Like many people, I’ve wanted to run the London Marathon for a LONG time. I had a number in 2007 and didn’t go because I was too busy. Little did I know that it would become one of the hardest numbers to get! I also got a number through the Abbott World Marathon Majors Age Group Championship in 2021, but we didn’t go, because of COVID requirements. Last year 578,374 people applied to the lottery which was the most ever ballot entries for a marathon event – a Guinness World Record!
I applied to several UK charities and got on the waiting list with a bunch of tour operators. I wound up signing up with Runbuk, a tour operator and started training. I was feeling a bit blah about my running, but training for the London Marathon helped me to be excited about it.
This was my first international marathon since Vancouver in 1997. It was also my first solo trip to Europe ever, as The Husband, my brother and the friends I asked could not make it. I did know a lot of people running it and have some friends in London, so I wasn’t too worried about making the trip alone. I actually had a blast!
I didn’t have the best run. In fact, it was nearly my slowest that wasn’t pacing someone else. That said, I had a great experience and am smiling in at least 50 of the photos that were snapped of me. The crowd was epic. I dare say it was even louder and more boisterous than NYC. It’s a total party atmosphere and it was so cool running past amazing landmarks. I got my 4th of 6th World Marathon Majors run done and my face hurt from smiling, so I’m calling this a WIN.
Pre-Race
I flew into London on Thursday morning after an overnight flight. It was really easy to get to my hotel via the Tube. I dropped off my bags, got some lunch and headed to the Expo. It was a really cool expo with tons of vendors and things to check out. I tried on some sneakers and chatted with a ton of people.
I headed back to the hotel and then to Hyde Park for a run. I did a fun 4 mile run, caught up on emails, grabbed some food and tried to stay awake until 9 PM.
I woke up and met my friend Nikki for a run and breakfast. Nikki is from Portland and is currently living in Australia with her family. She was on her way to Italy and I was so excited for this coincidental catch up! We had a great time catching up and then I moved hotels from South Kensington to South Bank. If you ever have the chance, stay at 100 Queens Gate Hotel (it’s a Curio by Hilton.) It was FAB!
Brandy and Chris invited me to join them at the Tower of London in the afternoon. Since we missed that last time we were in London, I did that and it was a lot of fun. In the evening, I had another lucky meet up with my friend Kim and her daughter Samantha. Kim and I worked together in 1995 and think the last time we saw each other in person may have been over 10 years ago. I saw that they were in London and lucked out that they were free for dinner Friday night.
Saturday morning, I joined the Arc’teryx UK shakeout run. I met Haroon, a London Arc’teryx ambassador in Chicago two years ago. We ran together in Boston last year, too. This year, fellow Chicago ambassador Justin, his wife Erika and I joined Haroon and many people from Muslim Runners for a 5K shake out run. This was Haroon’s 10th London Marathon so he took us to the finish area to get the excitement up! Afterwards, Justin, Erika and I grabbed coffee and toured around Covent Garden.
Afterwards, I had a leisurely stroll around and checked out the Leake Graffiti Tunnel and Lower Marsh neighborhood. There was a classic car meet up so I took pictures for The Husband to let him know I was thinking of him! I spent some time getting my race kit ready to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything, too.
In the evening a large group from Chicago met up at Mercato Mayfair for pasta and pizza. It was a fun, low key meet up and we all headed home early to get ready for the race.
Race Day
The start waves begin at 10 in London and my start corral was at 10:32 – 10:36. It was about 35 minutes on the train to get to the start. I left early as I had won a raffle for the start line hospitality tent. I met some folks from my tour group and took the trip with them. One of the women, Susan, was in my start corral and runs a similar pace to me so we exchanged info and decided to meet up to start together.
Like NYC, you have to walk a ton to get to the right place. I found hospitality and wound up sitting near a bunch of people who work for the London Marathon, so I got some tips! I saw Haroon again before setting out to my corral.
The Red start line area was jammed so I headed toward my corral and bumped into Susan. We headed into the corral and chatted with the folks around us.
Before we knew it, we were off. We started just in front of the 3:55 pacer and tried not to start too fast. The beginning is downhill and there’s a lot of excitement. Susan saw a free porta potty about a mile in so she stopped and I kept on. I marveled at all of the people in costumes, carrying portable refrigerators and even two guys doing a three legged race. They were all going for Guinness World Records!
The first 10K went by fast and I felt good (and didn’t feel like I was pushing too hard.) The area around the famous Cutty Sark ship was PACKED with fans. The crowd was electric. It was AMAZING!
Keeping it real, there were a lot of bottlenecks on the course and it was tough to keep the pace. I got caught behind slower runners and wasted a lot of energy trying to get back to pace. I tried to stay positive and relax.
I absolutely LOVED running over the Tower Bridge. I can honestly say this was the first part of any marathon I’ve run that I wanted to go back and run again. It was so cool.
After the bridge we hit halfway and I made a pit stop. Unfortunately, there was no toilet paper in two open porta potties and I needed some! No one in line had anything to offer to I got back on the course. I made it another mile or so and Susan caught me. Right afterwards, I jumped out for a quick pit stop.
When I started again, I was passed by the 4:00 pace group. I passed them but they overtook me and I kept getting caught up in the crowds. I had trouble pushing to keep up and realized that it might not be the sub-4 day I was looking for. A few different 4:00 pace groups (from different corrals passed) and I tried not to be discouraged. I stopped looking at the time and tried to stay positive and enjoy the crowds.
From mile 21 through the finish, I tried to run the mile I was in. Chicago photographer Ramsey was with the Run Dem Crew at mile 21 and he caught me. Check out this amazing reel from that spot. I’m in it if you look hard!
I heard a shout out from someone who knew me and caught a glimpse of Tiffany who I ran with in Chicago many years ago. She stayed out cheering for quite a while after her husband passed! Then, the all star spectator award goes to James who flew in from Dublin on his way to Montreal to cheer for me and a few other friends.
The crowd was amazing in the last three miles. Seeing the London Eye and Westminster Abbey, I knew I would make it!.
As I rounded the last turn, I passed Haroon. I had trouble with my watch so I was trying to kick in the last bit so it wasn’t a personal worst. I made it across the line and got my well deserved medal. I really had to push to get this one.
I turned my phone on and got lots of messages. I nervously asked Stacy for my finish time. It was 4:12.04. Not what I was hoping for, but I’m proud that I kept pushing. I completed my 63rd marathon and 4th World Marathon Major race.
It was a long walk back to the hotel, but I got an iconic medal shot on the Westminster Bridge.
I took my medal out for a run to Arc’teryx Covent Garden on Monday for yoga. I got this iconic #medalmonday shot. I spent Monday touring around and visiting with friends for dinner.
As always, a million thanks to all who cheered, texted, DM’d and commented on Instagram, Facebooked, called and supported me. I’m so grateful and humbled by all of the love and support. Congrats to friends, old and new, who completed the London Marathon! Congrats to Justin who ran a huge PR and his first Boston Qualifier!
I’m writing this on the way home, but this was a long weekend that I’ll never forget!