This year I ran the London Marathon in 3:57:15 for the Stroke Association in memory of my father who died of a stroke in 1999
| Why | How | Updates | The Day itself | Links |
£1000 is quite a lot of money to raise, a good way to get your head around it is to think how many friends you think I have then divide £1000 by that number. i.e. I would need 100 friends to sponsor me £10 each, or 200 to sponsor me £5 each, (if you were less optimistic than me in your estimation of how many mates I have then please feel free to go with your figure! (-; )
Seriously, The Stroke Association is a really worthwhile cause.
The results of a stroke can range from slurred speech, to paralysis of part of the body or even
one side completely, to death.
Strokes are the 3rd largest killer in England and Wales (behind heart disease and cancer), on top
of that strokes are the largest cause of physical disability in the UK.
There is no cure, and specialist units for stroke patients around the country are rare - my Dad
was lucky and ended up in a specialist unit when he was in hospital, but this isn't the case for
most.
The Stroke Association (whose tag line is: Caring for today, researching for tomorrow and
working for change) aims to fund research into strokes, raise awareness and provide care for
victims and families, more info can be found at: www.stroke.org.uk if you are interested.
Some of their activities include:
If you feel inclined to sponsor me, do! Just let me know the amount you would like sponsor me, and then drop a cheque in the post to me (dated the 23rd April 2001, made payable to the Stroke Association) [This will enable me not to do have to the second, more difficult marathon of money collecting afterwards!]
My address is Wolfson College, Oxford, OX2 6TN
Back to TopIt all seemed like a good idea when my friend suggested it to me - "why don't we run the London Marathon, it will be great fun" admittedly I was several 1000 meters high at the time, and cycling across Pakistan, so perhaps and the altitude and excitement of the present adventure may have had an effect.
Sure enough when we got back to blighty I hunted out a copy of London Marathon Magazine and filled in the application form (as did the bloke who suggested the idea in the first place). After a few months wait we found out we hadn't got in through the ballot ;-(Luckily I knew a guy at college who was a runner, Bernard, he offered to give me training plan and schedule and that's when the long weeks of training begun....
Back to Top14/02/01 (Wed) : Training is going well, I am currently doing around 25 miles a week, and other than an occasional sore knee, no problems. I am running about 7min 30s miles, and not running more than 10 miles in one go. My training also include ergs, circuits, swimming and Massage!
1/03/01 (Thur): After having 3 days off for a trip to Belfast (a mates wedding), I came back all fresh and ready to run, trouble was I woke up on Sunday night with aches, sore throat and a cold. So training has been put off till I am well again. I have now made it back into the office, so I should be pounding the streets by the weekend. (Probably with a bit of rowing in Torpids before then too!) So hopefully all will be well for the Reading marathon in a week and a half's time!!!
2/03/01 (Fri): Well it looks like I wont be running in the Reading Half Marathon - it has been cancelled due to the foot and mouth outbreak!
10/03/01 (Sat): I went and bought some new trainers at the weekend from a shop called 2:13 in Whitney. They were excellent, really helpful, knowledgeable and quick. As a result having some new trainers to try out I went for a long run. It was good because I no longer have a sore knee after running, BUT bad because I was so keen to get back out on the road, I didn't run them in, so I have the odd blister now!
13/03/01 (Tue): I managed a 12 mile run yesterday evening - the furthest I have run so far, no sore knees and my blisters aren't too bad!
15/03/01 (Thur): I am now including sprints in my training, last night was 4x800m The times were: 2min 44s (2min 45s), 2min 39s (2min 40s), 2min 36s (2min 35s), 2min 30s (2min 30s) The target times are in brackets.
18/03/01 (Sun): Banbury 15 (reduced to 14 miles due to F&M): I ran in
1:39:21, which was quicker than expected, and kept an even pace throughout. A friend, Paul, also
came along to run, and my sister was an all-round star, being general helper - driving, taking away
extra kit, waiting patiently, and bringing drinks etc. to the finish line. Thank-you both!
After starting off quite slow in the main pack (1st mile: ~ 8min) I picked up the pace a little
and ran roughly 7:30 miles, arriving at 6 miles in 42:45, 8 miles in 56:52, and 10 miles in 1h11.
After this I tried to pick up the pace for the run-in home, which worked for a bit but
unfortunately there was a long hill at 11 miles which meant maintaining speed rather than picking
it up was the challenge. I arrived at the 12 mile marker in 1h25, and then really picked it up to
bring it home, running past the few people who had overtaken me in the last 2-3 miles. (I was
spurred into this by one the marshals accusing me of being too fresh and telling me to get a
move on!). As I came over the finish line the commentary was saying something about one of the
first of the "younger ones" crossing the line - was he talking about me? If I can keep that
going for only another 12 miles, it looks good for the LM!
