Officially
09:45 26.2 miles 3:10:39
Finish position – 1929th
Gender position – 1890th
Age group position – 374th
Average 7:16 min/miles
Unofficially
09:45 26.58 miles 3:10:40
1 7:19 2 7:05 3 6:47 4 6:50 5 7:05 6 7:03 7 7:01 8 6:59 9 7:00 10 7:04 11 7:07 12 7:03 13 7:04 14 7:06 15 7:01 16 7:17 17 7:12 18 7:18 19 7:07 20 7:13 21 7:16 22 7:33 23 7:28 24 7:17 25 7:38 26 7:37 .58 4:11 (7:13 pace) Average 7:10 min/miles
Here comes my version of ‘War and Peace’…
We arrived at Glasgow’s Central Station a wee bit early on the Friday morning, so headed for the obligatory cup of coffee. When the time came, we headed for the train feeling a little more awake. Despite improved sight thanks to the caffeine, we still managed to bump into fellow West Highland Way runner’s Debs and Marco. Bumping into the pair of them became a common occurrence in London Village! We managed to arrange things so that we could all sit together, and the banter helped pass the time. The highlight of the journey was from ‘Phone Girl’ who clearly thought that she was being filmed for Trigger Happy TV… “NO… I’M ON THE TRAIN!” She discussed with her friend, who was clearly hard of hearing, all of her sexual conquests – including orgies – and her quite comprehensive recreational drug usage. Then she combined the two! I think her best advice to her friend though was the conclusive fact that Barcelona is actually in Spain… you learn something new everyday! Debs, perhaps louder than intended, comment of “Is that for real?” caused much hilarity at ‘Phone Girls’ expense, though she remained oblivious. For the record, no Marco, I won’t stop eating your HobNobs!
Having arrived in London we made it to the Underground then said our goodbyes as we headed for the hotels. Our hotel (Novotel – Waterloo) was in an ideal location. It was about 12 minutes walk from Waterloo East for the race day train to Blackheath, and only about a miles recovery walk from the marathon finish area. We dumped our bags on arrival and headed straight back out the hotel doors in the direction of Excel for the Marathon Expo.
The Headless Chicken Left Me A Message On The
Impossible Is Nothing Wall At The Marathon Expo.
We were a bit disappointed with the expo this year, although we were both tired and hungry, and the poor guys on the stalls were approaching the end of another long day. Their enthusiasm was definitely dwindling!
It was after 9pm when we finally managed to sit down and eat dinner. Having left Glasgow at 10am, we had been travelling for about 11 hours with little time spent on still, motionless ground. The restaurant might as well have been the buffet carriage as we both felt like we were still moving as we sat at the table. What was for dinner? Curry. As recommended by all good sports nutritionists!
So, disappointed that I didn’t have the London Marathon buzz after the expo the previous night, I went back on the Saturday morning. I’d decided that I should have bought a top that I didn’t get the night before anyway… I’m not indecisive, am I? Mrs pacepusher was off in search of some history (The Imperial War Museum) and left me (thinking me nuts… I am, I take after my mother!) to return to the Excel Centre. It was much better second time around and I really got the buzz of excitement that I was looking for. Of course, I also bumped into Marco and Debs whilst I was there. Marco on the hunt for new gadgets, and Debs with an eye on the shoes!
I sat and had a coffee at Excel and watched the world go by listening to my ipod. Would you believe that for the second time, the shuffle picked the perfect opening song, the FLM theme tune (It also did this at the start of my last training run if you remember). On the way out I noticed someone waving towards me. It was Katy, the owner of Achilles Heel, the running shop in the West End Of Glasgow. You know you visit a shop too often when the owner stops you in London to ask how the WHW trainings going and what time you’re going for in the race!
I spent the afternoon wandering (slowly) around St James’s Park, watching the preparations for race day.
Building The Finish Gantry
Then I sat in the sun and read my book (Ultra Marathon Man – Dean Karnazes). Mrs pacepusher the historian was now in the Cabinet War Rooms! I had a very relaxing day, ideal race preparation, and in the evening we went to Mr and Mrs Pump’s house for a pasta feast. Miss Pump was running too. We had a carb-tastic meal and ate loads, again, ideal race preparation. I never thought I’d be in London for the weekend and end up eating my dinner in front of ‘Britain’s Got (NO) Talent’! It was perfect for the night before the race and I thank them for their hospitality. A short tube ride, a walk over Westminster Bridge, and we were back at the hotel. Lights out by 10pm. The big day was nigh!
I Never Miss A Good Photo Opportunity!
