By Leslie Ann Bent
The STARR Marathon Madness month has inspired me to reflect back on some of our memorable marathons. Andy, our close friend, Dave, and I were doing an annual marathon together each year in that era. By 2005, I’d accomplished 5 marathons including 3 of the world’s 6 major marathons with them. So, why not pick a 4th of the 6 we thought? After Chicago, New York City and Berlin, the next obvious choice was London. There were a ton of reasons to select it – the sights, the location and the event itself. The race was well organized and provided a good location for exploring parts of the UK after the race. This would be our first spring marathon together. It was difficult training through the Ontario winter and thus we showed up not quite trained (ok, not trained) but ready never-the-less for a marathon adventure. I bought matching tech shirts and using fabric paint, made our own signature race shirts. I admit it, Megen I am not but we wore them anyhow. We arrived two days before the race in hopes of acclimatizing ourselves to the time zone and ridding ourselves of jetlag.
The London marathon is interesting right from the start. With over 35,000 runners, the event has three start lines to accommodate the mass of athletes. You must know which start-line is yours as they are in different locations and converge about 2.8 miles into the race. The start is in Greenwich and winds its way around London finishing on the Mall at the House of Parliament, just beyond Buckingham Palace. The marathon is a point-to-point race and is fairly flat. It attracts runners looking to run a personal best. The prize money is good and so elite runners are also part of the field each year. According to an article I read, the London Marathon holds the Guinness World record for the largest fundraising event in the world. About a third of the runners are running for a charity. Those charity runners know how to create elaborate costumes too. We saw many – a chain gang of 16 runners tied together (imagine running for 42.2km tied to 15 other runners), a rhino and a gorilla among many others.
Race day started with an early breakfast and decent commute to Greenwich. The temperature was hot at the start for a London April morning – about 16C. There was a wide-open field for us to mill around in before the race. At that point we were able to observe the competition. Many runners were in costume. Many were warming up. We just sat and chewed the fat until the race started. I don’t think we intimidated anyone with our internal winter padding.
Courtesy of The Telegraph
I don’t recall all of the race in detail but what I do remember is that within the first few kilometers, I was passed by a huge boulder. The boulder was set up with a spindle handle through the middle that a runner on each side used to roll the round 350-pound boulder and a guy at the front pulling it. Later I learned that the runner was a past soccer player raising money for Leukemia and he modeled his costume and challenge around a scene from an Indiana Jones movie. Other runners were invited to help him roll the boulder along the course. I didn’t volunteer. I had my own challenges with a less than ideal training behind me.
I also recall the sound of thousands of feet pounding the pavement as we approached the converging runners. We could hear the feet long before we could see the runners. Quite frankly, it sounded like thunder. The crowds and volunteers were enthusiastic. The scenery well worth it.
The course really gets exciting as you cross the Tower Bridge. The bridge is a well-known landmark. It also marks the halfway mark. Balloons decorate the bridge, spectators cheer wildly, and this point you can start to see other points of interest. The sun was hot that day with no clouds in sight, and a temperature climbing to 22C by the time I hit the bridge. I took my time alternating walking and running.
I passed the Tower of London, St Georges in the East, hugged the Thames River for a while, saw Canary Warf, Blackfriars Bridge, crossed under the Waterloo Bridge and then saw Big Ben before the grand finale. By this point I was dead tired and my legs and feet were killing me. Once I saw Buckingham Palace, I knew I had less than a kilometer to go. I was parched. The water had run out. Before I knew it, I was on the Mall. I saw the House of Parliament and the finishing chute. Whoohoo. With renewed energy, I did my famous sprint to the finish line. As I crossed the line, I was smiling. Andy was waiting for me, freshly showered and dressed cheering me on. Dave was having a power snooze in St James Park. All was good but my poor tired legs.
A marathon of this size in highly unlikely this year. Who knows what is in store post-Coronavirus. Currently the event has been moved from April to October 2020. We would highly recommend this for the experience if ever you get the chance. It is not the race though for social distancing in its current form.
Courtesy of The Telegraph