Virgin London Marathon 2014

Just over two years ago I never knew members of the general public could enter races, I thought they were just for club and charity runners..then I entered the Blymhill 10k my first ever race. At this stage I had never even watched 'The London' as people call it, with little more than a fleeting glance at the tv screen.  3 days ago at the 18 mile mark in VLM 2014 I told myself I would never run further than half marathon distance again and would not enter the London Marathon Ballot and here I am now looking forward to Tuesday the 22nd April when the ballot opens to see if I will be lucky enough to be chosen to run again in 2015. From writing my bucket list blog a while back and putting "Run the London Marathon" I never actually thought it would happen.. but it did and here is my story.

I was running London for Birmingham Children's Hospital, they have been taking care of my friends Claire and Ian's baby girl Trinity and I decided even if I raise £100 it all helps, I was under no obligation to meet a fundraising target as I had gained my place via the ballot. Training had not gone as well as I would have liked with shinsplints / a possible stress fracture playing a part in my lack of long runs. The furthest I had ran in training was 16 miles and that was 4 weeks before the big day. The three weeks leading up to the 13th April consisted of 4-5 runs no more than 2 miles each. I am pleased to say my fundraising went better than the training and I have currently raised £928.20!

It all started on the Saturday morning when my sister Katie and her partner (my bro) Simon picked me up for the journey to London. We had a charity photo shoot in the street and on the doorstep - probably much to the dismay of my neighbours as we were rather noisy at 7.30am! 

We were soon on our way for our journey to the Excel Centre where I had to have my acceptance form and ID checked over by an official scrutineer. I would then be given my race number which would also have a smaller number on it relating to the corral I would start in based on my predicted finish time. I can't remember what I put when I entered the ballot last April but I knew on the day I was aiming for a 5 hour or at least a pb of less than 5 hours 20 minutes. The final 12 days before the race I hadn't attempted to run at all so had no idea what would happen when I crossed the starting line. After parking the car and getting on the underground we arrived at the Excel Centre and it all started to become very real! Upon entering the hall that the expo was taking part in the first sight I came upon were the large red signs above the desks relating to running numbers. It was at this point I started to feel nervous and emotional.

Collecting my number 9355

After signing my declaration in front of the scrutineer I then had to go through a barrier and have my timing chip given to me that was scanned according to the race number bar code I was just given. I had signed up for the Boost London app for Facebook that would link with this timing chip and update my status with my time every time I crossed a timing mat to keep my followers and supporters up to date with my progress.

good luck Che message

We then entered a large Adidas clothing hall full of all the running kit you could possibly imagine. No point spending the pennies there though I knew what I was spending my money on and it was at the MarathonFoto stand where I purchased a medal and photo plaque. A very emotional time came when we came across a large white wall and polystyrene letters spelling BOOST and people giving out pens for supporters to write good luck messages. The wall was rather full but Katie and Simon managed to squeeze messages in for me and then a message for Trinity from me.

good luck sarah morris love Bro (si)

 A quick scout around the expo and I had made a last minute buy of some energy gels without caffeine, the only ones I had back at the hotel had caffeine in and they don't agree with me so thought it wise to play it safe. I went to the Garmin stand to complain about my watch and then we made our way back out and back to the hotel. Back at the hotel I decided to get everything ready so got my waist pack packed with tissues, my picture of Trinity and gels. I then had the pleasure of attaching my race number to my Sarah top that my mom had made for me in the hope people would shout my name in encouragement and give me a lift.

 We then ventured out to get some food and enjoyed a meal of pizza before I settled down for the night hoping to get a good nights sleep. It was the best sleep I've ever had before a race, even when sleeping at home. I didn't feel nervous..in fact I didn't feel anything which was quite strange. Waking up at 6am on race morning was a different matter! We were all sharing one hotel room and whilst Katie and Simon were getting ready shots of the starting line etc were on BBC1 on the tv and I was trying to stomach my porridge. It wasn't happening I managed 3 mouthfuls and forced a banana down. I felt agitated and very nervous. The fact that it's London kind of masked the fact I would be running 26.2miles. I hadn't ran that distance since Jan 2013 and knew from mile 15 onwards I hate it.. like seriously hate it but was hoping this wouldn't happen this time. I still didn't know if I would be limping from the off and run walking the whole way. We were ready to leave the hotel at 7am. It was a glorious morning blue skies no clouds I knew the temperature would get up to around 17degrees and had put suncream on my arms and neck ready. After a journey on the underground I was then on the platform with hundreds of other runners waiting for a train to Black heath, the start for the blue runners. Katie and Simon literally had to squeeze me in a carriage and hope for the best as there was no room people were getting squished trying to stand right by the doors. I knew there would be two other trains along shortly but as Simon later told me these were just as cramped. I was on my train and now on my own for the next how ever many hours. We had arranged to go by my 5 hour predicted finish time and Katie and Simon would be waiting in the family meet and greet area at Horse Guard Parade at 3pm. The cramped and hot train journey soon came to an end at Black heath and we all swarmed off the train, there was an air of excitement, nervousness and anticipation around. I followed everyone else and soon came upon a large field with the floating colored balloons to direct you to your relevant starting area.

