Sunday 27th April

This was the big day, the reason we were in the UK—the London Marathon. G is trying to do the Abbot’s Big 6 (or 7 now) and this is his third. There was a bit of stress in the morning as the group we were travelling had organised a bus but it didn’t turn up. by the time it arrived the roads were being closed so they got dropped at Charing Cross and caught the underground to Greenwich.

I on the other hand had a leisurely breakfast before hopping on the train to Greenwich. By the time I arrived it was a bit of a madhouse but I managed to find a space on the rail at about the 7 mile mark. I had mapped out a plan to see G at four spots on the course so as soon as he passed I started squeezing back through the scrum of people to get back to Greenwich station.

I got off the train at South Quay and found a spot right on the rails close to mile 16. G’s pace was not holding up and all the runners looked very hot. A runner fell in front of me. At first I thought he had slipped on an empty gel packet but when we leaned over and helped him up I realised he was not in a good way and he only managed a few more steps before collapsing. The medics came and managed to get him up and off the road for treatment. I hoped that G would be sensible and just make sure he finished. I didn’t want him collapsing on the course. Soon I spotted him, and he was in fairly good spirits but had given up on a PB.

My next stop was just a cut through to around the 18 mile spot. By this time G’s speed was really bleeding off, with some walking breaks sprinkled in, so it was getting harder to figure out when he would be passing. I saw him again, then it was back to the station to catch the train again,this time to somewhere within walking distance of the finish line. Getting on a train was the hard part, I just managed to squeeze myself into the second train that came through, but I had no internet to plan my ride so I rode it to Tower Hill and then walked along the route until I saw a spot on the rail nearBlackfriars bridge. There was a fun couple there with their little dog offering dog hugs for a pick me up if the runners wanted one. I saw one guy take up the offer. This spot was a long wait for me as G was walking by this time. I amused myself by yelling out encouragement to people who had names on their T-shirts and getting photographs of some of the runners in costumes. It was a hot day and they would have been hotter in their getup.

Once I saw G go past I started walking towards our meetup point on the steps of St Martin in the Field. We’d picked that spot the day before because it was between the finish and our hotel and there were steps to sit on while waiting. I didn’t have to wait too long for G to turn up. He was a bit flat but I insisted her get the obligatory holding the medal up shot which he did to humour me, I think.

We walked slowly back to the hotel with a stop at The Shake Shack (G’s choice). This was a mistake for me, I felt awful afterwards. once back at the hotel G laid down for a well earned nap while I went to a laundromat to do the washing. I did manage to squeeze in a little nap before post-marathon drinks with the rest of the travel group at 7pm. We left that early for our dinner at Hawksmoor Seven Dials. G always wants a steak dinner after the marathon and this was a good one.

Do you like cheering on your loved ones when they are competing? Have you ever spectated at a big marathon? If you were going to run as a novelty character what would you pick? I think I would pick something like a wonder women or similar because I’d be less likely to overheat … but it would have to be a Wonder Woman in bike shorts because I’m too old to be wearing bloomers.