided to walk the two miles to Westminster. Easier said than done cos of the crowds!! We eventually made it to Parliament Sq but got trapped on the wrong side of the road where we needed to be!! Hilarious! More furious phone calls.....until it was decided that we were now so knackered we would meet at our house later that evening!! So we eventually made our way home and almost fell asleep on the tube. Quite a few runners had their medals around their necks and were congratulated by fellow travellers. They must've been sooooo tired!
Later that evening they called round at ours and we cracked a bottle of shiraz open to toast our mates glorious marathon run! He was fine if a tad sore. Some of the chaffing stories were a bit graphic, but he said that at certain points along the route, paramedics or marshals would stand with an outstretched rubber gloved hand, completely covered in a massive slather of vaseline and the runners would take a swipe, get a load of vaseline and rub it wherever they saw fit! Brilliant!
Well done to everyone who ran, marshalled, paramedic'ed and organised the whole thing. A totally superb job all round.
Will I do it next year????????? ABSOLUTELY NO WAY!
Thanks for reading.
D
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danzargo
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Lovely post Dan, you describe your day so well, I feel I was there with you. Glad your friend managed to complete it ok. He deserved that glass of wine x
Great post - you clearly had a fantastic day. One really has to admire those who take part in what must be a really gruelling race - I certainly wouldn't be able to do it. Good luck with your own next run. Best wishes.
I've loved reading this, thank you! Yesterday was the first time of watching the marathon and really, really sppreciating how amazing each and every runner is.
Fab report Dan. Pleased you managed to catch up with your friends in the end - it's madness trying to make your way around the course, but such good fun too!
We've been in London on two occasions when the Marathon has been on and it really is a joyous and wonderful thing to be part of. The first time was back a few years ago and was a glorious day. We found ourselves on Tower Bridge next to a group of Uni students looking out for their mate. I'll never forget Dom and his huge yellow banana.....
Like you, we shouted out for anyone and everyone who had a name on their shirt and had such a laugh with everyone around us - it's still one of our fondest memories.
The second time, it poured......it was the time the Masai Tribe runners took part and we'd headed off to Canary Wharf to try spot them. There was a sudden downpour and we moved back into the Underground station for a few minutes and came out just as they'd gone past! The one thing that always sticks in my mind is the speed these runners do! Blink and they're gone.
Huge respect to everyone who has taken part - and great sadness for Robert Berry who died at the end this year. Such a tragedy.
Great post, better than the media coverage for giving a feel for the atmosphere, thank you.
So sad about the runner that died. I've just donated on his just giving page, he was running on behalf of the national osteoporosis society.
Thanks Dan, that was a great read, hope your mate is not too achy today - respect for all those marathon runners.
I remember last year Malcy blogging that during the GNR he took what he thought was a sweet being offered to him and got a mouth full of Vaseline instead.
What a lovely day! I had to work and just grab a few glimpses on the tv in the waiting room - then fast forward through 6 hours of tv coverage I had recorded last night. Not quite the same.
I agree with what you say about the atmosphere at races being brilliant fun for spectators too. We've been to support our son a few times in different places when he's been running marathons and loved the party feel around the event. I've shouted encouragement at loads of runners until I was hoarse and clapped until my hands hurt!
As we've stood beside the barriers we've chatted to perfect strangers who shared one thing - a loved one who was running the marathon. Sometimes we've had a long wait and had long chats - hearing all about how one woman was a runner too, but had to stop due to injury, but her hubby was running. Others have told me of all the travel they do with their running partner, while others shared stories about their partners' charity fundraising efforts.
Last summer I was working in a visitor centre and the day or two after the local marathon I had several visitors call in proudly wearing their marathon t-shirts. Of course, we got chatting about races and running in general. The whole town was aware of the marathon and I think most people acknowledged the effort of the runners and understood why they were proudly wearing their shirts as they continued with their visit to the town days after the event.
Loved this post, you are always so good at explaining the atmosphere! Congratulations to your friend, I cannot imagine the whole scene, it sounds a mixture of scary/awe-inducing!? Sounds like a good day though. Terrible news about the gentleman who collapsed.
Another brilliant post, Dan! This is the first year I've really sat up and taken notice of the London Marathon....could it be because I started Couch25K in Feb and am just about to complete WK8?? Thanks so much for your detailed description...it was great to read such a personal account....
There must be nothing like the feeling of running a marathon. The crowd support looked huge as always. As usual The BBC showed it so well. I even listened to it whilst I was doing my very little run. The heartbreaking stories people share for the reasons to run makes me weep every time. There are so many fabulous causes out there. Your friend must have felt delighted Dan to hear you call his name. It was also lovely reading Suzy B's post and hearing strangers call her name.
I thought you may be tempted to do it next year Dan...?
Well done everyone for doing it. RIP Robert Berry.
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