I ran a marathon today!
I did it in four hours and thirty two minutes which I don’t think is too shoddy especially considering I had a baby ten months ago.
It was a complete mix of emotions that started the night before and exploded into a well of tears as I finally crossed the finish line complete with sunburn at half past two.
The night before was spent at a pasta party; please note whilst there was an abundance of pasta the party atmosphere never really kicked in! Still I ate till I felt nauseous putting as much fuel in the tank as possible. Then me and three girlfriends headed off to our ‘hotel room on a budget’ where after some reflexology to encourage bowels to empty before the start, many giggles and buckets of vaseline I finally bedded down on my top bunk.
The race itself was emotional; everywhere I looked I saw runners who were running for a lost loved one, a grandfather and granddaughter running duo, and Spiderman, Batman, Woody and three rhinos. I ran most of the way with my friend who lost her mother to cancer two years ago and just that experience proved to me the great lengths people will go to to raise money for a charity to try and make the world a better place.
I ran for a little boy who received a stem cell transplant from the Anthony Nolan trust two years ago. I ran for him before when he was poorly; it gave me great pride to run today for a healthy five year old boy whilst knowing I was collecting pennies to help other families have a success story to tell like Seth and his parents.
Whilst running the first sixteen miles I had huge empathy with fried eggs; the sun was unforgiving and bore down on us from the heavens. Great for the crowd, not so nice for us daft runners who had trained all through the winter to be rewarded with mild sun stroke on marathon day.
Seeing my kids and their impressive banner at miles 14 and 22 made me sob like a baby and gave me a nice boot in the backside to ensure I kept moving.
The last four miles became a battle with my inner walking demon. I longed to stop and hobble across embankment but continued to yell at myself unrelentlessly. When it got really hard I thought of Seth and the months he spent in hospital and it pushed me on, if a four year old can do that then surely I can run a little further. I must admit I also thought that should I stop to walk it would take even bloody longer to finish and I was fed up.
Big Ben signalled the start to the end and finally my sweaty blistered feet were bouncing on the mall. A sob threatened to overtake me as spectators on all sides screamed my name urging me forward.
800 yards felt longer than the previous 25.6 miles until suddenly I looked up to see the end within spitting distance. I raised my arms into a glory stance and sailed over the line where I promptly stopped and cried.
I did it; I did what I wasn’t sure I could ever do again.
I am a marathon runner.
I have also raised over two and a half thousand pounds for a charity I really believe in – www.anthonynolan.org
I am now completely knackered…
Congratulations! Must be an amazing feeling to have accomplished it! Well done!
Thanks Kylie, I feel fabulous now!
HUGE congrats Jane. Such a truly emotional post to read so I can only begin to imagine what it must have felt like x
Thanks heather, it was a great (if not painful) day!
Well done that is amazing 🙂 xx
thanks Michelle x x
Fantastic achievement, fantastic blog-post. You’re an awesome lady for doing this, as is every other person who stepped up today. Major respect. I hope you get some well earned rest now.
MJM.
Thank you very much, am in PJ’s laptop in hand and and wine en route!
Well done ,Jane. We are totally in awe of what you have done. I was in tears just thinking about you today and the commitment you have to the A. N. Trust. Hope you’re back at home now, celebrating your brilliant achievement with your lovely family.God bless you.
love Marie. X
Thanks Marie,
Just sent the husband out for wine and chocolates….. x
Well done, that’s brilliant, I have a tear in my eye reading this.
You are amazing!
x
Thanks Helen,
I do feel quite fab at the moment!
Well done you! Brilliant job.
You should be thoroughly proud of yourself.
On another note, my mother in law is called Marie Mills like the lady above. Does your Marie Mills live in Spain? xx
Fantastic! You beat my time by one minute. And I had my last baby 18 years ago so well done!
lol: thanks x
and sorry tina! well bloody done!!!!! x x x x
Great job! Baby, or no baby, that is a great time!!!! The last 4 miles are a death march
cheers
they are bloody hard!
Congratulations! What an inspiring post – makes me want to get off my lazy backside and start running for a good cause. Well done – such an amazing thing to participate in.
~M
do it do it!
Well done Jane, I have a huge amount of respect for you for achieving this, even more so for a third time, I can’t even manage to run down the road! Great blog post too :0) xx
awwww thanks x
LOL god I managed to hold in the tears all day seeing runners and their families all emotional and now I’ve read that you’ve just set me off! I’m so proud of all of you! Watching runners as they suffered and struggled on through was so inpsiring! I’m desperate to get back in the running saddle when this baby is born and who knows maybe it’ll be my post baby training to!
