Ngeme’s Virgin London Marathon

22 April 2012 –

Left by train on Friday and had all of Saturday to enjoy London. Visited the ExCel  Centre to get running pack and had a great time window shopping.  I stayed in the Premier Inn Tower Bridge. Fantastic hotel and staff. There were lots of other runners staying and special meals for runners on offer.

Sunday morning was a bit on the cold side for London (Penicuik on a warm day). I was in Pen9 as my estimated finishing time when I entered the race was 4:48 hours. Very crowded start and took a while to get to the beginning of the marathon.

I had now foolishly (on hindsight) revised my finish time to be 4:30 hours. The crowds were fantastic and although it was hard work trying to negotiate runners I perceived as being slow, I was on target for 4:30 hours until the fateful 17.5 mile point. Not having a sweet tooth is a serious disadvantage. I had not been taking enough of the sport gels. I struggled from this point for about 2 miles. I forced myself to take on some jelly babies and whatever the crowds were offering on top of the gels I was squeezing into my mouth.  I felt great at mile 20 but decided not to worry about my time and just enjoy the race. I finished in 5:14 hours, a bit disappointed but having enjoyed most of the race. The finish was fantastic and the memory helped me cope with the terribly delayed train journey back to Scotland.

Best wishes

Ngeme