blue float

Leading up from this was the barrier for the Blue starters and was a runners only area, I was glad we made the decision for me to travel here alone as it would have been a difficult and pointless journey for the others. I had to flash my number to get through the blue barrier then I was free to take it all in. This is the part you see from the helicopter cameras on the tv.. the birds eye view of the masses and masses of people. From where I was standing it was simply a field, lots of portaloos, a Buxton stand giving out water, some stages and large tv screens where we could see what was being broadcast on BBC1. It was pretty much like being at a festival.

I made my way to the toilet as there was no queue, then found a spot to sit down and check Facebook, emails and my fundraising page. I arrived in the field at 8.20ish and knew I had a wait for the start of the race at 10am so tried to stay as relaxed as possible. The time flew by as I was watching the big screens and music was playing the atmosphere was quite calm considering. Some people were sleeping on the grass others were doing some mad stretches and others just sat quiet like me in their own little world probably contemplating what the next 5 hours or so would bring. I didn't have the extra hassle of taking my kit bag to a designated lorry to be transported to the finish line as I had simply left my supplies or 'marathon survival pack' as I called it with Simon. At 9.15am I joined a now large queue for the toilet and saw on the big screen that runners should start making their way to the starting corals by 9.30am. I made the long walk to coral 9.. right at the back. I was fine with that but got in the front of coral 9 about 5 or 6 rows back. Here I started nervously chatting to other runners, there was a mixed bag, a man who was 78 who would qualify for another race if he came in at 5 hours. A few that were aiming for 4.30 hours and charity first time runners hoping for a finish. I still had a pb in my mind but the day was hotting up already and I knew I would adjust my plan accordingly. I had been told by previous runners that it can take up to 40 minutes to cross the starting line but just after 10am as I stood on my tiptoes I heard alot of cheering and saw jumpers and coats being tossed in the air. The runners in Corals 7 and 8 were on the move and stripping themselves of the warm overlayer that would be left behind and given to charity. I discarded my black long sleeve top and prepared for the jog, walk, halt, jog, walk, halt that led us to the starting line and I was off crossing the starting line at 10.14am!

This was the first year they had stands on the side of the starting line and people were clapping and cheering. It's funny looking back as I didn't think once at this point 'This is it I'm running the London Marathon'. The plan was to stick to 11.23 minute miles to get me to a 5 hour finish time but the excitement and flow of people around me led me to running the first 4 miles less than 11 minute miles! Though the excellent news was my leg / injury seemed to have totally cleared up giving me no pain at all. At mile 3 I felt I could go to the toilet and saw a sign reading Toilets ahead 200mtrs there were 4 toilets and no queue but I made what turned out to be a disastrous decision to skip these toilets and stop at the next ones if I still needed the toilet. Of course I would still need the toilet and probably more desperately that I did at that point! Around mile 3 the blue start and red starters merge together now following the same course and when this happened there were roars of Boooooo's from all the runners red and blue! This of course was just abit of fun but I did feel like I had settled in to my group and didn't really want anything to change. Just around mile 4 - 5 I did need the toilet and knew I couldn't keep going and saw the sign for toilets again 200mtrs ahead... Crikey the queue for the toilets were snaking their way through the stream of runners! I joined the back of what seemed the shortest line and had no choice but to stand and wait, and watch the time ticking by on my watch, and wait and wait, Mile 5 according to my garmin was a 20:41 minute mile! I took advantage of standing still and started my music up on my phone and also had my first energy gel. It was ok I told myself just keep going keep moving forwards try to gain some ground back you could still get a pb. Just as I rejoined the mass of runners still yanking my trousers up would you believe who overtook me? The Runners World pacer with the flag on his back of 4:58! Yesssssss I wooped woooped silently to myself how good was that timing to come out the toilet to find him!? Well actually there were 4 of them running at 4:58 target time and there were runners literally glued to their sides. I knew they may have started before or after me so there would be a difference from when we crossed the starting line but I figured if I stuck with these pacers with their magic flags sticking out their backs they would lead me home with a pb or even my desired finish time.  The thought kept crossing my mind how amazing would it be to have a marathon time beginning with a 4!! I had my music playing for all of twenty minutes or so, I had it low enough that I could still hear the crowd and sometimes the live bands and music being played out on the streets but I found it an annoyance more than anything and soon turned it back off. I stuck with the pacers and just around the 6 mile marker came along side the Cutty Sark and what a sight it was, beautiful I found myself just staring up at it as I ran around it, the crowds here were thunderous in their cheering.

