First Marathon

This post will be nothing but positive vibes and praise.

I was lucky enough to get a place in the London Marathon after having been unlucky in the ballot, as my neighbour is the CEO of a charity and was able to find me a place through his friends and family ballot. This was at the end of January.

At this point, I had only ever run half marathons competitively, twice, in the previous 2 years. I found the buzz of running by initially walking and I have always enjoyed long distance. I did both of those halves at just under 2 hours.

The excitement I felt at getting a place at London is unrivalled. The time between January to April was taken up with long runs, medium runs and strength training, all of which I embraced and approached with a sense of pride.

Anyway. The day of the marathon arrived with me feeling semi confident and off the back of 8:30 to 9:00 minute miles. It was a hot day so I went off at 10:00 minute miles and sustained that for the whole race, finishing at 4 hours 40 minutes and 49 seconds.

I cried in the course. I laughed on the course. I smiled the whole way. It was the most incredible experience in running that I have ever had and I would love to do it again. I am SO proud of myself and I take my hat off to anyone who completed it - you are a hero!