London Marathon 2010

What a stunning weekend in London. Summer arrived, the city looked amazing and I was lucky enough to have my mum and son with me for a 3 day trip to the ‘smoke’.

It was a ‘treat’ weekend really. Zest the runwild runfree travel partner had put a London package together and I therefore decided to join them and for once let someone else do the organisation. Got to say I was really glad I made that choice. Zest had put a brilliant two night package together staying at the 4 star Plaza Riverside on the Embankment just opposite the Houses of Parliament and in walking distance of the marathon finish. My son thought he was in heave. In actual fact, his opening words were, ‘Dad, you can’t afford this hotel’. He was right. I certainly would not have been staying here had Zest not put the deal together. It was a nice touch that added to the weekend. I race lots and because of that accommodation is usually functional and affordable. To have a little luxury every now and again does us all good.

Friday I headed to the expo while mum and Josh did a few touristy things. Expo was excellent. It had the same format but Virgin had really opened up the space and made it really functional and relaxing. I had lunch with Martin & Liz, saw Paula Radcliffe, met Tom Williams (the other half of marathon talk) and I basically did the rounds in the expo... usual stuff; chat and make contacts. It is quite a draining place. I worked on the Adidas stand last year for 4 days. It was harder than the marathon. I love the buzz but after 4 hours I left to get some space and recover.

Heading into Covent Garden I met the family, went to a wine bar for a relaxing drink and then went for a lovely meal at ‘Cafe des Amis’ – a favourite restaurant with some great memories.

Saturday arrived and with it the sun. The weather was getting hotter! Just in time for the marathon. I wasn’t personally worried but I was thinking of all those first timers who had just spent the last 4-6 months in the worst and coldest winter for 30 years suddenly being confronted with 22 degrees, blue skies and a nice warm day.... Potentially it was going to be a tough day for runners and the VLM staff. Of course spectators were rubbing hands together. Outside, drink in the hand; it was going to be a lovely day to watch some 37,000 grovel.

I did the perfect pre marathon day prep by walking about 8 miles. Hyde Park, Green Park, Oxford Street, Carnaby Street, Soho, Covent Garden and then finally back along the Embankment. You see all the sights....

Darth Vader

Elvis

Rapunzel.......

.....

It was such a lovely day. We did a little shopping, few cafe stops relaxed lunch. It was just so nice.

Back at the hotel we met up with the Zest group for drinks. I did a ‘pre marathon’ talk and then we had a pasta party. The Zest group had some great stories. Plenty of first timers, some running for charity, others running for a time. It was nice to chat and mingle.

Race morning soon came with a 6am breakfast. We had a minibus booked to take us to the start. The mini bus was a real benefit of the Zest package as it just removes that hassle on race morning. Nothing worse than being stressed to get to a race start...

We arrived Greenwich with plenty of time to spare. I was really well prepared with a throw away tracksuit, jumper, waterproof jacket and rain cape. Thank god I was.... the predicted 22 deg turned to cloud and then rain. I just don’t understand it. Runners spend 6 months preparing for the ‘big day’ and then think they can stand around, outside in April with just a vest and running shorts on; doh!! I can’t tell you how many people probably ruined the race before it even started.

I was in pen 1 on the red start. Absolutely ideal! I walked up 15 min before the start, stood on the front, removed my warm clothes 5 min before the start and then was off... perfect! Main problem came just before 3 miles when the two other starts join us. Suddenly people everywhere but to be honest I wasn’t really held up. Certainly from 10 miles I had clear roads.

So, the race!

Paris was two weeks ago! I PB’d with a 2:53 three weeks after a 50 mile ultra. So, what was the plan for London? Initially I entered London because I can! I have ‘good for age so I therefore I am guaranteed a slot. This slot needs to be taken usually around September time, so, in 2009 I took the slot with the intention of running or not running. When I planned 2010 running diary, ‘Comrades’ was going to be a primary target. I therefore decided to train hard up to Ecotrail (March 20^th), recover and go for a PB at Paris (April 11^th) and then run London as training two weeks later. A perfect plan.

Problem was in the last 3-4 weeks it was looking unlikely I would make Comrades. Therefore London left me with another opportunity to test myself. We all know, to run two hard marathons within two weeks and do well is unlikely, however, post Paris I took 4 days off, got massage, ran easy and I thought, let’s give it a go.....

From the start I was running well. I felt great and really focussed. I was prepared to hurt. Target was sub 2:50 and that means under 6:30 miles. I learnt at Paris that my GPS is slightly out and in some ways had I known this in France I may have gone a little quicker... I therefore decided to ignore the GPS and just count the miles; 1 mile in 6:30, 2 miles in 13:00, 3 miles in 19:30 and so on.

Early on I was motoring and I got ahead by 30-40 secs.

5k in 19:44

10k in 39:41

15k in 1:00:14

20k in 1:20:56

Half Marathon in 1:25:22

At this point I was feeling okay BUT I could feel the fatigue. Not so much in my quads but unfortunately in my abductors; a consequence of my hernia OP. This pain was a little too early and I realized that the chances of holding on would be unlikely.

25k in 1:41:30

30k in 2:02:45

T this point I was still on for 2:50. I had gone through the initial 10k in 39:41. If I could repeat it I would be in for a PB.

