So I ran the London Marathon last weekend! And managed a sub-4 hour finish in my first-ever marathon.
It’s been a while since I wrote anything on here, but writing a London Marathon review seemed like the perfect way to get back into it… I mentioned back in MONTH last year that I had applied for a London Marathon place, well I was fortunate enough to get a charity place through MS Society, which I was over the moon about, especially given the added something about the race after COVID.
All my stars seemed to align on race day, as I managed to (somewhat) comfortably achieve my ambitious goal of a sub-4 marathon, as well as avoiding the dreaded Wall.
The Race Itself
I couldn’t have been happier about how well the race went. I started slowly, around 8:50 pace (a struggle for me as I always go too fast in training…), knowing I’d need the energy later and that keeping below 9 minutes would see me finish in just under 4 hours, and kept a pretty constant pace throughout, with my splits varying by no more than 12 seconds a mile. My fuelling strategy was on point too; a trusty Lucho Dillitos at the start, then one at 5, 10 and 15 miles to keep my energy levels up, maybe could’ve done with another towards the end, although my pockets didn’t have enough space unfortunately… It wasn’t all good news though; my headphones threw a hissy fit at mile 7 and just refused to connect to my watch, so I had no music for the majority of the race, but as I’ll mention later the atmosphere provided by the crowds meant that that wasn’t an issue.
I passed the halfway point at 1:55, a slow half by normal standards, but this was a marathon not a sprint after all, but felt good knowing that I was under the 2-hour split for a sub-4 finish. This definitely helped mentally, if I knew I had to make up time in the second half it could’ve easily made me doubt myself.
The Atmosphere/Occasion
I know it’s the only marathon I’ve ran (so far), but I feel pretty confident in saying that London is the best marathon in the world. Nothing else comes close in terms of the occasion; the build-up and media coverage beforehand; the iconic landmarks you pass on the way; and of course, the crowds. All of this amplified by the fact that this was the first London Marathon to be held fully since COVID.
The number of spectators was smaller than it usually would be thanks to COVID, but those that came out more than made up for it. The streets are lined with cheering crowds for the majority of the course, especially around the landmarks and towards the end, where the random people cheering your name is the only thing keeping you moving forward. As I was running for a charity, I had a brightly-coloured vest with my name ironed on to the front (which I would wholly recommend even if you’re not running for charity…), which meant that every now and then I would hear an emphatic ‘Go on Adam!’ ‘You can do it Adam!’ from a complete stranger, which really does pull you through, especially in the last 3 miles, which were by far the hardest 3 miles I’ve ever ran in my life.
But would I do it again? Definitely. The buzz was incredible, so worth it and such a proud moment to finally cross the finish line after all the months of training. The London Marathon is absolutely a bucket list experience, and I would love to do it again, but first I think I’ll enter some marathons in different locations for a bit of variety, so watch this space…
The Charity Aspect
Finally, a word on the charity fundraising side to the London Marathon: The marathon is known for being the world’s largest fundraising event, and it’s incredible to see so many worth causes represented on the day. I got my place through MS Society, a charity close to my heart through my Grandad’s struggle with the disease. The fundraising campaign leading up to the race was an amazing experience, I thoroughly enjoyed running all the events we held, such as a plant sale and fundraising dinner, alongside multiple raffles. Altogether we managed to raise over £4000, an incredible amount and more than double the £2000 needed to secure the place. Every penny goes towards fighting MS, and brings us closer to a world without it.