London Marathon 23.2C

Photo © Anne-Marie Minhall

Running came late to me. I'm not terribly good at it but it keeps me moving. Never a Marathon though, not that is until 2018.

I blinked one day at work & suddenly my boss had signed me up for a 26.2 mile trot through London Town. To be fair, he had put his name down to do it as well. We were aiming to bolster some small charities from around the UK who can find it hard to source funding. What these groups had in common was that they were all trying to give a helping hand to others who needed varying forms of support &, very often, these organisations are being run by one, two or three people at most who are so committed to their causes.

The London Marathon training began in earnest in the autumn. A schedule was drawn up. Plus an eating plan.

Then I decided to change my running style ever so slightly. Foolish girl.

Achilles. 

I seek out the local Physio, a gentleman, HR, who must have been sent from a force above. HR managed to mend the tendon over a matter of months. My running programme was shot though. It was a case of 'gently does it now' on the training runs. No going back. There was no way that I would not take part in this London Marathon now that many people had been so generous in their sponsorship.

Sunday arrived. A hot one. Best friend met me at Waterloo. We took a train with other pinned, numbered ones & their family & friends & got to the starting point at Greenwich. 

It was a long wait before crossing the starting line. 

An even longer time before crossing the finishing line.

The London Marathon turned out to be the officially hottest on record that day, 22nd April. 

The crowd was fantastic, (not to mention the stewards & St John Ambulance volunteers), clapping, cheering, holding out bowls of Jelly Babies, (excellent energy boosters), ice lollies, beers & water. My friends & family tracked me all the way &, whenever I saw & heard their boisterous encouragement at points along the way, it strengthened my legs for the next stretch.

I met & ran with some extraordinary people that day. 

The hardest point for me was seeing the 18 mile marker & my brain started asking this question: "Will there ever be an end to this?" There was but mental strength is just as important as the physical in running.

The best part was turning the corner in front of Big Ben & knowing that the finishing line was ahead. 

Medal.

Early supper for ten of us at Joe Allen’s

I wasn't very hungry though. Long distance running can affect you like that. I managed a few bites of a steak & some fries.

Upon arrival at the restaurant it was a lovely sight to see a huge table set for us at Joe Allen. The uncle tried to sort the seating arrangements.

MM: "Anne-Marie, where would you like to sit .. here? Or at the head of the table? Or maybe here?"

Me: "Unc, I just want to SIT."

And I did.

AMM