This Sunday come rain, wind, snow or sunshine, James Tillotson and thousands of others like him will run 26.2 miles through the streets of London. Some people label it as utter insanity while others go to lend their support. Whatever your thoughts there can be no denying that this is a daunting task done in the name of a great cause. Lets be clear, running a marathon is a very big deal! It's the acid test of a runner, the landmark distance to complete that proves your fortitude.
Many have attempted this feat and suffered badly in completing it, or have fallen short! You only have to think back to celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay pulling out with cramp in 2010, or BBC news reader Sophie Raworth passing out cold for 20 minutes at the 23 mile mark in 2011. It's gruelling stuff and the emotional, mental and physical challenge begins many months before a runner even crosses the famous starting line in Greenwich. Chris Thompson (who completed the course in 2012, slowly) talks to James about what London’s famous race really means.
There are three reasons why I am doing this. The first is that I have been running for a while now and, as with many things in life, I want to prove something to myself. As each year passes it seems the more I want to prove - perhaps this is the beginnings of a mid-life crisis! I have always been an active person through things like cycling and rugby but, as the years progressed and my professional career developed, I found I had less spare time for this stuff.
So, when living in South London, I decided to run to and from work to keep fit. I found that I really enjoyed it, I was quite a good runner and it was a great way to clear my head after a day’s work and obtain clarity of thought. Furthermore, I would get to the office quicker than I did using public transport, which I might add is much more a poor reflection of the public transport system than it is of my blinding speed!
The other two reasons are very close to my heart. Last year I went to support a friend who was competing in the marathon. We travelled to various different points to support her and I was blown away by the support and atmosphere, particularly at Tower Bridge. It was there that I noticed a family next to me. They were wearing T-shirts for a particular cause and all of a sudden they spotted their son. What happened next is etched in my memory, I will never forget it.
There was a huge outpouring of emotion as the runner’s Dad spoke to his son and completely broke down into tears. This big, fully grown man crying out loud and the rest of the family sobbing as he hugged his son was quite incredible to see. My friend suffered a knee injury not long after the start and still managed to hobble her way through the remaining 21 miles. It was remarkable stuff, I wanted to do this and I wanted to do it for someone or something special.
Late last year a colleague at Wellers informed me that the chef Brian Turner (a Wellers client) is a trustee of the Anthony Nolan Trust. I found out that his manager was running the London Marathon to raise money and awareness for the charity. After talking to them both and thinking back to friends and family members who had suffered with blood cancer I decided that this was the cause to back.
I was now well and truly inspired to run. Since launching my donation page I have been completely taken aback as friends and colleagues have recounted to me how this disease has impacted on people they know. The support have been amazing, a big thank you to everyone and you can still donate by clicking on this link.
I really enjoy running but despite that, training has been very testing. Prior to undertaking this challenge the furthest I had ever run was 13 miles and I have rarely suffered with injuries or stiffness, until now. I did the Fleet half marathon in March and it was the first time I really suffered on a run. Having done so much in the wind and rain, I was caught completely unawares by the intensity of the sun and heat. I found it tiring and energy sapping which impacted on my time.
After that reaching 16 miles was a land mark for me but the next day I was struggling to walk at all such was the stiffness in my joints. Then a few weeks back I did 22 miles! I was fine up to 19.5miles and then “hit the wall”. My legs became very heavy, I lacked muscle power and the strength appeared to wilt from my spine. For the last 2 miles it was my neck and back muscles that really suffered.
Everyone has their own experience but I find when running pain creeps up on you slowly but surely. You ignore it because you can, but only for so long. Then at some stage it takes hold of you because the intensity rises with every mile that you complete. At some stage there is simply no ignoring it, your brain is brought back to reality from your deep thoughts because your muscles and limbs hurt to the point where they have had enough. Long distance running gradually but surely breaks you down. At some stage you are going to question whether you can keep going.
In many ways my timing has been appalling. Late last year I moved with my wife out of London and we are currently staying with her parents whilst we renovate a property. If doing up a property while living with the in-laws wasn't time consuming enough, late last year my son was born meaning we are also dealing with the joys and trials of being first time parents. So running the marathon has felt like adding yet another very important ball to the ones I am currently juggling. Does this make me the first man in the history of the world to actually multi task?
I have set myself the aim of raising £3,000 for the Anthony Nolan charity. As part of this I am looking to run the London Marathon in under 4 hours. Being a bit of a gadget fan, I have tracked my progress via the Garmin Forerunner watch and related software. To date I have:
Regardless of the stats, doubts still creep in. You hear agonising stories of people who trained hard and for whatever reason didn’t make it to the finish. Have I trained enough? I haven’t really done much strength conditioning because of time pressures and could only do 1 run per week. Have I eaten the right things? Should I have stopped drinking a lot earlier? I have also had hamstring issues these last 2 weeks. These are as much challenges of the mind as they are physical and I just have to overcome them.
I have plenty of friends and family who are coming to watch and support me at different points along the course. I may even take a few selfies and post them on my Twitter feed at various stages. Afterwards I am looking forward to a big meal at Nando’s with my friends, whole chicken extra hot, followed by lots of post race Peroni’s.
The content of this post is up to date and relevant as at 11/04/2014.
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