Jon Ran London 2007
If I'm ever asked to give my most poignant memory of the 2007 Flora London Marathon, it will always be the moment just after the race. Seconds after crossing the line I saw some fellow runners sat on the pavement and decided to join them. I was absolutely exhausted and slightly light-headed, and a couple of officials expressed concern for my welfare, but in fact I was fine - I think I just needed to take a minute or two to let it sink in - I had done it. I had run the 2007 London Marathon in 4 hours and 31 minutes, slower than expected but nonetheless without stopping. The months of training I had put in, with an emphasis on making my body strong enough to run 26.2 miles, had paid off. And every bit as important, I had raised nearly £2000 for my chosen charity (as I write, some two weeks later, that total has now passed £2000). Lots of people had cause to celebrate my achievement.
With some help I got to my feet, had my finisher’s photo taken, collected my goodie bag and kit bag and made a call to my father to tell him the good news. Then I shuffled off to the meet and greet area in Horseguards' Parade to find my friends (Pete and his wife Sel, as well as his sister Diane and Jonathan who were both running) who had come to London for the weekend to watch the race. A well-earned pint beckoned.
I travelled up to London on Saturday afternoon (I had booked a room in a Kensington hotel for two nights) and in the evening met up with Pete and co for a pasta meal. Whilst the non-runners enjoyed a night out in the capital, I repaired to my hotel for an early night, not before I had watched England play West Indies in their last match of the world cup. True to form, England produced their best performance when it no longer mattered.
On Sunday morning I made my way to the start with some other friends (Anthony's brothers Daniel and Martin, with his girlfriend Claire) who, somewhat serendipitously, were staying in the same hotel. Daniel was running and was starting from the green start (good for age and celebrities). I made my way to the red start (charity runners) and found my pen. As I lined up it was clear there were all types of runners competing - this was going to be quite an experience.
In the early miles I realised I was going to have to downgrade my expected pace from 9-minute miles to around 10-minute miles, simply because of the number of people on the course. The hardest part was weaving in and out of people and avoiding collisions, and this didn't change until the latter stages of the race. It also became clear that this was an event to savour, and I loved witnessing a street party atmosphere almost all the way round, having my name shouted out and giving kids high-fives. I passed lots of people in some great fancy dress outfits, including the 16 "prisoners" chained together, the squad of paratroopers with their back packs and the CHASE cricket runners.
I was also very careful to stay well hydrated - the sun was beating down and I made sure to avail myself of water or lucozade at almost every opportunity. I had put some sun-tan lotion on at the start and donned my running cap, but the heat still made running hard. I loved the walk-through showers provided and just wished I could have stayed in them a bit longer!
After mile 20 I started to tire considerably, and remember wishing the next mile-marker to appear as soon as possible. I managed to keep going however, and at this stage the crowd support had reached fever pitch, to the point of becoming almost overbearing. My pace dropped but I was still running and in no great pain - a big difference to my previous marathon.
The miles ticked by and soon I passed the 25-mile marker opposite the London Eye, and then the 800, 600, 400 and eventually the 200-meter markers. What felt like a sprint finish was probably no more than a gentle trot across the finishing line.
Once I had found my friends we made our way towards Covent Garden for a couple of beers and I regaled them with some of my experiences in the race. I then headed back to my hotel for a shower and to make a couple more phone calls before re-joining them for dinner in Chinatown. On my recommendation we dined at Wong Kei in Wardour Street, which proved a good move - the generous portions are just what you need after a 26.2 mile run!
No one was really up for a late night - even spectating proved exhausting in the heat - and so I headed back to my hotel for a couple of quiet drinks before bedtime. The next day I checked out, had lunch in Leicester Square before reluctantly heading back to Swindon and closing the lid on what had been a truly wonderful and utterly memorable experience.
As I write, two weeks have passed since the event, and what a fortnight it has been. I was sore for a few days but managed to venture out for a jog on the Thursday after the race and got back into pretty much full training in the second week, including a good session at the track (as Anthony has told me, those sessions are going to be vital if I want to improve my times at all distances).
The reception I received at work and from people generally has been overwhelming. On my first day back our boss Lucy sent out an email to everyone in the company highlighting my achievement. People have been coming up to me to say "well done" which has made me feel like a celebrity. I've really enjoyed my moment in the sun.
So what next? Well, I have stated publicly that I want to run one big city marathon a year to raise money for charity. Assuming I don't get a place for London via the ballot system, I will aim to run the New York or Berlin marathon in 2008. It does make sense, however, to run another marathon each year to maintain and improve my fitness levels and I shall be sending off my entry form for the Snowdonia marathon in October.
In the meantime however, I'm really looking forward to the summer. After the New Forest marathon and my subsequent holiday I recall feeling deflated but not now. I have a few 10k and half marathon races booked and June is going to be a particularly busy month. After that I shall be training hard for the Bristol half marathon in September, and have a holiday booked after that (a week in Crete, four stars, half board - should be good).