And so finally to race day! We were up at 7am, aiming to leave at 7:30. With race kit on, breakfast and sports drink in hand, we were off as planned. The walk to the station passed by very quickly and we were soon squeezing into the train like sardines. There was a crazy mix of nerves and excitement on the train, the silence broken by ‘Mr Funny’. There’s always a comedian in these situations. Amongst other gags, he played the ‘tickets please’ line. There’s a career for him out there, probably not on the stage though!
It was with great surprise that I called out ‘Debs!’. Of all the carriages, on all the trains, we had ended up about 3 metres apart… was there no getting away! Marco was at the green start so Debs was alone. We walked upto and into the start area together, then after a “Good Luck” Debs vanished like the Fairy God Mother in Cinderella! We also saw The Headless Chicken briefly and wished each other luck.
Before I knew it, bags were on the trucks and I was on the start line, happily quite near the front of the pen. I chatted with the people around me, then we were off, slowly moving towards the start. I found it quite busy over the first mile, but not so much that it effected my running. I scampered past a few people, barged past a few others (usually those with ipods) and got in the way of a few that wanted past me! I did my best to hold myself back into a reasonable pace… I know not the 7:10’s I talked about, but not too drastic! Mile 3 is downhill and it gave me a chance to relax my legs and really find my rhythm. It was at this point that I also flew passed Gordon Ramsay. He’s a big man and the discrepencies on the additional GPS recorded distance may be caused by having to go around him! As you may have noticed about an hour ago at the start of this post, my GPS recorded 26.58 miles. As the FLM is a IAAF World Marathon Major, I’m not going to suggest that it was measured incorrectly. …although I might still class it as my first ultra marathon race!
I managed to maintain my pace well, and remain fairly consistent throughout. Although I dropped by about 30 seconds per mile towards the latter stages, this is considerably less than in previous marathons. I suspect running the longer WHW training runs was the reason for the improvement. As mentioned, the GPS was showing the distance quite differently to the mile markers, and I had worked it out that if I could sustain sub 8:00 pace over the last two miles, I would break 3 hours 10 mins. I worked harder than I think I ever have in a race over those last two miles and was gutted when I realised I wasn’t actually going to make it in time. With 600 metres to go, I heard a shout from behind me. It was fellow WHW’er Gavin. I smiled, tried to say something, then ran head down towards the line. I worked so hard that, let’s just say, the finish photos won’t look great. As I was re-visiting some of my gels and sports drink, I was told to ‘keep moving’ by a marshal. ‘I’m a bit busy being sick’ was my, as polite as possible, response!
The crowds had been amazing all the way around the course. They seem to have a knack of shouting your name when you most need it. The highlight for me, and one that almost brought me to official FLM tears, was when a guy on an electric wheel chair called out from the side of the road. His speach was poor, but I thought he had said my name. As I looked over toward him, he repeated my name and gave me a thumbs up and a huge smile. It was amazing. I gave him a big smile back and shouted ‘thank you’ as I plodded on. If I wasn’t so time orientated, I would have stopped and shaken his hand. I wasn’t running for charity, but so many do, and you can’t help but feel emotional at some of the things you see people doing.
One person that was running for charity was Miss Pump. She’s raised about £1500.00 for the Mental Health Foundation, and ran the race dressed as Snow White. She finished in a time of 4 hours 14 minutes and had really enjoyed the experience. Mrs pacepusher will tell you about her race herself if you read her blog, as will Marco and Debs!
Miss Pump, or is it Snow White?
London is so slick in it’s organisation. You cross the line, hand over your timing chip, get your medal, then your goody bag, and then head towards your clearly marked baggage truck. They had found my bag and handed it to me as I arrived, having seen me coming, very slowly, from a far. This is where New York disappointed us last year. The crowds are better in London too. In fact, London rocks!
Once I had my bag, I stopped to change into some warm kit. Just as I struggled to reach my shoelaces, The Headless Chicken appeared, offering to get them for me. He’d run a PB of 3 hours 22 minutes and was delighted. I declined the offer of getting him to remove my shoes this time, but if he asks again after 70 odd miles of the West Highland Way, I might just accept! Who did I see next, Debs of course, then Marco. Was there no getting away?!?
That night, with my medal safely tucked in my pocket, we met Marco and Debs (this time pre-planned!) in Leicester Square where they were gate crashing the Bellahouston Road Runners night out. I had a good time, chatting to loads of people about their races, but mainly to Marco about the West Highland Way Race. It just never goes away!
We spent Monday doing a shopping fartlek. Thankfully most of the hill sections had escalators! I believe Mrs pacepusher covers this session in more detail on her blog!
We returned home on Tuesday evening. Tired, but having had a great trip. I love the London Marathon… it’s official!
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