Starting a post-marathon debrief makes me feel rather like I’m pretending to be an Oscar winner delivering my speech, possibly into a hairbrush microphone in the bathroom mirror. A time for effusive thank yous and Gwyneth-style tears. Or more accurately, a time to stare blankly into space while sipping tea and wondering if there’s a “I ran a marathon yesterday, please can I have a seat?” badge I can get for the tube.
So, yesterday. What a day. London on marathon day is a flashback to those wonderful days of 2012 when striking up conversations with total strangers on the tube is normal and everyone smiles at your medal. On the way home yesterday I met an elderly lady whose husband ran 100 mile race around a track in South Africa 50 years ago. I met a lovely chap who offered to carry my bag up the stairs to the District Line platform. The tube announcer at Victoria said “congratulations”, forgetting she was still talking into the loudspeaker.
But first, the race. The sound. Bloody hell London, you can’t half put on some noise. Everyone talked to me when I did New York last year about how amazing the crowds were - well, sorry, but while the signs in New York might be funnier, the noise in London - on a grey, drizzly day - beat that hands down. Some moments: the startline, about 10 metres behind the elites, Paula Radcliffe introduced and every single Championship runner starting up a chant of “Paula! Paula! Paula!”. Running past my wonderful running club, the Wimbledon Windmilers, stationed at the 14/21ish mark so they could cheer you twice. Other running club friends dotted around the course. A massive shout from my coach David at around 22 miles. A big cheer from the lovely Ealing Eagles right near the end. Crossing the line and almost immediately seeing my friend and clubmate Gordon - who not only broke 3 hours but did it in a frankly jaw-dropping negative split.
So, I ran 3h 04min. Just snuck under it on my watch, actually, but Championship start goes on gun time so 3h 04min 09sec it is. I can admit now that I did have a sneaky crack at a sub-3 but it wasn’t to be yesterday. Nothing went dramatically wrong but I just slowed too much. A tiny part of me is a bit gutted, but mostly I’m just happy with a PB of well over seven minutes and what seems now like a very realistic shot at sub-3 in Berlin later this year.
Well done everyone who ran London yesterday, or any other race - or anyone who came to cheer on other runners, friends and loved ones. You are all stars. Can I have my Oscar now?
