Rae's London Marathon Story

For more years than I care to remember I have casually entered the London Marathon ballot safe in the knowledge that the likelihood of getting a place is pretty slim; nevertheless, I enter and have a slightly anxious moment when I open that ‘unsuccessful’ email together with a fleeting moment of disappointment. Then you endure a similar feeling when the ballot is drawn at the club AGM, thrilled for the recipient but slightly disappointed and relieved…however the club draw for me at the AGM last year gave me a sense of disbelief that Brian had pulled my name out first (Good job I had already entered Ashby 20 as I told myself this was the year to challenge my distance running) Having come back down to earth I arrived home to tell the family; hubby was totally chuffed for me and my youngest said, ‘that’s a long way to run, Mum.’

I really enjoyed my training and loved the long runs; getting to spend time with lots of friends and chat away the miles is my idea of time well spent. Being able to run on my day off helped too as this meant that I was able to use weekends to swim and parkrun (for those of you that don’t know I’m a seasoned open water swimmer - ask me if you fancy joining in!) The training was going well up until February when I had some health issues that meant I had several hospital appointments and procedures - this was not a good way to prepare and I did consider giving up my place but as my last procedure wasn’t until after Ashby 20 (which I loved and was really happy with) and given the fact that I may not get another chance to complete THE London Marathon I decided to go ahead and had two goals in mind. These were one; To run across the finish line and two: To be able to walk the next day.

I am really grateful to have had the opportunity to complete London and I enjoyed running around Cutty Sark and across Tower Bridge; I loved the deafening drums in the underpasses and the sense of camaraderie amongst fellow runners. The support from my husband and eldest son, who dragged his Dad across London to see me four times, and the marvellous support of Paul and Judith Sharratt twice en route too was immense. Knowing that my group of ‘Social Runners’ (you know who you are) were supporting me virtually, as well as lots of people at home, gave me the boost that I needed to keep moving forward even though I was soaked before I started.

People have asked if I felt at any point that I couldn’t do it and the answer is no; I knew I’d finish and running across the finish line was a fantastic moment (tick goal one) However, I am still not sure what I actually felt about running the London Marathon - maybe because I wasn’t able to achieve the time I had originally planned, maybe because I wanted to celebrate with my friends and family as I crossed the finish line - but it’s some time before you meet up with them; but I didn’t experience that sense of euphoria that I expected. I am just unsure. As I crossed the line I said never again but yes, I entered the ballot again and know that perhaps London and I have unfinished business so I need to go back and give it another go.

Finally, I did achieve goal number 2 and remarkably had no negative effects from my run (Maybe I am just a freak of nature?) I was able to walk and the DOMS was minimal - just a blister on my big toe probably down to the wet weather. I also got the all clear from the hospital in the week before London Marathon and celebrated by running my 100th parkrun and 50th different venue in my London Marathon T Shirt the following Saturday in Wales!

Thank you to my wonderful club for enabling me to have this experience - if I never get to repeat it I will always be able to say I ran London!