Great in theory but I knew it wasn’t possible. The Paris fatigue had hit and if I carried on I may very well be out of the race.... I eased back and decided to run into the finish. It was a painful 10k and thank god I do Ultra’s. It is times like this when you’re hurting and you have to keep gong that mental strength counts. I wasn’t worried about not getting the PB. It was a long shot and I knew it.... however, I did think it would be nice to do two sub 3’s within two weeks!

35k 2:24:55

Providing the wheels didn’t come off completely I was going to do it. Gritted my teeth. I got pulled on by the crowds and when the final 4 miles cam I just put my head down and kept pushing. The crowds really do lift you.... amazing support.

I crossed the line in 2:58:01 – why didn’t I try a bit harder and go for sub 2:58 – that 2 seconds is annoying!!.

A great race. I loved the day and the experience and insight it gave me. I feel really proud to have run 2 hard marathons in two weeks,PB’d in one, failed in the other knowing that I laid it on the line... it actually could have gone very wrong but my training pulled me through. I am now super focussed on Venice in October. You will see a change in me from Mid August. I am going to dedicate myself on one specific race and then nail it.... Venice for me is now a real objective and the thought of running fast and hard really excites me.

As a foot note (pun intended) I still feel that London is not a great course. It has its moments but in comparison to Paris it is not a ‘beautiful’ race. What it is is a spectacle. The crowd support is immense!!! Hundreds of thousands of people line the whole route with a carnival atmosphere. I actually felt nauseas at some points the noise levels were so loud. Virgin put on a great race and I think in the build up to 2012 you will see this race develop even more. I have a ‘good for Age’ for next year so I may very well be back...........

It is important to mention here Laura Mackay who ran London (her first). When I started coaching Laura she just wanted a finish. As I said in the previous blog, Laura has really dedicated herself to the cause and I knew she had a great race in her. She didn’t disappoint crossing the line with a 4:04. Brilliant time and effort! She is a little upset she didn’t drop below 4! But London is a difficult place to go for time when you are in the time bracket... the race is so busy. Laura did say afterward that she definitely lost time in the masses. She will be back, smaller race and a new PB. Laura, if you read this, how about a report!?

Onwards – what’s next?

VLM REPORT

More than 36,000 runners finished the London Marathon today, the first ever to be sponsored by Virgin.

By 7pm in the evening, 36,549 had crossed the finish line in The Mall after Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, had set a record 36,984 on their way from Greenwich, the largest field ever in the 30^th year of the event. Another record number, 37,527, had registered to run by close of play on Saturday from more than 51,000 accepted applicants.

At the end of 26.2 miles it was the Tsegaye Kebede who led them home, the Ethiopian becoming the first non-Kenyan to win the men's race since his compatriot Gezahegne Abera triumphed in 1993. Last year's runner-up, Kebede turned silver to gold as he crossed the line in 2:05:19, just nine seconds outside the course record and the third fastest ever since the London Marathon started in 1981.

Kebede, crossed the line with more than a minute to spare over Emmanuel Mutai as the Kenyan finished second in 2:06:23, while the evergreen Moroccan Jaouad Gharib was third for the second year in a row in 2:06:55. Important to mention Brit ‘Lemoncello’ in his first marathon clocked 2:13:40 for a great 8^th place.

Liliya Shobukhova became the first Russian to win the elite women's race as she produced a commanding performance to smash her personal best by more than two minutes in 2:22:00. Inga Abitova made it great day for Russia when she was second in 2:22:19 with Aselefech Mergia of Ethiopia third in 2:22:38, both also inside their previous lifetime bests.

The defending champions, Sammy Wanjiru and Irina Mikitenko, both dropped out with injuries, while Britain's Mara Yamauchi finished 10th in 2:26:16, the trials of her much-publicised six-day journey to London taking its toll.

Two London first-timers, Josh Cassidy and Wakako Tsuchida, took the wheelchair titles. Cassidy became the first Canadian since Daniel Wesley in 1992 to win the men's race, while Tsuchida was the first ever Japanese winner of the women's.

British favourites, David Weir and Shelly Woods, both suffered punctures in the final stages and were third and sixth respectively.

Among the masses of personal triumphs on a day of changing weather conditions were a record 18 Guinness World Record breakers, including the tallest giraffe at 5:55:11; the fastest baby, the actor Tony Audenshaw, in 3:13:30; and the fastest TV character (a dalek) in 4:01:40.

As usual, many turned out in fancy dress and many thousands more ran to raise money for hundreds of charities. There was one Royal winner, in Princess Beatrice, who crossed the line in 5:13:03 as part of a 34-person human caterpillar, claiming a Guinness World Record for the most linked runners to run a marathon.

The chain also included Sam and Holly Branson, Sir Richard's children. Sir Richard himself crossed the line 5:02:24 surrounded by his team of celebrities.

The youngest men to finish were James Bruton and Ed Hall, who both celebrated their 18^th birthdays on race day. Bruton clocked 4:59:05 and Hall 4:31:23. The youngest woman was Sarah Jane McKelvey at 18 years and 10 days. She finished in 6:24:04.

The oldest man was Jerzy Kolodziej, aged 86, who finished in 6:35:00, while the oldest women, Irene Clarke, aged 83 crossed the line in 8:13:23.

6,341 runners received medical attention during the day (as did 174 members of the public around the course); 47 were taken to hospital.

The ballot to enter the 2011 Virgin London Marathon opens online at 9.00am on 4 May. Go towww.virginlondonmarathon.com.