Race Report: London Marathon 26/04/2015

I started running in 2005 completing my first half marathon at Congleton as a 20 a day smoker and considerably bulkier than I am today thanks to spending endless hours in what used to be Lain’s Gym in Sandbach. I then gave running a rest for a couple of years before again starting and joining the Sandbach Striders. 

Paul and Jo at the start

Let me take you back before even that, to a time sat on my couch in a house with a cigarette in my hand and an empty kebab box on the floor and probably striders own Grant Stanning running a sub 3 hour London Marathon. A time when running shorts left a lot to be desired and Lycra wasn’t invented. Back then there was the crazy man on my housing estate whom was running his 3rd or 4th London. My head master whom had caned me on several occasions was also a London marathonholic and he (Mr Buzby rip) gave assemblies after each one telling us how great it and he was. 

2015 and 35 years since the commencement of the marathon this was different, this thanks to the Striders ballot was my time, 2015 was to be my chance to run the marathon around my home city and “go the wrong side of the river” and back across to the familiar surroundings of the great city and financial institutions that mean so much across the world. 

So the adventure was to begin, the adventure of a lifetime was planned with a few surprise’s thrown in. First there was the text from Karen whom had forgotten her passport which is required to collect your number, so a quick detour to Karens house and I was on my way to London to pick up my number, drop Karen’s passport to her and pick up my crazy friend Wona’s number and drive it across London to leave at her hotel where she would arrive later, oh and I forgot I also had to pick Nikki’s sister up from Birmingham on the way to act as my support crew. Phew, with all this done and a tour of London for Nikki who would never use the tube and I was in bed at my mother in laws house just 30 miles from the start. 

On awaking I drove to pick up an old friend of mine whom through facebook we had speaking with but I had not seen for probably 25 years who was running his second marathon. With Simon on board at 06-00 we set off to the train to Waterloo and before I knew it I was passing the New Den (Millwall FC) spit spit and on my way to Blackheath which was to be the blue start. 

It was there I met Karen and Jason and the wonderful Jo from my hardmoors family also running her first London marathon. Before I knew it and dressed in my tutu and Samaritans charity top I was ready to get this run underway. I started with a plan, the plan was simple, run a sub 2 hour first half and allow the crowd to drag me round the second half as quickly as I can and to be running all the way. 

Who's this guy behind me?

The club chairman and a veteran of running London once said to me that the only way of running it was in fancy dress. I was soon after just a couple of miles about to realise exactly what he meant. With my pink tutu and my name changed to either Paul, as on my top, Tutu guy or sexy legs I was experiencing a full on London cockney bit of banter. As the race unfolded I started to lap up the crowd and just loved the banter we had together. I could at this time talk about times, pace per mile, the state of my aching legs or even the fantastic new running shoes I was wearing but no. This was proving to be the best marathon I had ever ran, the crowd were just fantastic, cheering shouting and barely a space to be had along the whole 26 miles, in fact with them all shouting my name and tutu guy to boot I felt like I was in fact Mo Farah and a true athlete. 

With me eating up the miles and meeting some of my running friends as the miles went passed there was not a part of this marathon and shouting from the crowd that I wasn’t enjoying, I was now loving it.

Before I knew it I was arriving barely running just moving but the crowd almost sucking me through the finish line and to complete the best marathon ever out of the plus 40+ that I have ran. 

The medal

This was special, it wasn’t just a marathon, it was The London Marathon and I had completed it, not only had I completed it I had raised over £1100 pounds for the Samaritans. I picked up my medal before being picked up by the Samaritans support crew and taken to their post race massage, shower and party. Soon after whilst lying on my massage bed Jason and Jo appeared to congratulate me and take some awkward snaps. I was so pleased to see them and share not only my joy but Jason’s too who had proved that despite his advancing age he was still getting faster or certainly no slower. This had been a complete experience for me, two weeks previous I had ran Paris with a cold and struggled home in 4-56 yet here I was in London celebrating a 4-23 and 1 second race. 

If you haven’t ran London before, if you have just joined on the couch to 5k, enter it train for it and do it. It will be the best experience in running that you ever have, 

Paul