Specifics Event Reviews

Sunday 13 April 2008 dawned fine and sunny, perfect running weather, at a cool and invigorating 8 degrees. At 7am I joined the 17 other kiwi's boarding our coach to the start line at Blackheath for our 9.45am start.

The starting area was amazing with 38,000 people, several hot air balloons filling up the skyline and three large blimps high in the air indicating the red, blue and green start areas. Brian Hayes was in the red area and the rest of us Kiwis were in the blue, so after hugs and good wishes we went our separate ways. I wasn't to see Brian again for over 6 long hours! Our start area had a big screen so we could watch the start of the elite runners who started 3/4 of an hour before the rest of us and it was while I was watching the big screen that I heard this scream of "Sue, I thought I would find you", and blow me down in all the tens of thousands of people in the blue start area Beryl and I met up. She said that she was looking for the yellow WMC jacket, which she knew I would be wearing. So of course we had a good old natter about Paris, training, travel and setting the world to right. Before we knew it the starting gun had gone off and we were on our way. Beryl and I separated at about 4 miles (6km) and I didn't see her again, so I'm looking forward to catching up at clinic next week! - she was ahead of me!.

At 6 miles (about 9km) we were going through Greenwich and the skies opened up and it poured. The weather for the rest of the event alternated between heavy rain, sunshine, drizzle and a bit of hail. And it was COLD. But that's enough about the bad bits.

The London Marathon is basically a huge fund raising effort for the various charities in the UK, and it is just amazing to see all these people taking part in this event and many many of them are first time marathoners, who I'm sure had very little knowledge of what to expect. Many of them were running in only shorts with their singlets promoting their particular charity, so when the weather broke, they were absolutely frozen. One sight I will remember for a long time was this elderly gentleman walking in front of me (yes, I was walking at that stage as I was too cold to run) he was bent over with the cold, his arms and legs were like little pea sticks and his charity was to keep elderly people in their homes for longer. I do wonder what happened to him. There were several visually impaired runners, linked to their running buddies. A young man with titanium legs and walking sticks always got a huge response from the crowd, as did runners sporting singlets for family members who had died of cancer. Seeing these sort of things makes you forget about your discomfort, and because of the rain it hid a few tears.

Another aspect of the London Marathon are the fancy dresses. Honestly some of them are amazing and how people can run, or want to run in them, is beyond me. There was a camel (two guys, one in the back and one in the front) a Rhino, Orinico from the Wombles, Spiderman, Paddington Bear, a couple of guys dressed as Sylvester Stallone, Batman and Robin and they were 'driving' Del Boy's three wheeled car, and several Elvis's, and a man dresses as a robot. Just amazing. However, I think the most gross would have to go to the two men who were wearing Borat mankini's. Fortunately I only saw one of them and he was wearing a pair of white jockeys under his mankini - not a good look. Fortunately I never saw the full frontal for which I am eternally grateful! The other Borat didn't have the addition of jockeys but had printed "FREE TIBET"across his exposed butt!! This was a photo that was printed in the paper the next day.

You would have heard that 6 Masai warriers from Kenya came to London to do the marathon and raise money so their village could have fresh water. They were running in their national costumes and carrying their shield which weighed 12lbs. They were noticing the cold terribly and only 4 of them completed the course in 5h 24m. The other two became unwell and did not finish. Their shoes are made out of old car tyres. My 3 kids had just completed a 14 day safari to Kenya and had been to the Masai Village and had seen these warriors.

I have a New Zealand flag stitched on to each of the sleeves on my Marathon Clinic T shirt and it gives you such a boost when someone calls out "Go New Zealand", that happened a couple of times, the second time was coming along the Embankment only a mile from the finish and boy that call was SO appreciated as at that time you are really running/walking on empty. I was coming round past Buckingham Palace and heading into the last few hundred meters and this young man who was next to me said "We're nearly there love, congratulations", so I congratulated him and suggested that we do a sprint to the finish. He said that he would, if I would..so.. we planted our feet and did a geriatric trot to the finish!!!! 6:42.01

Once over the finish line you are ushered up the ramp to have your transponders removed. You are guided down the other side and a medal is placed round your neck and you are ushered over to have your photo taken, then you are handed your goodies bag, which is so heavy with loot that you need two hands to carry it. You are then headed in the right direction to pick up your gear bag, which has been transported from the start line by a convoy of large trucks. By the time you reach your bag pick - up someone has read your number and has your bag ready for you - how is that for organization. You then head down to the INTERNATIONAL REPATRIATION AREA - doesn't that sound grand - to meet up with family and friends. My three kids were there. Belinda, my daughter has been to London before and has seen me finish as this was my 3rd London, but my two boys Geoff and Mark haven't and I think they were quite proud of me as they couldn't stop grinning and taking photos of me - what a hoot!

We then walked back to the Hotel, about a 20 minute walk and this is the best thing to do after a marathon as it flushes out all the lactic acid and reduces stiffness. That night I had a lovely meal with my family and then hit the sack for a good nights sleep. I had breakfast with Brian and Leang the next morning, before they headed off to Ireland. I spend a couple of days in London with Mark and Belinda before they headed back to NZ and I stayed on for another week down in Brighton with my eldest son Geoff. Mary Lynch and her husband Bob, came down to Brighton the day before I left and it was great to spend time with them. Mary actually did 7 miles with me on the Marathon, which was a real boost. She popped out of the crowd just over half way, while I was going round the Isle of Dogs and Canary Wharf area - a really hard bit!

So, was this my last marathon - who knows? We'll see.

Review written by Sue Hamlett - age - an inspirational 65 ish

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