What an amazing day, the other runners I met , the staff on the train stations herding the throng of humanity to its correct platform using megaphones whilst being VERY patient with the odd cretin. And random strangers TALKING to each other ON THE TUBE .
Was this camaraderie or the free travel that made us all happy ? Seeing Mr Motivator still jumping and thrusting at that age . The moment when virtually the entire place stopped as the national anthem was played with the picture of Queen Elizabeth the second was displayed. The toilet queues, no names but certain club members YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED .
Many , many high and low fives with the nippers . All sorts of music , Bagpipes , Bangra , jazz . Oompah my personal favourite was the Japanese drums under a bridge with incredible volume . Some huge stacks on peoples balconies playing reggae of different sorts , some of the lyrics made my teeth itch . The golden long wheelbase landie looked swish .
The fancy dress Scooby Doo , Paddington, Darth Vader , Bobafett Father Christmas, the kids were screaming at that one. The barefoot runners , serious stuff especially when you pass the Lucazde stands and you can feel your running shoes sticking to the road , Outside a couple of pubs , people with a big sign with FREE BEER , they had some takers too A lady who shouted “ ooh go Wye valley , running for Wiltshire “ THAT one kept me chuntering for a couple of miles . The American lady , oh yes she was bloody Diamond . I didn’t realise I could ignore someone so successfully . The signs , Your running better than the government. If you run a bit faster, you’ll catch my gas bill .
The portaloos, ok it’s not all good but now I know why as a rule I go before I go . Someone,posting on the event site saying they had been scared for life by the experience. I’ll leave that one there.
The friendship of like minded souls . At the Expo when I came to pay for my (£2.50 ) can of coke and the stall holder said card only , the lady in front paid as I was ferreting about trying to find my card and refused my money. Queuing for our numbers . After hearing stories of waiting hours and huge queues it was a doddle . 10 mins tops , part of me thinks it’s a ruse to get us all into the Excel all happy so we will spend more on the shiny, shiny . I know , so cynical for one so young but £4.20 for a piece of flapjack For the first time in my life seeing tower bridge in the raw . To my mechanical based mind it was beautiful , however this was where the guy with the washing machine on his back passed me .Which leads me on to this . Which is hopefully my first WVR claim to fame , am I the first one to get the name on the screen??
One photo taken by a family friend shows a good view of my left wrist wearing a Buff that was one of Jan Edwards favourites and which I wore at CWR after I asked Brian if this was ok .. This was one of the things that kept me going .
This is the hard bit . My time . For anyone following my training you’ll know I’ve been heading for 4.5 hours . On Sunday I went to a place that I NEVER want to go again . Inside the first mile the sciatic pain on my right started , meaning no proper forward swing . Basically I was going backwards the entire race . Any other event And I would have bailed out at 5k . The thought of all that I have raised kept me going , the thought of all the people who will benefit from that day . The thought that I was NOT going to let the months of training that Anne and I did go to waste . The thought of Mel whom some of you knew and who Anne Pritchard was running in memory of and raising for St Michaels . The thought of not fulfilling a dream of more than a decade , the thought of the two wasted club spaces . The other Buff which I have carried for nearly ten years and comes out as I finish a big race in memory of a good friend . The thought of my club mates and family thinking about me and maybe tracking me . All this took me through every single emotion from shouting at the sky to a sobbing wreck . BUT , I have done it , I’m a London Marathon finisher . Well done to the Cardiff crew and to Billy in Loch Ness .
See you all soon Simon . ◦