Hello all,

Sunday was a lovely, hot and sunny day, one that normally I'd have been delighted to be out in the open for. Whilst waiting for the off at 9am, most runners were lying back, sunbathing! However, this was exactly the weather I had dreaded. I was aiming for sub 4 hour time, but I noticed the heat from the start.

I'd started quickly to catch up with my training partners, James and Loz, but by Mile 4 I knew their head start was too much & I'd be running the full distance on my own. By Mile 6 I had started to feel my energy sapping too quickly, so slowed down slightly. The support from the crowd was immense though, and their encouragement carried me forwarded. A large, inflatable daffodil signalled where my family were watching, and I was lucky enough to see them at miles 6 and 12, which gave me a huge boost to keep a strong pace.

Soon after this I rounded the corner to seeTowerBridge looming in front of me. This is a fantastic sight, as you can see literally thousands of heads bobbing in front of you, packing the approach to the bridge. This is the ½ way mark of 13 miles, and I was hurting. I've run a lot of ½ marathons in training with relative ease, yet on the big day, in the sun, I'd run it slower & felt a lot worse! Negative thoughts were creeping into my mind already, which was a disaster!

After 2hr25, at M16 I was hurting, knowing I'd not be able to carry this pace on, so would miss out on my 4hr target. With this in my head, and another 10 miles more to go, I had a mental tantrum and stopped running! I should never have stopped completely, as cramp immediately set in! I walked / ran / hobbled for a few more miles in the stifling heat of the docklands, but I felt totally broken. I rallied myself forCanaryWharf at M19, as I knew my family & friends were there. I collapsed into mum & dad's arms; then a few metres later I saw the waving daffodil signalling my girlfriend and brother, who stocked me up with a banana and water. It was such a relief to see them, I then felt I was almost over the worst. With this encouragement I staggered on.

At M22 I was out of the docklands heat and seemed to be back on track, it felt like a 5 mile home stretch! My body wasn't really working, my legs kept cramping, and I was dying to stop, but the crowd just kept me going! I was lucky enough to have a huge amount of support spaced out over the last few slow miles, seeing the daffodil of Gareth, Sophie & Alice; then mum & dad;  cousin John; cousin Kate; my sister & her family (seeing my niece & nephew got me welling up!); and finally Sophie's family on the torturously long Mall to the finish. I can't tell you how invaluable that support was! I eventually collapsed over the line in a time of 4hr29.

Congratulations to a hugely impressive 3hr47 from James and 3hr57 from Loz! I am so jealous! Thank you so much to everyone who was there on the day or supported me through the charity, I definitely wouldn’t have made it round without you!

Tegid