With the onset of the Covid pandemic many races were cancelled or postponed which meant that the ones I had entered all seemed to be re-scheduled to similar dates, indeed 2 were resceduled for the same day.
So I thought about what to do and if to cancel some but
ended up deciding to do them all even though this led to packing them all into
a short time frame:
London Landmarks Half 01 August:
I had run the initial race but had been unable to get a
space through the ballot for the next couple of years but this was a race that
I really wanted to do again, I enjoyed it so much that first year. Rockinghorse
which is a charity really close to my heart had some spaces but I was unsure if
I could generate the kind of sponsorship that they would require. Eventually the
date of the event was getting closer and they still had spaces so I bit the
bullet and tool one of their spaces.
This was one of the first races that took place after the
lockdown eased and it was a bit strange after so long being so close to so many
people all running around London but it was good to be back
There was obviously many changes to a “normal” event to account for Covid but everything ran smoothly, I dropped my bag in one of the London Busses and made my way to the start line finding myself at the very front of my allocated pen. This was a bit of a problem as I went off way to quickly especially after not having run in an organised race for so long. So in the later stages I really struggled and came in just over 2 hours. The race itself did not disappoint, as previously the evnt had a great course and I thoroughly enjoyed running around London.
Brighton Marathon 12 September:
I have run every year at Brighton and this was one of the
events that clashed with another, The Great North Run. I have entered the
ballot for GNR several times as it is one of those runs that you just have to
do and this time I secured an entry only for Covid to hit and then the
rescheduled date not be possible, I couldn’t choose GNR at the expense of
giving up my ever present status at Brighton.
I have bought a membership for Brighton which means I have an entry for the next 9 years, this membership also came with some extra perks such as receiving my number and start park by post, a special area at the start to meet up, have a coffee, drop my bag and get priority entry to the start pen. Most importantly though shorter queues for the toilets.
I had been suffering with a calf injury and had not run at
all for two weeks prior to Brighton to try and give it time to heal, no such
luck and as I started to run over the start line I could feel it being sore. I
pushed on and probably ran a bit differently due to this and soon my hip on the
other side was painful.
Brighton being the home of Rockinghorse meant that the team
were out on the course around the half way mark, it was good to see them grab a
banana and set off for the second half.
I knew that the section out by the power station at Shoreham
end would be difficult, it is a bit out of the way and not many spectators
venture up that way, so I had saved a few episodes of runpod to listen to for
this part. However at about mile 15 I was in quite a bit of pain and pretty
much had to walk from there to the finish. So I had to resort to the runpod
emergency episodes earlier in the race.
I tried to get up to start again telling them I was OK, I
was worried that they would pull me out and I would loose out on that medal and
my place as an ever present. They assured me that they would let me finish but
that I should rest for a few minutes more and walk for a while, I told them
that I was OK and would be walking all the way! As I started off again I phoned
Amanda to reassure her that I was ok, thinking she would have had the
notification from my Garmin, she hadn’t but it was good to talk to her along
the next half a mile or so to get me through. I did finish and maintain my ever
present status but in a time of 6 hours 50 by far my slowest marathon, slower
even than the ones at the end of iron triathlons.
I have to say that if it was any race other than Brighton I
would have pulled out and recorded a DNF
Berlin Marathon 26 September:
2 weeks after my horror of Brighton I was off to Berlin for
another race that I have tried to get into a few times only to succeed and have
it affected by Covid.
After Brighton I went to see my Physio who, as usual,
despaired of me. She gave me some Ultra sound treatment and some exercises to
do with an instruction that if it got too much I must stop. I had already
promised Amanda that if Berlin went the same way as Brighton I would pull out.
We flew to Berlin on the Friday night after Amanda had
finished work, arriving quite late so it was just getting to the hotel,
checking in and booking breakfast required before turning in for the night.
Saturday morning came and after breakfast at the hotel we
set off to the expo and collect my number, getting there quite early was good,
there was still quite a queue but nothing like it was when I came out.
After collecting my start pack we wandered up to the
Brandenburg Tor to check out the start and finish area, arrange where Amanda
could base herself, get coffee etc.
Then a walk back to the hotel grabbing some food on the way,
an afternoon snooze before wandering off to look at the Eastside gallery, the
artwork on the section of Wall that is still standing. Far too much walking
really for the day before a marathon!
Sunday arrived and we walked up to the start, grabbed a
coffee and managed to find a space to sit on a bench to take in the atmosphere
which was buzzing. I had a message from one of my Aunts just before the start to say "Run Andy with Uncle Jim on your shoulder" We lost Uncle Jim this year and his funeral was the week before. Reading this message before the start brought me to tears but when I was out on the course and feeling the pain it really helped me get through.
As the time approached for me to get to the start pens I
walked up to the park area with Amanda before returning to get into my pen. It
was actually a bit further to walk than I expected and I was a bit late getting
to the start which meant that I was in with the wave behind the one I should
have started with. I could see the stragglers of my wave just In front so
managed to escape the barriers and join the back of my wave.
The route in Berlin is fantastic, I knew I wasn’t going to
be troubling the timing charts so just enjoyed the atmosphere and scenery
around. Again my hip was painful but not as bad as Brighton, I had again kept
some episodes of runpod back to get me through the tough times, and what better
episode that Eliud Kipchoge. I also had the start to run app going as it gave
me updates every five minutes with how far and what pace etc, which was all very
well until it told me that I had run for 300 minutes and completed 42.2km this
at the point when I still had 2km to go to the finish!
