Five weeks ago was the first time I seriously considered running a marathon. I entered on impulse. Flooded with doubts, I sought out a running buddy - one of my daughter’s friends who’d never run more than 12k (but walks a lot - think three peaks challenge - and being almost 35 years younger than me believes anything is possible) agreed to join me. We only managed two long training runs together but a plan developed; walk the first 1.5miles, run 23x 1 mile reps (1.2k run, 0.4k walk), then finish with a 2k walk and a 1k ‘sprint’. The route was planned, checked and triple checked, with potential toilet stops identified along the way (none of which were needed as it happens); a loop one way down the river, a loop the other way up the river and a small loop around a lake to finish.
Worsening ankle/calf pain in the two weeks leading up to the event, meant I really wasn’t sure I’d be able to run yesterday, but was going to give it a good try. Pouring rain for two days prior meant our trail route by the river - solid earth trails, grass fields, compacted gravel paths and some roads - would be unrecognisable from the training runs and route recce rides we’d done.
It was with complete trepidation that we both got up on Sunday. My buddy's car had picked up a flat tyre the night before so I drove to pick her up …I was a few minutes late, so when my phone went I assured her I was on my way. Oh good she said only someone drove right past that looked a bit like you! Oops, yep that was me … back I went (wonder how long it would’ve taken me to realise by myself).
So we parked down by the river (empty car park) and got ourselves sorted. Very glad we opted for rain jackets as it was wet and windy. Almost immediately there were puddles as wide as the path (we soon gave up trying to dodge round and keep our feet dry), mud as sticky and slippery as could be (glad I decided to risk my trail shoes, previously untried over long distance) and of course the never ending wind, rain and cold!
I had water in my shoes, then mud between my toes and then I was happy for more water to wash the mud out again! They tell you to visualise anything that might happen during your race so that you’re prepared for any eventuality - well, how about a group of cows that have decided to lie across the road, or the fallen trees that we had to limbo under? Trust me, I plan everything to the nth degree, but somehow I missed those possibilities 🤦♀️
But this was London Marathon day, and spirit and fortitude were evident everywhere. We met lots of other bib wearing runners and walkers and we all cheered each other on. We met other runners, dog walkers and families who clapped and cheered as we passed. On road sections we were brought back to the present by horn tooting cars (and just one particularly obnoxious car who went as fast as possible through a massive puddle sending water everywhere). A couple of times we were cheered on by supporters presumably waiting for other runners. Our thanks go to every single one of these people (except the splasher), it was really uplifting.
One group of runners in particular - I recognised the name on the lady’s bib and called out to her - I’m Miss 9389’s mum I shouted! She works with my daughter. I’ve checked her route and we only overlapped for such a short distance, it was an amazing coincidence to bump into her (especially as we've never met before). That was our only unscheduled stop - a quick selfie!!!
Then there were our own supporters. Pretty thin on the ground, but they made a huge difference and a lot of noise. My daughter in her car at 7k, my daughter’s friend at 17k (actually there to cheer on her sister who we didn’t see). Mr9389 informing us we were 47% of the way through!
I had made a variant of my usual pace band - this time it had the planneed time we should take to get to specific points on the route. As we turned to come back at around 28k we were 20 minutes ahead of schedule! The chatter in my head started. That meant sub 5:30 was a possibility - beyond anything I had hoped for, but the thought took hold and I swear the excitement of that possibility kept me going to the end.
I sipped an electrolyte drink throughout, and had had an energy bar in small chunks over the early part of the run, but around 18 miles (the app marked every mile with some distracting chat and loud cheers) I thought I was feeling a bit dizzy, so from then on I kept eating small energy chews and a few mini cheddars; I was worried I was about to experience the notorious 20/21 mile wall but it turned out to be nothing (or maybe it was, but was fixed by the increased food consumption).
Our final 3.5k should have taken us round a lake, but neither of us could face any more mud. My buddy was going to run the last bit on her own anyway, while I was going to run/walk it. We agreed that once we got to where our supporters were waiting, we would separate for the last few kms.
As we got to the final 3 or 4k we could see our cheer squad in the distance, we could hear them! They were amazing - just 7 of them, but what a noise! I was quite tearful and my buddy stepped it up a gear. We separated and ran on. I was not exhausted; sore, tired, heavy, but not spent so I ran 0.5k and walked 0.5k twice for that last 2k walk segment, then ran the final km or so as planned.
And that’s where it all got a bit confusing for us and our supporters! No longer on our measured route we were guessing how far to go before turning round. Talk about false finishes! Our cheer squad had brought a finish line that we had to keep running past; even when the app finally cheered us as finished (I’m sure I got the ‘you did it’ message at 26 miles and again at 26.2), Garmin wanted another 200m or so (and no way were either of us stopping without getting 42.2km on Garmin and Strava)!! So there we were, up and down the street to whoops and cheers. I crossed the ‘finish line’ as the app cheered, then ran on until Garmin beeped! Good job there was no one else around!!!
