Distance : 26.5 miles
Total Training Distance (since beginning Sept 09) : 590 miles
Route & Stats : Jog Round London
Where do I start? So much to write about. Before the race I had mentally broken it down into 6 phases - The Start, Cutty Sark, Tower Bridge, Canary Wharf, The Embankment and The Finish, so let me tell you about each bit at a time.
The Start
I set my alarm for 6am as I wanted to have breakfast exactly 3 hours before the start of the race to ensure I had plenty of time to digest the food. Having got into my race kit and applied the first layer of Vaseline I headed down to the restaurant and wasn't surprised to see lots of runners already there loading up on pre-race fuel. I had my usual of tea, toast and marmalade, porridge and honey which was great, but it was tough walking past the full English self service counter. I am definitely going to have a fry up this weekend.
I met my fellow Virgin runners (Matt, Moses, TLK and Kev P) at 7.15am in the hotel reception, everyone seemed to be in good spirits. From there we got a taxi to Charring Cross and got onto the train heading towards Maze Hill. The station was already buzzing with marathon runners and the train soon filled up. At Waterloo even more people got on including one old fella who stood in the aisle next to where we were sitting. I looked up and noticed that he was wincing a bit and was looking around for a seat, so I got up and offered him mine which he gratefully accepted and muttered something about a dodgy knee. Anyway this old fella turned out to be a guy called Dave Fereday at member of the London Marathon Ever Presents - these are a group of 20 or so men that have run every marathon since the first in 1981, so this would be Dave's 30th. He was an amazing man, he was still running sub 4 hour marathons at the age of 66, but had his knee cartilage removed a couple of years ago and is unable to run, but rather than give up he has adopted a power walking style and still manages to get round in less than 5h 30m.
Meeting Dave made me realise what an amazing event the London Marathon is and it really helped settle my nerves, unlike the poor woman in the next set of seat who was literally in tears as we approached Maze Hill station, she looked absolutely terrified. I caught her eye and she looked at me in pure desperation as if to say please help me get out of this. I looked away and didn't look back again, I was feeling confident and didn't want to let the nerves back in again.
After a 20 minute walk up the hill from Maze Hill to Blackheath we arrived at the Green Start. Then headed for the Virgin runners hospitality tent. I must say we were very well looked after and were really grateful for the marquee when the heavens opened half an hour before the start. One thing I was concerned about was making sure I had a good 'bowel movement' before the start, I had been unsuccessful at the hotel despite 2 attempts. So the first thing I did on arrival was head for the loo and fortunately it was job done (don't worry I don't have a picture of that!).
We were extremely lucky to be right next to the bag lorries and therefore could take our time getting ready, chatting, stretching, taking drugs (in my case Nurofen and Imodium as usual). Everyone seemed relaxed and most just wanted to get going.
At 9.40am I went to my last wee and then headed towards my starting pen, on the way there I walked past the celebrity area and spotted Sue Barker interviewing Gary Speed and Steve Rider. I also saw the Caterpillar including Princess Beatrice, Sam and Holly Branson, making their final preparations. At 9.45am we were off.
Cutty Sark
What a relief to be underway, the months and months of training were now behind me and this was it. It was very crowded as you would expect and in the first couple of miles I saw at least 4 people hit the deck tripping over traffic cones, wheelie bins and other runners. The good thing about the Green Start is that there are only 3,000 runners. However, after about a mile we merged with 17,000 runners from the Blue Start, so now I was in a race of 20,000 runners. This was great and now I felt like I was really in the London Marathon.
Two and half miles later we merged with the Red Start and another 16,000 runners. At this point we were running down both sides of dual carriageway about 50 runners abreast, what an amazing site. It's tradition that as the Red and Blue/Green starts merge that each set of runners boo each other.
I had taken the precaution of wearing supports on both knees but at the last minute decided not to wear any ankle supports. I'd been saying for weeks that I couldn't wait to get the first 2 or 3 miles done as that would tell me whether I was going to have a good run or not. So by the time the 3 starts had merged I had done that and was feeling good, my pace was exactly what I had planned between 9m and 9.5m miles and no aches or pains. One thing I did notice was how humid it was - following the earlier shower, the sun had come out and the body heat from thousands of runners in close proximity to each other made it feeling very steamy.
At about 5 miles I remember seeing Canary Wharf in the distance and thinking it looked an awfully long way away. It was at this point that I felt as if my left big toe was starting to blister, however it didn't get any worse and later I think my feet went numb so didn't notice it. There were quite a few people scattered along the route cheering us, and I seen my first couple of bands, but I didn't really get my first marathon crowd experience until I reached the boarded up Cutty Sark at 7 miles. The course narrowed quite sharply which caused the runners to bunch up, as I rounded the corner the noise from the crowd was incredible they must have been 10 to 15 deep on both sides. I remember waving and smiling, thinking this is just great. My marathon experience was well and truly underway.
