The start to my London race morning didn't go quite as I would have wished. I set off for the station after having a shake and a cup of tea, leaving Lauren and the girls to have breakfast at the Premier Inn. I have an enlarged prostate which I don't take medication for (I should), most of the time it is manageable but a long tube trip lacking in toilet facilities, pre-race nerves and some over-hydration meant I was desperately hunting for toilet facilities after one tube stop, running up the escalator at 7:30 wasn't ideal.
That dealt with, I returned to the platform and got on a much quieter tube and arrived at Greenwich DLR in plenty of time. The main start zone was red, but I was heading to pink, I had ambitiously put 3:30 as my target upon signing up and that got me in pink wave 4. Pink was full of relatively quick people and was small, which made the pre-race less stressful but also meant the start lacked some of the big race buzz that I think the red start would have had.
I set off at 9:52 as scheduled, it was a lovely low key start. I'm not sure how many runners there were in pink wave 4 but it didn't feel like many. There were lots of speed bumps in the opening km or so, but the marshalls at each hump/bump were enthusiastically pointing these out to us, with some hump innuendo thrown in to good effect. To continue the theme of the morning I needed the loo almost immediately and took advantage of the portaloos just before 2km. That was a 30 second investment, but it was good to be comfortable and get into my running properly from there.
Over the course of the race my Garmin got 500m or so ahead of the official measurement. It is London so I am happy the course isn't long, this was just a case of high buildings/tunnels mucking up the signal. I saw most of the km markers, so maybe if I ever return I will manually split at each km rather than rely on the autolap. The first five km's were as follows:
- 5:11
- 5:51 (30-40 sec loo stop)
- 5:07
- 5:06
- 4:55
Total time of 26:09 - Official 5km split 26:28 - Avg HR 149.
I felt comfortable, the sun was out but the heat wasn't there. The crowds were good and the roads were the clearest they would be all day. It was maybe after this 5km that we joined up with some of the other starts, but don't hold me to that.
The next 5km were the fastest of the race for me:
- 4:57
- 4:58
- 5:00
- 4:59
- 4:59
5km Garmin split of 24:52 and a total time of 51:01 - Official 10km split 51:44 - Avg HR 160
Geez I only finished the race this afternoon and the memories are leaving my head already. This section was good, I was enjoying myself. I know it is difficult to believe when we see where this race goes, but it did genuinely feel an appropriate effort level. The splits are in a very tight band, the HR is ok. I guess expecting to be able to hold 160 BPM for another three hours is ambitious even if we believe that I naturally have quite a high HR when exercising.
The third 5km splits were:
- 4:56
- 5:01
- 5:04
- 5:04
- 5:02
5km Garmin split of 25:07 and a total time of 1:16:08 - Official 15km split 1:17:39 - Avg HR 164
The gap between the Garmin and the official splits goes out big in this section. From 43 seconds different in 10km it increases to 1 minute 31 seconds after 15km. It was at this point when I was seeing a whole load of low 5 minute km's (I missed the big 2nd km split) that I started to dream, maybe just maybe I could PB this thing. Pre-race I thought there was a 20% chance I could PB, but now with a bounce in my step and the race effort fogging my brain that number was increasing to 30% plus. I think if I had registered that gap between my splits and the official splits I might have reined it in a little, but maybe not.
I had hoped to see Lauren and the girls just after 10km by the Cutty Sark but they had some issues with pushy spectators and a runner in distress near where they were standing and so we missed each other. I messaged once I was past the Cutty Sark to let them know so they could move onto the next spot.
The fourth 5km splits were:
- 5:04
- 5:06
- 4:59
- 5:02
- 5:00
5km Garmin split of 25:11 and a total time of 1:41:20 - Official 20km split 1:42:47 - Avg HR 164
That difference between the Garmin and the official splits essentially remained the same through that 5km.
No sooner had I had made the decision that it was PB or blow-up, that I had this five km. The splits and HR are both very similar from that 10km-15km section, but it felt harder. The difficulty with London is you get swept along by the cheering crowds, but more importantly by the flow of runners. It is very difficult not to get caught up by the pace of those around you even if it is 5 or 10 seconds a km too fast for you.
The fifth 5km splits were:
- 4:58
- 5:06
- 5:11
- 5:09
- 5:39 (walk breaks begin)
5km Garmin split of 26:03 and a total time of 2:07:23 - Official 25km split 2:09:10 - Avg HR 167
The average HR for the section of 167 and that is enough to break me. Walking in the 25th km means a slog for 17km. It is one of those maths equations, if you can just push that out, make it to 30km make it to 32km, then we have 10km of slog, an hour maybe 70 minutes of torturous run/walk grit your teeth and make the best of it. 17km now we are talking nearly two hours of this silly dance and the best bit is you get to do it in front of tens of thousands of very vocal and enthusiastic spectators wanting you to put on a show. It is a very public, very humbling suffering. Totally self inflicted on my part, a lack of long runs and poor pacing choices on the day, but painful none the less.