It won't be all hard work though. The cricket season is in full swing and I'm looking forward to my days at Lords' and a day at Bath. I'm off to see Girls Aloud later this month and have a ticket booked for "Lord of the Rings" at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in July. I may also be making a short trip to Germany in June to visit one of my old lodgers and to sample the beer.
But New York 2008 is very much in my thoughts.
Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, May 2007
My fundraising website will be open until 22nd June 2007: www.justgiving.com/jonrunslondon2007
With some help I got to my feet, had my finisher’s photo taken, collected my goodie bag and kit bag and made a call to my father to tell him the good news. Then I shuffled off to the meet and greet area in Horseguards' Parade to find my friends (Pete and his wife Sel, as well as his sister Diane and Jonathan who were both running) who had come to London for the weekend to watch the race. A well-earned pint beckoned.
I travelled up to London on Saturday afternoon (I had booked a room in a Kensington hotel for two nights) and in the evening met up with Pete and co for a pasta meal. Whilst the non-runners enjoyed a night out in the capital, I repaired to my hotel for an early night, not before I had watched England play West Indies in their last match of the world cup. True to form, England produced their best performance when it no longer mattered.
On Sunday morning I made my way to the start with some other friends (Anthony's brothers Daniel and Martin, with his girlfriend Claire) who, somewhat serendipitously, were staying in the same hotel. Daniel was running and was starting from the green start (good for age and celebrities). I made my way to the red start (charity runners) and found my pen. As I lined up it was clear there were all types of runners competing - this was going to be quite an experience.
In the early miles I realised I was going to have to downgrade my expected pace from 9-minute miles to around 10-minute miles, simply because of the number of people on the course. The hardest part was weaving in and out of people and avoiding collisions, and this didn't change until the latter stages of the race. It also became clear that this was an event to savour, and I loved witnessing a street party atmosphere almost all the way round, having my name shouted out and giving kids high-fives. I passed lots of people in some great fancy dress outfits, including the 16 "prisoners" chained together, the squad of paratroopers with their back packs and the CHASE cricket runners.
I was also very careful to stay well hydrated - the sun was beating down and I made sure to avail myself of water or lucozade at almost every opportunity. I had put some sun-tan lotion on at the start and donned my running cap, but the heat still made running hard. I loved the walk-through showers provided and just wished I could have stayed in them a bit longer!
After mile 20 I started to tire considerably, and remember wishing the next mile-marker to appear as soon as possible. I managed to keep going however, and at this stage the crowd support had reached fever pitch, to the point of becoming almost overbearing. My pace dropped but I was still running and in no great pain - a big difference to my previous marathon.
The miles ticked by and soon I passed the 25-mile marker opposite the London Eye, and then the 800, 600, 400 and eventually the 200-meter markers. What felt like a sprint finish was probably no more than a gentle trot across the finishing line.
Once I had found my friends we made our way towards Covent Garden for a couple of beers and I regaled them with some of my experiences in the race. I then headed back to my hotel for a shower and to make a couple more phone calls before re-joining them for dinner in Chinatown. On my recommendation we dined at Wong Kei in Wardour Street, which proved a good move - the generous portions are just what you need after a 26.2 mile run!
No one was really up for a late night - even spectating proved exhausting in the heat - and so I headed back to my hotel for a couple of quiet drinks before bedtime. The next day I checked out, had lunch in Leicester Square before reluctantly heading back to Swindon and closing the lid on what had been a truly wonderful and utterly memorable experience.
As I write, two weeks have passed since the event, and what a fortnight it has been. I was sore for a few days but managed to venture out for a jog on the Thursday after the race and got back into pretty much full training in the second week, including a good session at the track (as Anthony has told me, those sessions are going to be vital if I want to improve my times at all distances).
The reception I received at work and from people generally has been overwhelming. On my first day back our boss Lucy sent out an email to everyone in the company highlighting my achievement. People have been coming up to me to say "well done" which has made me feel like a celebrity. I've really enjoyed my moment in the sun.
So what next? Well, I have stated publicly that I want to run one big city marathon a year to raise money for charity. Assuming I don't get a place for London via the ballot system, I will aim to run the New York or Berlin marathon in 2008. It does make sense, however, to run another marathon each year to maintain and improve my fitness levels and I shall be sending off my entry form for the Snowdonia marathon in October.
In the meantime however, I'm really looking forward to the summer. After the New Forest marathon and my subsequent holiday I recall feeling deflated but not now. I have a few 10k and half marathon races booked and June is going to be a particularly busy month. After that I shall be training hard for the Bristol half marathon in September, and have a holiday booked after that (a week in Crete, four stars, half board - should be good).
It won't be all hard work though. The cricket season is in full swing and I'm looking forward to my days at Lords' and a day at Bath. I'm off to see Girls Aloud later this month and have a ticket booked for "Lord of the Rings" at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in July. I may also be making a short trip to Germany in June to visit one of my old lodgers and to sample the beer.
But New York 2008 is very much in my thoughts.
Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, May 2007
My fundraising website will be open until 22nd June 2007: www.justgiving.com/jonrunslondon2007
posted by Jon | 1:42 pm
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