Topic: London Marathon (Read 4299 times)

LandyLiam · « **on:** April 22, 2016 »

I'm popping over to London tomorrow to have a go at my first (and probably last ) marathon. Now that's not very NI-Wild I hear you say! Well I will be raising money for the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team in the process so that should count. So feel free to pop over to my justgiving site and empty some spare change from your pockets, every little helps

https://www.justgiving.com/liamsmyth-mmrt

Many Thanks

Liam

Target time is 6ish hours

clairebear · « **Reply #1 on:** April 24, 2016 »

Hay Liam hope the roads were kind and you're ok in the big smoke. Good work.

LandyLiam · « **Reply #2 on:** April 26, 2016 »

Thank you very much everyone for your donations, and if you haven't donated yet and you enjoy my photos please throw a couple of pounds MMRTs way. Even you you don't use justgiving you can pop it into a charity box at Cotswolds or give it to me in person and I will leave it resting in my account

https://www.justgiving.com/liamsmyth-mmrt

So here's the story, firstly a bit of a spoiler, I didn't break the world record and I didn't win! but I did finish, so lets see how it went.

thousands head towards the start line, I didn't know where it was but alll you had to do was follow the crowds, they even had blimps up to show you where to go, all very well organised (except for the shortage of toilets, but you'll see more of that later)

picked up a very handy wristband to get my pacing right

my wee friend Flat Stanley came along for the run

the loooooong queue for the toilets!

It was a good idea to wear an old jumper or pick up something from a charity shop to keep you warm at the start, I believe all these were passed on to the homeless after.

It took 15 mins just to cross the start line (I was almost at the very back)

First mile completed, wee buns, even if this is as far I get it feels good just to have started the London Marathon.

Very impressed with the amount of fancy dress runners, most of them beat me

not me!

this would make you run fast

This cheeky chappie grabbed a sup of beer from one the crowd

the vast majority were doing the run for charity, many a tshirt told a sad story, many a tear came to the eye

There were many amusing placards along the way, here's a selection:

Passed a few landmarks:

the cutty sark

it was a great feeling coming round the corner and seeing tower bridge, I was really looking forward to running over this

really felt sorry for the ladies havng to queue for the loos along the route, I managed to find the odd quiet hedge

My right calf muscle suddenly went painful at mile 9, walked the next mile or so and thought my day was over, but when I started jogging again the pain decreased but always felt like it could go at any moment, from then on it became a real struggle to manage it, all thought of good times had now gone, it was just a matter of see how far I could get, the target being 13 miles, the furthest I had ever run.

finally made the halfway point

now every mile is a personal best, lets see how far I can go

a few showers were placed along the route, fortunatley it wasn't hot enough to need them, weather was just about perfect for a long run

this little lady is in her 70s, I did manage to beat her by a mere 13 minutes

the last 8 miles were particularly difficult, it was head down, no interest in the view, I couldn't even remember passing big ben!

So close now, its not until this point that I am actually sure I will finish it.

The end is in sight, hold on a minute, who's that ahead!

So now I can say Jesus was with me when I crossed the line

So my finishing time was 5hrs 48mins (the clock shows later as it took 15 mins to get to the start line), what a slog! but just within my 6hr target, very very happy with that

and to finish it off here's a nice wee picture of Big Ben I managed to snap while hobbling home from a celebratory meal at Trafalgar Square (no I didn't have Pigeon!)

Now don't forget to sponsor me

https://www.justgiving.com/liamsmyth-mmrt

RedLeader · « **Reply #3 on:** April 27, 2016 »

Brilliant Liam. Really well done!

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LandyLiam

London Marathon

clairebear

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RedLeader

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