Tower Bridge
After Cutty Sark in was time to get my head down and get a few solid miles under my belt. My pace had dropped a little but I was still going along quite nicely at under 10m miles and still no aches or pains, not even from my achilles tendons that I would normal start to feel at this stage. The proximity of runners was still dense and one more than one occasion I accidentally bumped into people, but the atmosphere between the runners was great.
It was great having the water stations every mile and the fact that they were handing out bottles meant I could grab one and run with it for a while taking small regular sips. At about 8 miles I was starting to look for the mile markers and what a great site they were as each one approached and passed, huge red Virgin Money branded arches covered in red balloons. Earlier having gone through mile 4 some bloke asked me if that was 3 or 4 miles, jokingly I told him I wasn't going to count them until 18 miles.
Somewhere along this part of the course I found myself running next to a bride and groom in full bridal gown and morning suit - apparently they'd got married on Friday and this was the start of their honeymoon, I forgot to ask if they'd had any drinks at the wedding before the sped off ahead of me - they both looked like seasoned runners.
I had hoped to see Lorraine and the girls somewhere between 9 and 11 miles, but unfortunately I missed them or they missed me, but knowing they were there somewhere was great, and I had planned to see them again at 15 miles so I wasn't too down hearted.
Two hours in and I was just over 12 miles. By now there were loads of runners stopping and stretching or receiving first aid, but I was feeling good and the thought of reaching Tower Bridge was really driving me on. As I approached the bridge the sun was shining and I remember looking up at the towers and thought how amazing they looked with the blue sky and white clouds above.
Crossing the bridge is an experience I will never forget. I'm sure anyone attempting their first London Marathon imagines themselves crossing Tower Bridge while out on their long training runs. The crowds on both sides we fantastic and so noisy cheering us all on. There were lots of charity cheering points and they were especially noisy. I was looking out for the Clic Sargent crew and spotted them a few yards up on the left hand side of the bridge. As I approached they spotted me and started going crazy. As I ran past I stuck my arms out like aeroplane wings and did a sort of mock fly by much to their delight. I was having the time of my life. I loved this. As I left the bridge I waved my arms at the BBC boom camera a huge smile on my face.
Canary Wharf
Coming off the bridge I turned right and saw the 13 mile marker ahead, it was good to be at half way, but was also mentally quite tough thinking it is only half way. What made it even tougher was the fact that geographically I was now heading away from the finish and the 22 mile marker was on the other side of the road which meant it was another 9 miles just to get back to the same place. By the time I had got there the elite club runners were heading the other way looking remarkably comfortable and fast. Oh well time to get my head down again and crack on, at least Lorraine and the girls would be waiting just a couple of miles further on.
Time wise I was doing OK, through 13 miles at 2h 10m which was still on for under 4.5 hours. It was at about this time that I had my first carbo gel and Nurofen reload. So far so good.
The next couple of miles passed without incident and the thought of seeing Lorraine and the girls was really keeping me going. The crowds were a bit thinner here but I was still getting loads of encouragement - if you ever run a marathon make sure you print your name on your top, to have random people shouting your name and giving you a gee up is great and really helps push you along.
As I reached 15 miles I was feeling great and really concentrating on the crowds trying to spot my family, my pace was still OK. I spotted some Norwich City supporters by the side and gave them a 'come on you yellows' as I passed them, they duly responded with a chorus of 'On The Ball City'. As the 16 mile marker came into view I still hadn't seen the girls. On well maybe they were a bit further on. However, as I reached 17 miles I was resigned to the fact that I'd missed them again. Gutted. Hopefully see them at the finish.
The next couple of miles were really hard work. My morale was pretty low having not seen the girls and 17 and 18 miles felt a bit like they were there just to make the numbers up going up and down through the office buildings.
As I approached 19 miles I started to feel better. The crowds were really big here and extremely noisy. I spotted another Clic Sargent cheering point gave them another fly by, then just afterwards I saw some people from Virgin Money in the crowd which gave me another lift. As I turned the corner into Canada Square I heard a huge roar from the crowd 'JEMMMMM!!!' and looked up to see Neil and the rest of the Virgin Money Giving supporters giving me a big cheer.
As I headed off from them, something in the crowd on the other side of the road caught my eye. I looked over and there they were - Lorraine, Issy, Ellie and Lorraine's sister, Helen. I sprinted across the road and sort of dive bombed into them I gave Issy and Ellie a huge sweaty hug - I was sooooo pleased to see them having given up hope, what a massive boost. For the next mile I had a permanent smile on my face.