As I came up towards the Brandenburg Tor for the finish I
was looking around to see if I could spot Amanda in the crowd, unfortunately
she was on the left hand side and just before I came up the marshals moved us
over to the right had side to allow spectators to cross the course, she did get
some video of me going through the gate though so that was quite cool.
As I got through the gate and started the downhill section to the finish I felt a second wind and felt like I was positively sprinting towards the finish tape!
Passing through the finish and into the runners area in the
grounds of the Reichstag which is an amazing venue, I collected my poncho,
deposited my chip and headed out to find Amanda. I had finished in about 5hours
15, so a much better result that Brighton!
London Marathon 03 October:
I applied through the ballot for London as I have for many years,
over time I guess I have been luckier that some and have got a place in London
through the ballot twice but not this year. I have also run in London with a
charity place on 3 occasions.
Having not been successful in the ballot I entered the
virtual, which I also ran last year so was looking to beat my course record this
year!
As I usually do I entered every competition that I found to
win a place in the marathon but didn’t hold out much hope, then out of the blue
I had a call from Virgin Red to say that I had won a place through a
competition with them that I had entered. Turns out I was about the tenth
person that they had phoned as all the other people had refused the prize,
apparently the entry conditions was to buy something through Virgin Red app so
many people who had been entered in the competition had no interest in running
a marathon!
London being only a week after Berlin meant I had limited
recovery time, wouldn’t have been so bad for the virtual as I could take all
day and regular breaks at my house! Anyway it was too good a chance to pass up
so come race day I made may way up to London and the Blue Start.
Once again I ad a couple of episodes of runpod to get me
through the tough times (Bit of a theme going on here). Again I was only
planning on finishing and was not worried about how long it took me.
About 2 miles in to the run I was passed by one of the
Rhinos, now usually I see them later on in the course as those costumes are heavy
and difficult to run it, but not for this guy he was flying. I believe he is
the record holder for running a marathon as a Rhino!
At the point where the starts come together on the course or
just after I saw a familiar face on the side of the road, Tim who is the Chair
of the Scout group that I used to be with was there, is wife is a bit of a
runner, so I ran over to say hi and then back on to the road and running.
I was still suffering with my painful hip but decided that I
would continue my strategy from Berlin of Walking for 100 steps and then running
for 200, then whilst in one of my walking stages I passed one of the many pubs
on the course, the customers cheering everyone on. One guy, who was holding a
pint, said something to me so I asked where my pint was, at this point he gave
me his pint and I downed a couple of mouthfuls, thanked him and ran off!
I had set my phone to the virtual app, well I had paid for
the entry, but noticed that even after collecting my bag and getting to horseguards
that I still hadn’t finished the virtual event so had to keep moving down to
the other end of horseguards before it registered as me having run 26.2 miles!
Royal Parks Half 10 October:
The week following London I was again heading back to the
capital, this time for a half marathon. The Royal Parks is another half that I
have run before but not managed to get into the ballot until the Covid year and
again delayed!
I was lucky enough to be selected as 1 of 10 inspire
runners, you can read about us all here https://royalparkshalf.com/studies/
if you really want more reading as let’s face it if you have made it this far
you are doing well!!
Being in this group gave us access to a VIP tent at the
start and finish, we also had a photo call on the start line and lined up
towards the front of the event, this may not have been such a good thing as I
went off far to quickly and paid for it towards the end!
Shortly after the start I passed Sally Gunnel, yep I had
overtaken and Olympic legend! Still she had obviously paced herself better as
she re passed me about half way and ran off into the distance, oh well.
About the same time Jenni Falconer past me and said hi, unfortunately
I had left my aftershokz in my bag so no runpod to get me round this one.
A while later I heard someone shouting my name, actually loads
of people do as I have it in big letters across my chest, but this one was
different, I looked up across the road and saw Amanda cheering me on, this from
across completely the other side of the road through Hyde Park.
As we rounded the corner on to the home straight, which is
about 1km long Jenni suggested we pick the pace up, then promptly left me behind
as I had nothing left in the tank, she has a mean sprint finish at the end of a
half!
I made my way down the finish lane, stopping with the
inspire team to do a piece to camera, get me with professional speak!, before
getting my medal, T shirt and teddy and making my way to the VIP tent to meet
up with Amanda, then after a bit of food and drink it was time to make our way
home.
Oxford Half 17 October:
It was here my final run of the 6 and allowed me a trip home
to see Mum and Dad, they live near Oxford so it is a much shorter drive from
there to the start.
Arriving at the start village I was a bit early so not too
busy, quick trip to the loo while there was no queue, then have a look around
and found the selfie wall which had the names of all runners on. Yes I did
manage to find my name amongst the thousands of names.
I love Oxford Half, running round the city and sights that I
spent many an hour in during my youth.
Yes I had 3 episodes of runpod to get me round and it just
so happened that the timing was perfect with the final episode finishing just
after I crossed the finish line after 2 hours 4 mins.
Back in the village and I was starving so the burger van was
a most welcome sight!
That was it I had completed my 6 events, 2 of which are part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors but I feel that is all I am going to manage in that series. Finances will stop me from getting to New York, Chicago and Tokyo and lets face it I am never going to be able to run a qualifying time for Boston!