19/03/01 (Mon): Not feeling too bad today, tired with my muscles being a bit reluctant to do anything fast, oh and the odd blister, but other than that fine. I think a nice hot bath is in order tonight, and back to training tomorrow
20/03/01 (Tue): Did a 2K erg test today as part of my rowing training for next term. I did it in 7:19, which is OK but not great, with weight adjustment it should look a bit better! Unfortunately I got on the erg and thought "this will take less than 8 min, which is a sprint in comparison to 26 miles" Well it isn't so much of a sprint that you can set off at a ridiculous rating and keep it up - opps. Anyway did circuits after that too, which was OK!
24/03/01 (Sat): My longest training run - 20 miles - Well after last weeks success I was a bit more laid back about this 20 mile training run, with hindsight perhaps that was a mistake. In order to watch the Boat race (which wasn't worth it since we lost!) I got up early on Saturday morning to do my run. I only had a couple of slices of toast before starting running at 8:30. I did a six mile loop and then took on a sip of water before setting off on a 14 mile loop to Blenheim Palace and back. It was going well till the last 5 miles, then the lack of rest in the week, and the lack of food and water that day began to kick in, and unfortunately at 18 miles (2h30) I ran dry and ended up walking and jogging back home. Grrrrrr. But at least I learnt an important lesson that you can't take a 20 mile run that lightly, good food and rest in the days before are essential, and water on the run is also a must. I will take note in the build up to the marathon!
26/03/01 (Mon): I went away for a few days with some old school mates, and so had a good bit of rest, my legs were tired and a little stiff, but only as much as if you just start up exercising again after a bit of a break. I had two days rest (only one was scheduled on my timetable) just so I didn't repeat last weeks manic overdoing it!!! Back to it tomorrow though.
28/03/01 (Wed): Did sprints again tonight at the track, 4x800m. Though this time without JC
(He has gone on holiday - chicken!(-; ) so my pacing was slightly worse than last time, and my
last one was slower than the target grrrr. The times were 2:39 (2:45), 2:37?(2:40) 2:30(2:35)
2:31 (2:30) 1/04/01 (Sun): The last of my long runs today - 18 miles, to make it worse it was the first
thing I got to do on my birthday!! Anyway it went well, quite a slow pace, but I kept it up for
2h30! (With the help of Andy running the first 6 miles with me, but the last 12 I was on my own)
I should be able to go faster on the day as I will have a less hectic week with proper
preparation before it! The only soreness afterwards is a slightly stiff back and a slightly
tender ankle, but not dramatically so. From now on it is downhill - just lots of short runs till
the BIG day!!! 4/04/01 (Wed): An article appeared about me in the local paper today, its a
bit cheesy, but hey good plug for the Stroke Association. The image opposite links to another
page with the whole article scanned in - it may take a while to download, but I have written a
second page with just the text on it so click here for the text only 6/04/01 (Fri): This is probably the last update that will appear before the marathon itself,
as I go back home till just before the big day! I am now tapering down the training, which is a
good thing, because the long runs of the last few weeks have really taken it out of me, so a
couple of weeks rest will be good. 11/04/01 (Wed): Well I am now at home. Work and hip pain over the last few days have meant I
have taken it really easy and done very little exercise - I am desperately trying to ensure my
hip doesn't mess up the race for me. But back to it today with some light swimming. 13/04/01 (Good Friday): I started developing a sore throat yesterday, but thought little of it
however I had a really bad nights sleep, with aching back and dry/sore throat. I have decided to
take it easy today to try to recover and catch up on sleep.
15/04/01 (Easter Sunday): Well Friday I felt completely drained and did nothing all day, my
throat cleared up, but exhaustion and blocked head kicked in. Today I still have the blocked and
runny nose, which is very irritating. I can't run like this, and haven't really trained for a
couple of weeks, what with my hip and then the cold. I hope this clears up in time to run, but if
I do run I guess I wont be at my optimum. I may have to consider pulling out - something I don't
want to do!! I guess all I can do is keep taking pills and take it easy, hoping it clears in
time. What a preparation for the race! 20/04/01 (Registration): It looks like I am going to run it despite the cold. I went to London
Arena to pick up my number and kit bag etc. The build up is starting, and it is getting exciting
22/04/01 (Sun): The 2001 Flora London Marathon Well I woke up at 1, 3, 5, and 6 and eventually gave up at 6.30, had a bit of breakfast - some
cereal and toast (Thanks to my kind host Leo) and got all my kit together. Jumped on the DLR at
8 and made my way to Greenwich. Very odd seeing a DLR crammed full at 8 on a Sunday, even more
weird was the raljex odour. After a little warm up I put my bag on the baggage trolley and made my way to the start passing
a couple of Mr Men on the way! Into the front of pen 4 and waiting for the off. It took 2 mins to
get to the start and then the usual jogging, walking until the field had spread a bit
The first few miles I was just soaking up the atmosphere, and the fact I was running something I
had previously just watched from the comfort of an armchair. All the people, the road filled with
closely packed runners as far as you can see and lined with crowds smiling and cheering us on as we ran past
a church with bells ringing out the BBC theme music. I was running within eyeshot of the Runners
world 3:30 pace maker for the first few miles, which was spot on.
