I completed the course in 4 hours, 1 minutes & 15 Seconds!. I did set myself a target of under 4 hours, so just missed that, but am very happy with the time I ended up with.
The experience was incredible, and really lived up to what I was expecting. The crowd support is amazing, and I made sure I wrote my name on the front of my vest, which led to hundreds of shouts of "C'mon Ian!" and support like that from just random people who turned out to watch the event.
The whole race experience started on Saturday, when we drove up to the ExCel centre in East London to pick up our race numbers. We then scouted out the train station we were to use the following day to check times etc. We then found the hotel, which was in Barking, and pitched up there for the night, eating yet more pasta, potatoes and chicken. Dinner was followed by a walk in Barking... not something I would recommend, before an early night in a room that was 25 degrees and had a major road outside the (open) window!!
We set off on marathon morning from the hotel at about 07:30, following porridge, toast and banana breakfasts, and got to the start at about 08:45. The official start was 09:45, but I did not cross the start line until about 5 minutes later. It rained as we were waiting to start, but I don't think it rained at all during the race, with the temperature staying at about 15 degrees.
The 26 mile experience was the toughest thing I have ever done, and after about 18miles, each mile got harder and harder... the final 6 was pretty much agony. The training I had done certainly helped, but the act of 'braking' or 'dodging' other runners who were either stopping, walking or moving to pick up water from the side meant it was very hard to get into a real running rhythm. This constant avoidance tactic really took it's toll and made my legs hurt like I have never know before. The whole thing was quite emotional as well, as you see so many people running for charities where they have lost someone, and wearing pictures of their loved ones.
Crossing the finish line was truly an amazing experience, all those miles in training; 81 in Jan, 144 in Feb, 162 in March & 95 in April....482 in total.. add to that the 26 on the day - that's over 500 miles ran in 2010. I did not feel physically particularly well when I crossed the line, but the feeling of finishing one of the greatest races in the world was good, and to finish it pretty much on my target time, without stopping, closing in on a sponsorship pledge target, made the sense of achievement all the better.
Thanks to everyone that donated, to everyone who supported, to all the comments and encouragement from everyone. It all helped make it worth the effort. Our charity target has been smashed, and there are still donations coming in.! Feel very proud of the personal achievement and the impact this will have on some of the kids my charity provides opportunities for.
Last but not least, my wife and son for supporting all the hours of training that made me the absent father and husband pretty much every weekend, and that mountain of washing you kept on top of. Without your support, I could not have done this, and I can't wait to one day talk Theo through daddies Big Day out in London! xxx
This is the end of this blog, thanks for reading, thanks for the donations, thank you and goodnight.
much love
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