The Embankment
Unfortunately, that smile soon started to fade as I went through 20 and 21 miles. My legs were really starting to hurt, not in any specific place, just everywhere. I could feel the energy seeping away. My pace had slowed considerably and was now at nearly 11m per mile. This was the furthest I had ever run and I was still 5 miles and nearly an hour from the finish. I was really beginning to suffer.
I spotted the 'Angel of the North' bloke on the other side of the road at 13 miles and he was in a bad way. I thought there was no way he was going to finish, but he did, minus his wings only to find that he had been beaten to the world record by a young lad in a 22ft giraffe costume - poor bugger.
At 22 miles I was feeling really rough. My legs were like lead, I was light headed and slightly tunnelled vision, I thought I could feel cramp starting in my hamstrings. The thought kept going through my mind that I was about to hit the infamous wall and was beginning to panic a little. I didn't have any gels left and I had just accidently dropped my last pain killer on the floor.
I was aware of the crowds and runners around me, but all I could do was just keep putting one foot in front of the other. I had set myself the objective of running the whole marathon and this was what was now driving me on, I also thought that if I stopped running I didn't think I would be able to start again.
I decided to move over to the left and run close to the crowd in order to get a few people to cheer me on. As I did I grabbed a handful of jelly babies from one of the many tubs of sweets that people held out all around the course. I stuffed a couple into my mouth. I hardly had the energy to chew them. Having passed through 23 miles I grabbed a bottle of water and kept it with me taking a few sips every few yards. I was starting to feel a little better and wasn't feeling so light headed. Just keep going was my only thought.
At 24 miles I emerged from the tunnel onto The Embankment. The sun was shining, I could see the London Eye in the distance and suddenly the thought went through my mind that I was going to be OK. I had 2 miles to go and I could keep doing what I was doing for another 20 minutes or so which would get me to the finish. This really made me feel better.
I enjoyed the next mile. I was hurting big time and my legs were screaming 'STOP' but I kept going. The crowds again were great, shouting 'Come on Jem', 'You can do it Jem', 'You're nearly there Jem' and the one I hate 'Dig in Jem'. Passing through 25 miles was a great feeling, the sight of Big Ben ahead was a joyful thing. By now lots of people around me were walking, but I kept repeating my mantra "don't stop running, don't stop running ....".
When I actually got to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament I can't remember much about it. I think I was so focused on the route ahead I didn't really take in my surroundings a great deal. I saw the sign ahead that said '800 metres to go' and realised I was getting close to the finish. However, I think it gives you a false sense of hope and 800 metres is still a bloody long way.
The Finish
Passing Buckingham Palace I passed under the huge '385 yards to go' sign and at this point I was smiling. Then the finish line came into sight and I let out a cry of 'Yes'. At this point I would love to say that I then lifted my head, picked up my knees and proudly sprinted down The Mall in front of the adoring crowds in the grandstands and burst across the finish line in a blaze of athletic glory. That's how I had often imagined I might finish. However the reality was somewhat different.
I had absolutely nothing left in my legs. In fact as I crossed in front of Buckingham Palace I felt a really sharp pain in my right knee. I plodded onto The Mall, and drifted over to the grandstand on left where Lorraine and the girls were supposed to be. Unfortunately, they didn't make it in time, but I did get a couple of "Go on Jem's" from Virgin Money colleagues.
4h 34m 12s
Crossing the finish line was one of the best feelings I have ever had and probably the most knackered I have ever been. I just stopped dead, and then wobbled and nearly fell on my arse. Then I just stood there for a few seconds in a complete daze and until a friendly marshall ushered me towards the tag removing and medal giving process.
I did the kissing of the medal thing and then wandered off to get my goody bag as I was desperate for a drink. I queued up for my finisher picture. I was starting to get my senses back by now.
After that I went for a pee, I needed one for the last 5 miles but daren't stop incase I couldn't get started again. Got my bag and wandered very slowly off to find Lorraine and the girls which was a special moment.
After we spent a couple of hours at the Virgin post race party at Planet Hollywood, I grabbed a couple of beers, lots of food and even managed to get a massage, then it was time to head home.
I slept well that night I can tell you. The legs were fairly mashed the next day and my right knee refused to bend very much, but as I write this final entry a few days later I feel fully recovered and am ready to go for a run this weekend.
I want to say thank you again to all the people who have supported me through this by sponsoring me, by reading this blog, encouraging me, giving me advice, running with me, feeding me well (Lorraine), putting up with my moods when my training wasn't going well (Lorraine again) and allowing me the time to train (Lorraine, Issy, Ellie and Imogen).
Will I do it again? You bet I will, I can't wait to give it another go, I reckon I could get under 4 hours - here's looking forward to 17th April 2011 and another 500 or 600 cold and wet miles of training.
=== THE END ===
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