I was moving from side to side along the road slapping peoples hands, high fiving children desperate for runners to touch them, beaming up at their parents when a runner would venture over and give them a clap! It was around this point I was offered some jelly babies and took one but within a few minutes of swallowing it I found myself bringing bile up into my mouth, not nice at all and this was the start of my downfall. Every couple of minutes this bile would rise up and I was fighting to keep it down.. was it the jelly baby or was it the energy gel, I decided it was jelly baby which was strange as all my training had been done with gels and jelly babies. The heat was rising now and there was no doubt in my mind it would be in the twenty's on the temperature scale. I kept with the pacers until mile 10 then started flagging down to 11:46 minute miles. I was being careful with my hydration as I didn't want to drink too much as this can be dangerous but I was wary of not drinking enough with the time coming up to midday I knew I'd be running still until at least 3pm through the hottest times, there were water stations every mile so I made the effort to take a bottle from each station take 3-4 sips then discard the bottle and collect another one at the next mile and so on, that way I would keep drinking small amounts but regular rather than carrying a bottle and glugging it constantly. By mile 12 I was seriously hurting as I hadn't ran more than 2 miles at a time the month leading up to the event my legs and glutes were screaming at me to walk, and walk I very nearly did until I remembered Tower Bridge is just before half way! All the BBC1 cameras are at that point with runners being interviewed! I don't think I could live it down walking over Tower Bridge. As I came up to the bridge the noise was deafening, this was another amazing moment but still the thought had never entered my head that I was running the London Marathon or that Mo Farah and Kipsang had ran across this same bit of road only an hour or so before me! I was pleased that I had ran the whole first half of the course