Photos, congratulations and recovery drinks in the street. We were all grabbing masks to go into the pub when Mr 9389 reminded us of the rule of 6. Ahh yes. That real world. So the two of us went home and left the youngsters to it.
There was of course another group of ‘virtual supporters’ who were there whenever I had doubts, or needed to dig deep (which wasn’t too often) or whenever I needed to pinch myself to believe it was really happening - the bunch of supporters who have encouraged and informed and helped me fulfill dreams I never had!!! It is amazing what we can do, how we can repeatedly achieve the seemingly impossible. I feel so satisfied and content today; the stiffness and soreness are simply a positive reminder of how amazing I feel. With huge thanks to everyone here - HU is a truly awesome team!!! Never say Never!!!!
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linda9389
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Wow, I got all emotional just reading that! Thanks for sharing your triumph with us.
(Have to say that on my short run yesterday I was disappointed not to come across any VLMrs that I could cheer on, but all the runners I did meet in the rain were exceptionally jolly for a change.)
There's something quite mad about running in the rain - you can't help but laugh, and it gives you a common bond too which you just want to celebrate. I began to feel that people who weren't acknowledging others were missing out yesterday!
Didn't it just! Having said that it's not the rain so much as the conditions underfoot that make it challenging - sometimes it was impossible to know where underfoot was, it was under so much water 😅
Wow, what an awesome report reflecting an amazing day you had! Congratulations on completing that marathon despite all the hurdles put in your way. You planned it, dreamed it and achieved it! Hope you are feeling a bit more mobile now 🤣
I thoroughly planned it ... but didn't allow for the weather 😅😅😅. I'd probably have switched to a road route but my buddy was keen to carry on regardless. It made it all the more memorable 😊
Great to read the whole story in detail Linda, Thanks for taking the time to write it. It was fun picturing the cows and the supporters confusion at the end!!
Great stuff Linda. So glad you are enjoying your triumph - Well deserved 👍🏅
It was awesome! And I still can't quite believe it. There are two nagging voices in my head ... 'How about if you trained peoperly? Could you maybe run it?' and 'Half to full was a big jump, full to ultra not so big?' 🙄🤷♀️🤦♀️🙈🙉🙊
Amazing report and an amazing achievement Linda! 👏👏👏🏅🎉🎉 You are an absolute inspiration - just fantastic! Had to smile at the need to have the almighty Garmin ok your distance..and visions of folk running up and down the street with finish lines! 😂
Well done my friend, rest up well and enjoy the glory! 💪🙂x
I think most of us will be able to identify with the necesity of those last couple of hundred Garmin/Strava metres . Not sure our cheer squad will understand, even now 😅
Great to read the whole report. You had me giggling, groaning, cheering for you all the way round. Absolutely awesome 😎👏🥳🥂 As we were in one of the locks, we saw a guy dressed in a rhino costume, so 3 boatloads of people, probably unexpectedly, cheered him on 😃
That's an amazing result and a great report of the race! Well done, the conditions were hard but you and your buddy made it and with a great time, congratulations and enjoy the feeling now
I'm glad it made some sense. There was so much more to say but my reports are always way too long as it! It's a sort of therapy, dumping some of the intensity 😀. Although of course it's that intensity that gives the running buzz.
Fabulous report......you forgot the ‘planned route completely under water’......😂 I must admit I thought about my trail shoes too....but couldn’t be that confident I’d cope in them on so many road sections.....
The app failed us, unfortunately.....but Garmin saved the day!
Anyway.......congratulations MARATHONER!
Overall, what a super day we had! You did the London Marathon!
It never occurred to me how much it would change in a week! I thought the app was a nice distraction most of the time, though not terribly entertaining. Did you get the double finishing message too? We are marathoners. We did the London marathon 😀
Congratulations Linda & friend. I loved reading your marathon report. It was as if I was there with you and so great you had people now and again cheering you on. Its also brilliant to read no matter how achey you are today its a great reminder of what you achieved.
Well done you and okay I'll never say never🏃♀️🏃♀️👏👏👏💪💪🥳🥳🥳🥳
What a wonderful report! You are so inspiring! It certainly is an absolutely incredible achievement and one you thoroughly deserve! You have achieved something truly remarkable!
All those nerves and all those feelings before and you conquered each one with every forward step!
A once in a lifetime moment and you did it! Something you will remember and be remembered for forever! The badge suits you and those aches are reminders of your fantastic efforts. I'm so thrilled for you. YOU RAN A MARATHON 🎽🎽🎽🥇🥇🥇🥳🥳🥳
Congratulations Linda, I got goosebumps reading your report, what a day you had, and what a fantastic achievement. The cows, the mud, the rain and limbo-ing under branches plus the cheers of your lovely supporters and such a long long distance!
You deserve to feel amazing, I'm glad you have no bad niggles as a result, but I can imagine how stiff you must be!
Thank you! Even the cow pats were full of water like mini ponds!!! Have had a lovely day off today so soreness and stiffness and tiredness hasn't really been an issue - tomorrow will be more telling 😀
I laughed at one point as we slippednthrough the mud at one of the many gates. It was at that same point I remembered I hadn't been to the loo for 5 or 6 hours and laughing was illadvised!!!
