My Virgin London Marathon 2010

I wanted to commit my thoughts and memories somewhere about the London Marathon because it was such an amazing day. So here it is.

My audioboos can be found at http://audioboo.fm/jayman888

I uploaded 8 audioboo voice clips on Marathon day. Just cut and paste the link above. I could only load 1 one this blog

I stayed over with my cousin on the Saturday night and slept really well. Got up and 6.30am and ate 2 bits of toast and a cup of tea. Left the flat at 8am and drove as close to the start as possible and then walked to the Red Zone. We walked up a hill and through the park to the start zones and the first thing I realised was the sheer size of the whole event. There were people EVERYWHERE and thousands and thousands of them.

I felt very nervous at this point and had to queue up for the toilets a couple of times. It was a cool morning with the treat of rain. I checked my kit bag into a TNT lorry and went for a wander. I saw a few other WELLCHILD runners and said hello but was on my own the whole time. My cousin, a seasoned Marathon runner had left to head up to Westminster to park up and then over to Docklands to meet the rest of my family.

As the start time of 9.45am came up there was a huge surge towards all the start zones. I was in Red Zone Pen 8. The idea of the Zones and Pens is to group similar speed runners together. So 1 to 10, 1 being the fastest and 10 being the slowest and in fancy dress. A lot of runners obviously lied about their times on application because there were plenty of slower runners who were in fancy dress in the pens in front of me and I spent the first 7 or 8 miles trying to get around them.

A mass event like this has a controlled start so when you see it on the TV and the front runners run off the line on the gun, bear in mind that it can take up to 30 minutes for everyone to get through. It took exactly 16 minutes for me to cross the start line and my marathon officially started at 10.01am.

The first 6 miles where just about settling into the run and warming up. I bailed at about Mile 3 for a quick ‘illegal alfresco wee’, I wasn’t the only one. These were mainly residential areas with people lining the streets, some offering fruit and sweets. Old people in their front gardens with chairs and tables out, music playing loudly and lots of cheering. 

The Cutty Sark was really the first point of the run when I was actually totally blown away by the public support. The crowds started to build from Woolwich Church Street at Mile 4 but when I got to Cutty Sark it was amazing. I was running beside Batman and Robin when a guy with a microphone and a camera crew jumped out and shouted

‘Batman and Robin, BBC! Can we get an interview?’

Batman and Robin stopped and got interviewed, I carried on running. You might have seen me beside them on the TV.

I called my dad as I ran past the 7 Mile marker to let him know where I was because the plan was to see them all at the Tesco at Surrey Quays between Miles 8 and 9. As I ran up Evelyn Street towards the Tesco I saw my daughter on my wife’s shoulders before they saw me! I stopped briefly and gave everyone a kiss and carried on. My wife had made me a big banner on a white roller blind with a great big massive long phrase on it. I didn’t manage to read it at this point.

It was a lovely to see the family at this point and it certainly gave me a boost.  The next big thing to happen on my marathon run was getting to Tower Bridge!

Word cannot describe what it feels like running along Tower Bridge on Marathon day. So I’m not going to try. Just imagine both sides of the bridge lined with people all cheering and shouting, running up Tooley Street and then turning right onto Tower Bridge.  An absolutely incredible feeling.

I felt pretty good at the half way mark and from Mile 13 though to 15 was nice and steady. I remember running past the Gel Stop at 14 miles and finding the tarmac really sticky where all the runners has taken a gel pack and then thrown it. I had a little chuckle to myself at this point. My trainers were making a really funny squelching noise.

Getting on the Isle of Dogs at Mile 15 to 18 was a lovely personal point for me. My cousin, who had run the marathon in 2003 used to live on the Isle of Dogs and I have memories of watching the marathon here and waiting to give him a bag of gel packs as he ran past. The sun was beaming down at this point and as I ran toward Canary Wharf I could see Canada Tower and Citi Bank glistening in the sun.

As I ran through Canary Wharf the crowds swelled again. I’d had a walk around Canary Wharf with my family the previous day looking to buy some sun block and it was practically empty. As I ran though it Miles 18 to 19 the streets where lined deep with people. I high fived Ricky Whittle just as the BBC let him go after an interview.

I looked at my iPhone as I exited Churchill Place and saw a text from my sister, which read ‘ McDonalds Billingsgate’ I called her as I ran down Trafalgar Way and within 2 minutes saw my family again. The massive banner with too many words, my wife, daughter and sister were there. My wife said ‘Read the Banner’ and ‘don’t stop, Richard Branson just ran past’. Confusing messages for a chap who’d been running for 19 miles.

I found out later that my dad was also somewhere at Billingsgate but had run off to try and video Branson in the Butterfly suit, thus missing filming me completely.

Poplar High Street Mile 20 to 22 the Highway was hard. I’d just seen my family again, I knew from Mile 20 to the end I’d be on my own. Mile 21 was probably the ‘Wall’. Not a massive ‘Wall’ however I’d only ever trained up to 21 to 22 miles so this would be the furthest I’d ever run.

I kept looking at my watch and working out my timings, thinking if I could run another 5 miles in 50 minutes, I’d finish in less than 5 hours. My target for the marathon has always been 4hours 30mins.

I was starting to go a little mad at this point. I remember advice my cousin had given me about splashing water on your ears to cool down. I collected a Lucozade Sport and splashed it all over my ears. I realised my mistake and had a sticky face for a while until I picked up water to wash my ears with. I also remember thinking how inconsiderate other runners were when they stopped and walked 2 or 3 side by side in the middle lane when runners like me wanted to get by. I just wanted to shout ‘move aside’.

Maybe my running ‘wall’ was just losing my happy positive thoughts about the day and getting really irritated. I remember still be jostled and having to swerve a lot, even at mile 21.  

What snapped me out of it was catching up with Richard Branson dressed as a Butterfly. The crowd were going wild for him. I was soaking up his ricochets. I ran with him for a bit, managed to take a picture of him on my iPhone. I saw a person handing him something to eat and then someone else handing him a water to sip. The Billionaire Chairman of Virgin with ‘staff’ running with him. Fantastic, what a dude!!!

I suddenly realised if I ran off ahead I’d finish before Branson! So I did. Seeing and running with Richard for a bit really recharged my batteries.

Running along the River Thames from Miles 23 to 25 was hard; I was running at a faster pace. I ran nearer the barriers so more people would shout ‘Go Jay Man’.   My legs and feet were hurting a lot by now. The crowds were amazing. I know it’s a Marathon cliché but it’s so true. They really do motivate you.

My twitter friend @squiffa actually saw me at Mile 24.5 Tweets below:

‘@BubblyNatz I have a lot of admiration for those who did run! Saw @Jayman888 running! It was a kind of tweet up even if he didn't know it!’

 ‘@Jayman888 Well done today! Spotted you running down the Embankment at about 24.5 miles! I am very impressed! Xx’

Head down and sunglasses on running hard! I saw the 26 Mile marker and I knew it was nearly over. I saw the finish line and I pushed my pace to ‘mild sprint’ to the finish!

I toppled over as soon as the medal was hung around my neck.

What an amazing day. I loved every moment and every mile! I’m a marathon runner now! 

I finished the 2010 Virgin London Marathon in 4 hours and 42 Minutes and I’m chuffed to bits with it! I’ve also raised nearly £2000 for Wellchild. Thank you everyone for your support and sponsorship. Thanks to Wellchild for giving me the opportunity to run for you.

Sunday 25^th April 2010 will be a day I’ll remember for the rest of my life.