In short, I wanted to try and complete one of the ultimate physical and mental challenges open to man. I also wanted to show my children that if you train and are dedicated you can achieve whatever goal you set yourself.
I have always been into sports (in my time I have played/done cricket, badminton, circuit training, kick boxing, circuit training and even rock climbing!!) but I did not start running until 6 years ago. I was 33 then. Having watched the London Marathon lots of times on the television, I thought to myself that it was something I should be able to do. I am reasonably fit and in good health (although I am asthmatic, which is controlled by medication). However, I wanted to do it before I was 40 and I did not want to be running beyond 4 hours. To me that was long enough to be on the road.
But I with a young family (a wife and two children who are 6 and 8) and a demanding job (I'm a solicitor), I just never got round to looking into what I needed to do to get a place on the marathon. Instead I ran local 10K (10,000 metre) events i.e. the Croydon and Wimbledon 10K's. These typically took me between 44 - 48 minutes. In 2006 a friend of mine completed the London Marathon. That was the spur I needed. I applied, through the ballot, for a place in the 2007 race but was unsuccessful. Given that I was going to be 40 this year (on 7 July) I was determined that, one way or another, I was going to get a place for this year's race.
My Marathon experience
I applied in the ballot for this year's race and thankfully was successful. It was only then that I realised what I had let myself in for. When you get a place you also received Marathon News (a magazine telling you all you need to know about the event, including suggested training programmes and dietary tips). The training programmes they suggest last for 17 weeks and consists of running between 3-5 times per week. These included long runs! (The first week's long run was for 1 hour. These long runs would increase by 10 minutes each week). When was I going to find the time to fit all of this in? In the end it turned out not to be too bad (although my wife may beg to differ, as she started to refer to herself as a' marathon widow'). The long runs were done on Sunday mornings and the other runs would be done in the week either first thing in the morning (6am) or after the children were in bed (after 8pm).
Thankfully my training could not have gone any better. I had no injuries or illnesses during training and I felt in the best shape of my life going into the race. Although I had never run a marathon before, I felt I had a good chance of beating my 4 hour target. Despite the rain during the race, the first 20 miles of the race was one of the most enjoyable and memorable experiences I have ever had. I was running comfortably (which I have read is one of the secrets to good marathon running) and the crowds were brilliant. The atmosphere was carnival like. The noise from the crowd going over Tower Bridge was deafening, something you just do not truly appreciate watching this event on the television. I also saw my family (my wife and kids and my mum) and a good friend and his family twice during the race at Bermondsey (11 miles) and Canary Wharf (18 miles) which gave me a big boost. At 20 miles into the race I was well on course to beat my target. However, that's when I hit the dreaded 'wall'. My legs felt like they had lead in them! They were not mine. The last six miles was sheer agony! My target time became an irrelevance. I just wanted to finish without stopping and in as little pain as possible. I finished without stopping, but I cannot say it was with as little pain as possible. I crossed the finishing line on the Mall in 4 hours and 4 seconds (shame about those 4 seconds!).
Why did I decide to raise money for the ACLT ?
Once I got a place on for this year's marathon, I thought, which charity should I raise money for. There are so many but I wanted to raise money for a charity which was directly relevant to the African and Caribbean community. My thoughts then turned to the ACLT. Having heard and read about the story of Beverley and Orin's fight to get a bone marrow donor for their son, Daniel which resulted in them setting up the ACLT, I felt this was a worthy charity to raise money for. I also saw it has an opportunity to highlight the need for African an Caribbean bone marrow donors within our community and more generally to the wider community. I am pleased to say that I have raised approximately £1,500 through setting up a 'justgiving.com' website (which I can highly recommend as a very valuable fund raising tool) and through family, friends and connections in my professional life.
Would I do it again?
If you had asked me this question immediately after the race the answer would undoubtedly have been no. However, now that I have a little to time to reflect on the whole experience, it is something I definitely want to do again.I know I can beat my time - 3 hours 45 minutes is my new target. I know it will be a big commitment, but it was definitely worth it. The sense of self fulfilment is immense. It will also be enable me to funds and the profile of the ACLT.'
Regards, Paul.