WELL DONE! Now sleep woman and don’t move maybe for the next 24 hours! I suspect it will hurt! 😉
thanks! but its easter hols! arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Well done hunnie. Your amazing x x
thanks emma x
Well done to you! That is so fantastic!!!
awww ta x
Congratulations ! you really deserve that wine and chocolate that is an amazing amount to raise ! I’m building up to a half next year and I’ve got one of those walking demons too but I’ll be thinking of you when I next hear it saying ‘just a little bit of a walk then you can get going again’ Thank you for sharing your experience and enjoy that wine !! x
cheers sarah! good luck for the half!
Oh that is such a wonderful post! Massive congratulations on everything you achieved both today and in the weeks leading up to it!
A brilliant addition to your CV, marathon runner!
thanks!!!!!! xxxxx
Brilliant! And you still had the energy to blog. What a woman. 🙂
a tired woman……. x
That’s amazing, well done. Especially 10 months after having a baby! x
thanks x x x x x
Wow, an amazing time.. congratulations. And what wonderfully supportive kids, I bet they felt so proud.
they loved it!
I woke up in the middle of the night and wondered how you were fairing all those miles away. Congratulations just don’t do justice to your achievement. Sounds to me like you rocked that marathon pushed on by love and compassion for Seth, his family and everyone else who has faced such life challenges. I’ve only ever done half marathon but those raw emotions come flooding back – well done, I feel so proud to have sponsored you. Take care and rest those feet!
its not the feet julie its my thighs!!!!!!
You are a great big bloody star! xx
thanks very bloody much
Congratulations on such a massive accomplishment!! Such a brilliant cause as well.
it really is thanks x
Yaaaaaaaay! Congratulations – this is such a maaahoosive achievement! Brought a tear to my eye I must say. So pleased for you 😀
cheers mrs x
Amazing Jane :o) so proud of you lovely, well done xxxxx
and now my legs hurt!!!
Congratulations you are amazing!! My friend also ran today for the first time in 4hrs 29mins. I know I don’t ‘know’ you but I am very proud nonetheless x x
thanks so much x x x x x
Jane
Truly inspirational – reading that I felt your pain and you are a brave lady – congratulations on raising so much money for such a worthy cause – you are awesome!!!
Lisa
xxx
Ah thanks Lisa, I am awesome with sore sore legs!
You are an inspiration! Having had a baby 4 months after you I couldn’t even think about running to catch a bus let alone 26.2 miles around London – I salute you x Well done x
thanks louise *sniff*
Wow, I want to be like you when I grow up 🙂
You did amazingly well and raised a staggering amount of money – that is way too cool.
I’m determined now to run a marathon in the next 5 years before I turn 40.
oooh do it! its a fabulous feeling x x
Well done Jane …. so much determination.. your an inspiration. Bill and I might do it next year!!!
that i would pay to see!!!!!!!
Congratulations. What a great post. Very inspiring. Waking up a “marathon runner” in me. 😉
oh good, I like to get more people running!
Hurrah and hurrah again! Fab post which has put a spring in my step. And a thought in my head for the Brighton marathon next year!
go for it! thanks for the comment
Wow, you are truly amazing! Huge well done!
You did it in a fantastic time too. Hope you’re not too sore today
Thanks Emma,
(have felt better!)
Fantastic! As a fellow northern mum with a souther child I now feel truly inspired to get back into training for the 10k in 4 weeks. Well done & what a huge amount to raise 🙂
Oh good luck, where are you running?
I’m in tears reading this, thank you from the bottom of my heart x
anytime! (well maybe not anytime….) give me notice x x x
Yaaay! Well done! I wish I had gone to watch but it was BB’s birthday party. What an achievement!
thanks very much! x
You are just amazing! But I’m never telling my husband you managed this – you’ve set the mummy bar way too high for lazy clumsy girls like me 😉
lol! thats funny x
You are truly inspirational. I’ve sobbed so much reading your blogs and Seth (thanks to the AN Trust) is doing incredibly well. Have a well earned rest now!! Lots of love, Sindy Dosanjh xx
Thanks sindy x
This is amazing! You captured it so well and of course I know the feeling. When I was at Big Ben I nearly lost it – so close and so much pain. Cried at the end, so happy and so relieved. I am so proud of everyone who ran. So, are you up for another one?
Despite chanting never again down the mall; it would appear I am!
Jane you are a superstar. So bloody amazed and inspired by your achievement. And you’ve just made me cry, thanks!
awww thanks heidi! x x x