London, Baby!
Posted on: April 24, 2015
On Sunday, I’m running the London marathon! It’s been such a mix of emotions over the last few weeks and months…more than anything else right now, I feel excited, a little bit nervous and in the last few days, a bit emotional that the day is nearly here and that I really will be doing it. It’s my second marathon, having run Brighton last year with my fantastic friend, Flora.
In so many ways, the real marathon is the training itself: the early mornings, the long runs, the discipline of following a plan, committing to putting in the hours and miles consistently every week, regardless of the weather, whether you feel like doing it, the cumulative fatigue that inevitably builds up. Sunday will be when all of that hard work hopefully pays off, when I know that I have made myself a better runner over the past year through hard work, determination and relentless practice.
I’ve run over 600 miles since I started training at the end of last year and have had the pleasure of running in the Aviemore snow, along the banks of the Seine in Paris, past the Sydney Opera House and in the heat of the Perth sunshine, with wild kangaroos bounding just metres away from me in the national park trails. How lucky am I to be healthy and well enough to be able to run, let alone run long distances, to do so with friends and to participate in one of the most iconic races in the world?!
There will be times when it gets tough on Sunday, when my body hurts, when my head screams at me that it’s a ridiculously stupid activity and when all I want to do is stop. I’m going to do my best though to keep on keeping on, to keep moving and to keep running towards that amazing finish line.
This year, I’m running for a small group of charities called Action Against Heartburn, promoting early diagnosis of oesophageal cancer. It is a charity that my Dad has worked tirelessly for over the years, since his own oesophagus ruptured 14 years ago. You can read more about why I am running for them here and if you would like to sponsor me for this endeavour I would appreciate it hugely.
So, that’s it! One more tiny tapering run today and then it’s London, baby! Bring. It. On!
*********UPDATE*************************
I had the most amazing day running the London marathon! I absolutely loved it! I ran the first 16 miles with my good running club friend, Kelly and held a steady 9.30 min mile pace until 20 miles, when I started to tire. The absolute highlight was running over Tower Bridge, closely followed by the incredible support all the way along the route. I’ve never been quite so glad to see Big Ben right near the end and I was delighted to finish in 4 hours 20 mins and 36 seconds…a 40 minute PB from my first marathon in 2014!
I am also thrilled to have raised over £1,400 for Action Against Heartburn.
Thank you so much for your support and sponsorship, I appreciate it hugely.
Until next year…..maybe?!!
The HR Juggler 
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