At 3 miles we merged with the blue start, suitable booo's were shouted in there direction, and
then we ran on to Cutty Sark still soaking it all in, not really thinking about running. I looked
up and saw dark clouds ahead, and made a mental note of rain coming up. Just after the Cutty Sark
I got chatting to a 9 times marathon runner, who rather helpful said that 3:30 was a difficult one
to get on your first. Then at 10 miles I realised my legs were feeling tired (they hadn't in
previous long runs - must have been the effects of the cold) But I pushed on and soon enough we
were at Tower bridge. This was my first support point, my sister and the Stroke Association were supposed to cheer
me on from here. So I ran down the left as promised scanning the crowd. Surprise surprise I saw
neither my sister or the Stroke Association, but did manage to catch John, Dan and Nancy (plus
kids) from my college - that was a surprise for all of us. Again pushing on, but feeling more difficult, my next supporter was Leo at 15, so I dug in,
helped by the fact that this was the road I had walked on to the DLR earlier that day, saw Leo
outside his house, but then felt V tired. What with the occasion the excitement and taking it all
in I wasn't concentrating as hard as I had been in training runs, and my lack of concentration
meant I made the fatal decision to walk to take in the liquid power, this I did, with the knock
on effect of walking to take in all subsequent water. With hindsight this was probably quite clever. At Canary Wharf I felt very dizzy especially in
the underpass, and my concentration was going - I don't think I hit the wall so much as saw it coming
and sidestepped it slightly. It must also have been the knock-on effects
Round the rest of the Isle of Dogs this slowing for water and running the rest of the mile
continued, the dizziness also continued, so I grabbed the odd sweet of kind spectators. All this
helped to keep me going if somewhat slower. Also one kind spectator had a box of tissues, which
meant I got to blow my nose - what a relief that was!
It all gets a bit blurred after that I remember going past 21 miles, with the stragglers (and
people dressed as mini's! coming the other way) and Katherine's dock, the cobbles, running past
my old place of work LEK by the Embankment, the long underpass, the masses of spectators down the
sides of the road, all cheering me on (aided by the hat with my name on it), Big Ben, Birdcage walk
and seeing my sister around 25 miles. The big sign saying 800m to go, and the masses of time that
800m took to run. Then we rounded the corner (I didn't see Buckingham Palace) and there it was the Finish, all
that was left was to get into a good pose as I crossed the line for the photo. 3h57! (with 2min
at the start 3:55) The a half mile of being handed things, medals, space blankets, food, kit bag, and final
sitting down, taking in water and food, ringing Mum, Lindsey and Leo. The applying blister
plasters and heading off into the crowds to find my sister.
The time meant I beat Steve Redgrave, Frank Bruno and the Mr Men and came in 8257th out of
32000. So I was beaten by a fair few including Derartu Tulu, Abdelkader El Mouaziz, Tanni
Grey-Thompson, one Elvis and 8252 others!
Looking back it is a shame that I didn't manage my target time of 3:30, there are lots of
reasons I guess, the cold, tiredness, lack of concentration, lack of the drive to get 3:30 (because
of the cold). I guess I feel I could have done 3:30, and still can, maybe next year....... Must say a few quick thank-you's
In the end this adventure has raised around £2000 for the Stroke Association - Thank you! Last Update 1/05/01
I am suffering the odd niggle still - my right foot was hurting after the 18 miler at the weekend
(due to horrific camber of the paths in University parks?) My foot is no longer a problem, but my
left hip obviously took a bit of a battering trying to compensate for my foot, and so is slightly
sore on impact. I am taking anti-inflammatories which should sort it out, and the tapering down
should prevent it flaring up before the big day.
I am beginning to realise the day is fast approaching, and I need to make plans for when I
collecting my number, where I am going to stay, what kit to take etc. - the far-off goal is
approaching fast!.
Over the last couple of days I have started reading a book my sister got me for my birthday - it
seems good preparation for the marathon as it is all about the marathon, a collection of
characters who ran in 2000, how their training went and their race, as well as info on the history
of the race and the course. Its called "26.2 running the London Marathon" and its by
Julie Welch.
The Day itself
Bernard - for his training advice and encouragement - I liked to think of him as a personal
trainer, which he was in every respect (individual schedule, professionalism, advice) except for not
getting paid!!
Lindsey and Mum - for their support and encouragement. They didn't laugh at me when I first
suggested it, and helped raise money, keep me well fed, and bore my complaining and grumpiness
when I was ill over Easter
Those who ran with me in training - Andy Moss, John Miller, Paul Montgomery, John Coats, all of
whom made some of those miles pounding the streets slightly less boring
Leo and Matt Robinson for being good mates, willing to put me up for the night in London!
The people who sponsored and encouraged me - too numerous to mention
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Comments: stuart.wilkinson@materials.ox.ac.uk