I went over Tower Bridge just before halfway and this was the spot to look out for Luke and Amber and the boys. I had just finished texting I am over Tower Bridge thinking I had missed them when I spotted them and managed to shout Amber as I ran past and I was greeted with a loud cheer from them all. After the race Luke said I looked strong at that point, but it was 3km later that I succumbed to that first walk break.
The sixth 5km splits were:
- 6:09
- 6:13
- 6:38
- 6:18
- 5:57
5km Garmin split of 31:15 and a total time of 2:38:38 - Official 30km split 2:41:35 - Avg HR 157
I couldn't work out why the official splits looked ok. My blow-up definitely felt worse than they were indicating. That is because I thought the average pace I was looking at was for the 5km section, but in fact it was your race average and so the drop off wasn't as severe.
I don't want to spoil the ending with us still having 12 agonising km to cover but by the end of the race I would have run for three and a half hours, walked for 33 and a half minutes and spent a minute standing still. When I was running I was really running, not shuffling, averaging 8:37 minute miles (5:21 min/km). I just needed those walk breaks to get my HR down and to get myself safely to the end.
It will have been in this section that I saw Lauren and the girls along with our surprise guest, Amy from Dubai! I knew she was over, but thought she had family commitments and so wouldn't be coming to watch. What a lovely pick me up that was to see all four of them as I was slogging my way through that endless run/walk cycle.
My brain really was mush at this point, I feared I could be on for 4 hours and 40 minutes plus at one stage. That was probably worst case if I walked it in with no running, but there was also just some bad maths in there as well.
I reluctantly left my supporters and continued on my journey to the finish, my medal and a well earned sit down.
I think we can mash together the next two 5km sections, we were fully in the pain cave throughout:
- 6:51
- 7:37
- 7:19
- 6:47
- 6:14
- 6:19
- 6:47
- 6:34
- 6:47
- 6:47
Garmin splits of 34:48 and 33:15 and total time of 3:13:26 and 3:46:41. Official splits of 3:16:46 and 3:50:33. HR now down to 146 and 149 thanks to the walking.
One of the risks of running and particularly with marathons is the threat of collapse. Whether that is the heat, a pacing issue, an underlying health condition, being undertrained or one of a myriad other reasons. I saw a lot of runners in distress today, and to my memory they were all men. I hope all of them were ok and made it home safe to their families.
I can see how it happens, there were times late on where I felt myself trying to push it, no great pace but just running further than I should before my next walk break. I was keen to get the race completed as quickly as possible and would have liked to have gone sub 4 hours, with proper pacing I definitely should have. But in that final hour I pulled back at several moments, the risk of being one of those runners needing medical attention far out weighed the reward of going sub 4 hours.
In the end I finished in a time of exactly 4 hours and 4 minutes. Finishing with splits of 6:19 and 6:20. Along with a final garmin section of 0.53 miles in 4:44. I went through the sign saying 385 yards to go and still found time for one final walk break. It meant that I could run strong down that final finishing straight.
I received my beautiful and weighty medal, some water and Lucozade and found my support crew. Hugs were given and received, photos taken and race stories exchanged. We then headed to the pub for lunch before the train home. What a day!
The London Marathon gave me everything I expected. The crowds were incredible, there really was no let up. I was in my own little world and so maybe I missed some of the landmarks, but I definitely got the Cutty Sark, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. I expected the crowds of runners, but walking was difficult and I felt very much in the way when I was doing it. I am very grateful for having got my place in the ballot and experienced one of those bucket list races. I have done so many races and the average person really isn't too interested, but the London Marathon is the exception, so many people wished me well and tracked my progress.
I have entered the ballot for 2027 and will likely do so every year whilst I continue to run, I hope I return and get to run the whole thing and really do myself justice but it won't break my heart if I don't. Me and marathons don't really get on and particularly not big city marathons. 10km and half marathons you can hurt yourself early and throughout, marathons are a game of delaying the pain, putting the handbrake on, the race doesn't start till the final 10k and that isn't really a bit of me.
It would have been really handy if Pheidippides had run a full effort 10km before collapsing and dying rather than the 26.2 miles between Marathon and Athens.
My marathon PB was set at Chester way back in October 2011, that was a quiet marathon out on country lanes for much of it, like the Shakespeare Marathon that I have enjoyed on a number of occasions. It is those types of races where I feel most relaxed and run best, and hope to PB in the not too distant future. It isn't a criticism of London and other big city marathons, they just don't suit me as well.
One advantage of run/walking that final 17 kms is that my legs should recover a lot quicker. I am giving blood on Friday and so I will have a gentle week or 10 days post race before getting back into my running again. I have a series of 10km and half marathon races over the next few months and I will hopefully find a marathon to target this autumn. We go again, the marathon distance may have got the better of me this time, but I will win one of these days.
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