after not knowing if I could even run a mile let alone 13 miles I was pleased with my efforts so far but slightly disappointed I couldn't maintain the 11.23 min miles I needed for a 5 hour finish. It was mile 14 when I did the thing I really didn't want to do the most and that was walk! I just stopped running and walked... it felt bad yet so good and this was the start of the 12 and 13 minute miles. My half marathon time was 2 hours 40 mins around 10 -12 minutes over the time I wanted and needed for the full marathon race time and I knew the second half would be done alot slower than the first so I made the decision to walk when it felt bad and run when it felt good. There were people run/walking from the starting line so I was not alone when plodding along. Around this point I got overtook by a Minion. I had a quick glance around for a camera man and was pleased this moment in my life hadn't been caught on camera! At mile 16 I stopped and took my picture of Trinity out my pocket to look at and remember why I was doing this... did I at any point feel like I wanted to drop out.. honestly, yes I did I was hot, hurting and tired the crowd were that overwhelming that I half wished there would be a stretch where there was no support, as crazy as that sounds I realised I had a splitting headache maybe from the sun maybe from the constant cheering, screaming, banging, clapping and music and air horns right by your ear. This was to continue non stop for nearly 6 hours. The only way I can describe it at my lowest point was having to run on a treadmill for 6 hours in a greenhouse in 22degree heat with a boom box right by your ear. By this time the Runners World pacer of run/walk had overtaken me, he was followed by Big Bird from Sesame Street, an old man dressed like Superman and the man carrying a 42kilo fridge on his back! I decided to call my sister, they had a guide that would tell them were I would be for a 5 hour marathon pace and what time I should finish, I didn't want them to worry when I wasn't where I should be at a certain time so called to explain I was falling behind target and had readjusted my finish time to 5 hours 20/30 minutes. I was soon back on track and run walking, a lot of people by this time were walking. I remember reading in books and hearing from people that you see Big Ben before you actually get to run around by him and this can mislead you into thinking you are further along the course than you actually are. I didn't remember getting a glance of him which started off the doubts and calculations in my head. From Mile 18 onwards I knew my Garmin was out of sync with the course as I crossed the 18 mile banner with my watch reading out 18.65 miles, a bit frustrating that I was over half a mile out. I was walking a lot at this point from the vague memories I have from mile 18 as most of it is a blur I probably walked 2 miles non stop and was now glugging water back at water stations and holding onto the bottles a lot longer than before. The miles seemed to merge together and this may not be in the right order but I passed a lady giving out oranges and missed them, bringing back memories of Torremolinos I so desperately wanted a bloody orange! But not to worry a bit further down the road a lady was giving out bananas, I grabbed half of one and stopped and thanked her. London is amazing as people you don't know stand there and hand out food and tell you how great you are doing. The Banana gave me a boost then a lady gave me a star burst. I was a bit wary of it at first as was still struggling with the sickness feeling from the jelly baby. I had thrown away my gels as they were also not helping with the bile. I ate my star burst, it was a taste sensation! I phoned Simon and told him very specifically I had 6 miles to go and I need him to listen to me very carefully... he was to bring to the finish line a packet of star burst, failing that a Big Mac. I couldn't help but laugh to myself that the only thing on my mind at this point was food, actual food. I wonder what Mo Fara was thinking of at mile 20? Safe in the knowledge that bro wouldn't let me down I carried on with my walking and the odd bit of running. The crowd were fantastic and people were catching my eye and screaming "Come on Sarah you can do this. You are brilliant. You look amazing. Keep running" Wow these people don't have a clue who I am, they will never see me ever again but in those few seconds all that was on their mind was helping me to the finish line. Around mile 25 and again I'm being vague as it's a blur, I started talking a lady who was doing her first marathon. She said she wouldn't do another one. At  this point I asked the question "Have you seen Big Ben yet? I'm sure we should have seen it by now" I don't think she knew much about what was to be expected on the course so just gave me a strange look then as we round a corner there he was towering above me. Epic. I knew then I was near the finish I also knew my time was not
I had hoped for at all I was well over 5 hours 40 minutes now. But I was nearly done, Buckingham Palace was in sight I could see the statue out the front, all I had to do was turn right and I was there! I could see the signs saying 385 yards to go, I was overwhelmed at this point, this was the only time in the whole 5 hours and 53 minutes it took me to run the London Marathon that I actually realised what I had just done. I crossed the finish line and had my medal hung around my neck, I broke down crying I was shaking and moved to the side against a fence where a marshall found me and asked if I was ok. I replied through tears I couldn't believe I had done it and when he asked me why I was crying I pulled my picture of Trinity out of my pocket and said " Because I ran for this little girl" He then helped me to keep moving where I then called my sister to tell her I had finished and would be with them very soon, though the words wouldn't come out through the tears and Katie couldn't understand what I was saying.  I then had my finisher photo taken with tears in my eyes Trinitys picture and my medal in each hand.

Trinity and my medal

Me and Katie at the finish

The walk to the family meet and greet area was amusing as everyone was walking like John Wayne! I soon found Katie and Simon and low and behold Simon had got me a packet of Star burst! Yummy. That was it, I had ran the London Marathon, to this day it still doesn't seem real, I stayed up until 1am Sunday after being driven home by Simon who I must say a big thank you to for doing all the driving and looking after me and Katie whilst away. I watched the coverage on tv and was hoping I would have been filmed! And at 107 minutes I somehow found the strength to leap up of the sofa and run up to the tv screen to see myself running in with the crowd I estimate around 1-2 miles in.  I said to myself at mile 17 onwards and even back at home that night watching it back that I don't think I will enter a marathon again even London but the following morning when the proffesional photos were released of me running with Buckingham Palace in the background and I held me medal around my neck I realised of course I will enter it again and fingers and toes crossed I get to run again in 2015!  Finally a few thank yous, thank you to Claire, Ian, Kendra and Trinity for your support and all the staff at Links Lockers who have sponsored me, thank you to all my family, my mom, dad, sister, nan, aunts and uncles who have supported and sponsored me. Thanks to my bro Simon for sponsoring me and getting me there and back without you I may not have even made it to London! And thank you to each and everyone who sponsored me and helped me raise over £900 for Birmingham Children's Hospital.