My Story

Update

I completed the London Marathon yesterday in a time of 3h28m20s. This was over 30 minutes faster than my goal, so I am super pleased with this!

I came in 5376th place out of over 40,000 runners so this was also very good!

In total we have raised nearly £2600 for Brain Research UK. Their organisation and support during training and the marathon weekend has been first-class and I would recommend running for them!

Despite heavy rain being forecast when I went to bed the night before, the forecast changed overnight to sunny and dry all day. I set off in wave 3 from the green start at 9:50am. There are 3 separate routes at the start which merge after a mile or two, so the route was very clear and people set off keenly, so initial pace was quite punchy despite my best efforts to slow down I found I was maintaining about 7m50 per mile. I was a bit concerned I would likely run out of energy later but I seemed to be maintaining the pace fairly effortlessly so kept at it.

The support along the route is amazing with people shouting your name, kids giving high-fives, bands and DJs playing and I was looking forward to seeing some of the land marks like the Cutty Sark and Tower Bridge. You're always focused just a couple of miles ahead to the next gel or drinks station and Brain Research had two amazing supporter/cheer points too.

So i managed to maintain the pace to the halfway point and then keep stretching it out a bit further. In fact I made it comfortably to the 20 mile point feeling fine although had some cramping in my legs. The final 4 miles or so were fairly tough but I managed to hold the same pace. My split times are within a few seconds of each other for the entire race!

I had a feeling I was in for a sub 3:30 time (from the indications from my watch) but I wasn’t totally sure because there is a lot of GPS error around the tower blocks/tunnels in Canary Wharf. This meant as I went into the final couple of miles I wasn’t sure if it’d be just under or over. The final mile up birdcage walk is a mess of staggering runners or runners being sick!

Within seconds of crossing the line I received a text message saying official time 3:28:20 which I am over the moon with. Excellent for a first timer! I also had loads of well wishing messages from friends and family, a whole bunch of donations and some pictures of me on the TV!

I think everything came together nicely. My training had peaked (and was on tougher terrain than the London course), the weather was perfect, I’d rested for a couple of weeks (due to maranoia concerns about a hamstring sprain) and eaten and rested well the day before. The atmosphere makes a huge difference too!

So what next? I’ve entered the ballot for the April 2023 London Marathon and have also entered the 2023 Manchester marathon!

Original Story

I have applied for the London Marathon ballot every year for a number of years and have always felt a sense of relief when I didn't get a place! However, this year I felt my running was on good form and as I'm not getting any younger I had been hoping that I would get a place. So when rejected once more, I applied for some charity places and I'm delighted that Brain Research UK have asked me to run for them. I've not run a full marathon before so this will be challenging!

Chances are we all have close friends or family who have been affected by a neurological condition. The brain is the most complex organ in our body. It controls our emotions, senses and actions. When the brain changes we change and the consequences can be devastating. I have witnessed this first hand in several of my close friends and family which is why I applied to this charity.

Brain Research UK funds vital research to develop new treatments and to advance the understanding of the changes that take place in the brain and how these can be overcome to help people.

No matter how big/small your donation, it will be really great to have you on my team of supporters to motivate me through those long training runs! Thank you!