My London Marathon Adventure
What an experience! Did I finish it? How hard could running 26.2 miles be?
Watch my video summary on Youtube here!
The Start
The start was very exciting as I set my running pace at under a 4 hour marathon pace. The support from the crowd especially at the early stages was amazing, as young and old came out to support.
Even more amazing were some of the runners - blind, one legged...if they were doing it, surely so could I.
The Middle
Up to 13 miles , I felt good, my body was not hurting and my plans for a 4 sub hour marathon were on! I was thinking I felt so good that perhaps I could do it nearer 3 hours 30 mins?
From 13 miles to 16 miles, as we headed eastwards and through the Docklands, I could start to feel my body saying take it easy Arun, enjoy the race. The longest I had run in my training sessions was 16 miles, so up till this point, I was doing OK, but albeit it slower than the Kingston, 16mile Breakfast run.
It was between the 16 miles to 25 miles stage that I could feel my body beginning to break down. Mile 19 at Canary Wharf was tough, but the reverberations of the shouting crowds against the shiny building gave me some of the energy I required. However, by the time I reached mile 20, I knew I had to stop trying to get under 4 hours, and just cross the finish line! Now my objectives had changed!
The Last 2 Miles
At Mile 23 I saw Smita and Parus, my son, and Ajja yelling me on, which gave me a very welcomed boost, but the pain was still there...and my legs were beginning to hurt. Through the musty tunnel at Blackfriars and all that lay in front of me and the finish line was a couple of miles - I could do it!
Or I thought I could.
There was not one time throughout the whole marathon that I did not think I could not finish it. Mentally I was 1000000% prepared, but was my body?
As the crowds yelled me down the Embankment, and a few others were falling beside me, i knew I had to crack on.
Mile 25
But then at mile 25, cramp hit my left hamstring - Ouch! I could not move. Passionate yells of encouragement came from the crowd - I did not look, I just re-focused. 20 seconds later I was slowly jogging again, albeit in great pain. I could do it.
But then 600 yards from the finish line, cramp appeared in leg number two, but through resolve and pure determination, I gritted my teeth and pushed through the pain to reach the finish line in a respectable first marathon time of 4 hours, 12 minutes and 17 seconds.
Full details of my time are here.
What an amazing physical and emotional experience. Painful? Yes. But I loved every moment of it. It was worth the £5788(as I write) raised for the British Heart Foundation. Thank you for all the wonderful donations I received from all across the world!
But would I do it again?
Straight after finishing I felt never again, but 3 days on, I am now itching to submit my entry for my next marathon!
If I can do it, so can you! See you next year?
Lots of Love
Arun
P.s. Watch my video summary on Youtube here! You can see how i really looked after the big event!
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