Thank you. I did think of your post when we were at 'T-20', it turns out we had a conservative plan which worked for me both physically and mentally. That was the only reason we beat the plan. It's all in the tricks of the planning 😀
I’m out of the country again. Just doing 5-6 mile slow runs and planning my comeback. Yours is quite spectacular. (The triumph of Hope over adversity. )
Haha, I trained as hard as I could in the three weeks notice I had (plus 2 week taper) 😍 - and I definitely wouldn't recommend that approach. Dead happy with how it turned out though 😊
Thank you. I did think about you as we went along that stretch of the Bath Road ... it was a nasty day, I reckon you dodged a bullet there 😍, though whether the paths will have dried out by end November is debatable!!!
Oh, I don't blame you Dexy. I couldn't thank our supporters enough - most of them were really my younger running buddy's friends. They had to stand out there for a long time - particularly when we were both running up and down the street at the end and they couldn't work out quite what was happening!!!
It was lovely just knowing there were lots of other runners out there doing the same thing - it would have been nice to be able to choose the day to run out of say a week or something, but then we wouldn't have had that sense of something bigger, all of us out together. Despite being a foul day, it kind of worked 😊
I really enjoyed reading your report Linda and would be more than happy to read all the bits that you left out as well. Absolutely brilliant! I wonder how long the after glow will last. A good long time I should imagine. Stress fracture to marathon lady! Fantastic! Many, many congratulations! 🍾🥂🏅🏃♀️🤸♂️🏃♀️🤸♂️🏃♀️🤸♂️👏🏻👍🌟 💥⚡️🎉😊🍾
Ahh, thank you so much. You're right - this time last year I was back on week 4 of C25K, happy to be running but unsure if I'd run 5k again let alone a marathon. We should never give up, and never say never!
Wow what a race report, it was really emotional it seem you went through a total journey with fab support and came away with a fantastic experience and a smashing tale of the day. I’m so glad you got so much from the day and a fantastic time as the cherry on the cake well done and thanks for sharing 😊👍👏🏅
Amazing post. So great to hear your story and what you went through. Sounds so soggy. Definitely an extra challenge in the rain.
I can’t believe your end and your finishing line 😂 my Strava says 26.19 there was no way I was going any further once the official app bleeped. I had nothing left. You did amazing especially with your injury. Well done again!! 🥳
Haha. Our end was surreal, not least because the two of us were running in different directions by then so kept passing each other. You just had to laugh!!!!
We all did really well - a tough challenge on a tough day, but we were all tougher still!!!
I have a lump in my throat! That is truly magical and you have been a consistent source of inspiration to all of us on this forum. Massive congratulations!🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️
Thank you. I just wrote it as it spilled out, but when I re read it this morning I felt quite teary too. Not sure why really, because it was such a happy positive thing!
Thank you. I've felt better for sure 😅 It was neither kind nor sensible to submit my tortured tendons to such a long adventure, but they'll get over it 😅
What an emotional read, brilliant run report! And what about those cows.....🙀 you’d never factor that in.
Linda, what can I say? Really really well done and many congratulations to you. Those conditions were horrible and must have made all the miles so much harder. But you did it 💪 a day you’ll always remember.
I hope you’re not too sore and you’re still smiling. Brilliant stuff 🥰
The support was amazing because it wasn't something you could take for granted as you would in a real race. Plus we were going slowly enough to be able to thank people which was nice 😀
What a run! What a crew! What a report! I could feel the mud in my shoes reading this! Horrible conditions but you smashed it! Well done and I hope all the body parts are feeling good today. Huge congratulations Linda! 👏👏👏👏🏃♀️👊💪
Thanks Decker. That whole water in, water out and slimy mud between the toes feeling, was a first for me!!! I possibly won't be so scared of it next time. Mind you my high heeled Hokas came in handy for wading through a few of the earlier puddles when it still seemed worth trying to keep dry feet 😀
Thank you. I keep finding myself googling the next one as I don't imagine I'll get a VLM 2021 ballot place, and if I did it has strong pros and cons in equal measure! Whereas Richmond Runfest looks lovely ... 😅
What an inspirational, fun and gripping read that was Linda. My hat is off to you. You did it and you are amazing for accomplishing it! Well done and I hope you are recovering well. 👏👏👏👏💪💪💪💪😀😀😀😀🥳🥳🥳🥳
What a wonderful report Linda! How you managed to run so far with wet feet I’ll never know, but you did it!!! Just shows how fit you are that you did it with 5 weeks training! Incredible 😃💪💪💪💪💪👏👏
Thanks TC. The feet were wet but warm. I actually have one very bruised toe nail and blisters in the usual place on both feet, yet I wasn't aware of either during the run which makes little sense.
Wow Linda, rather late in the day (week) is a huge congratulations to you and a very big Well Done ! 👏👏👏Your race report was brilliant and very inspiring, thank you.
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