After many, many hours and many, many miles of training (and many inches of support tape!)
it all paid off at the weekend and I know a fully fledged marathon runner! Probably one of the most amazing days I will experience that is certain, a totally amazing day well worth all the pain and sacrifice! Since this is a photography blog, here is a token "still life" kind of arrangement:
.. you will have to excuse me while I exploit my blog to try and get some marathon advice out that I didn't find in advance and may be useful ... some may seem obvious, but it's nice to know for sure.. all information below relates to my experience starting from the mass start (red) in Greenwich Park in 2015.
1. If you have foot problems in training, look up how to use KT/Rock tape. This stuff is how I made the finish line and it honestly got me through mild plantar fasciitis and metatarsalgia/bunion pain despite having expensive, professionally fitted trainers.
2. The expo at the Excel centre is going to properly get you going, with lots of other excited people, videos of famous runners and the odd theme tune or chariots of fire blasting out. Try and channel it into excitement and don't make yourself even more nervous!
3. On race day: Free water is available in the waiting area.
4. There are quite a few trees at the start area, handy for stretching and sheltering from Sun/rain. There are also a few marquee tents to get out of the cold and plenty of loos.
5. Don't dispose of your old fleece until you are near the start line (took mine off when I entered the course)
6. If you're starting from the rear areas (sections 7-8-9) it took ~30 minutes from the start at 10:10am until I crossed the line. You walk/shuffle the whole way, while waving at the TV camera ahead.
7. There are toilets right by the start line, if the extra 30 minutes wait caught your bladder out, don't panic!
8. Don't bother taking jelly babies, plenty of people offering them along the course - most either wearing gloves or from a bowl if you are worried about cleanliness. Quite a few are children too and will likely give you a very motivating "good luck" to go with your sugar boost!
9. The crowd are awesome. It is really true and will help massively, just try not to get too emotional!
10. It's hard to keep energy levels consistent over the whole race, don't get too down when you start to struggle, you will get your 2nd wind! (and 3rd & 4th)
11. Carry minimal kit with you. Besides jelly babies, the water stations are frequent and well stocked, quite a few physio & St Johns stations (call a marshal if you or someone near has an issue), they hand out Vaseline and will help with blisters or tight muscles etc. I just carried my usual gels (Gu) - I did however like the Lucozade gels & sport drink and would train with them to make it easier (I only found out about Lucozade gels & stops when the map is announced - too late to change training or nutrition plans).
12. Listening to music - I found music massively motivating during training, so took my phone and headphones on the marathon, however apart from the odd mile where spectators can't get to (tunnels, road works etc) you will struggle to hear it! I doubt there was barely a single kilometre without music, a party, a band, cheerleaders, charity supporters or groups of children cheering, which personally did motivate me much more than my music.
13. I did however find my headphones very handy for listening to my pace (with a running app), to slow myself down at the start and keep myself pushing at the end. I just used one headphone in and cupped my hand over it so I could actually hear what it was saying!!
14. The finish line is a crazy place. Lots of crying, official photographers, joy and relief. Your legs will stiffen up if you sit down, no matter how much stretching you do. Walking like a robot and going down stairs like your knees don't bend is a badge of honour that will only (mostly) get you respect from those rushing past you.
15. Driving afterwards was ok for me, my legs were just glad that my arse was taking the load for a while! 90 minutes through busy London traffic and then 60 minutes on the M4 wasn't too bad .. although I was glad to get home!
16. If you end up slogging out a 6+ hour finish time (for whatever reason), just forgive the odd person who asks how long you took and sounds a bit disappointed when you tell them your time, they don't know that it really doesn't matter. During my training I was aiming for a sub 5 hour time, but ended up with 6 due to injury interrupting my training. There is a reason the marathon doesn't have a clock at the end of the course - every single person on that start line or lining the course cheering is amazing and that's what it's all about.
