Unfortunately for me, I picked up a cold which started as a sore throat on Tuesday and from Wednesday onwards I was basically all stuffed up with a head cold. I stayed really positive about it and didn't let it get to me as I was confident it would go away and even if it didn't at least it wasn't in my chest. My resting heart rate seemed to remain low too which was another good sign.
My plan on the day was to use the first couple of miles to ease into things and then latch on to the 2:14 pace group. Being on the championship start meant the elites had about a 10 metre head start (turns out it was 4-5 seconds on chip time) so I had a tiny bit extra to make up, however, I saw that as a good test of will power to stick to my plan and not hare off just to make up the gap. It felt rather strange at the start as I was about to run one of the biggest races of my life and there I am holding toilet paper to blow my nose with. Luckily I wasn't breaking one of the key race rules of "don't do anything new on race day" as I'd actually had plenty of racing practise about 18 months earlier when I ran a 65 half in a much worse state and then a 2:18 marathon a week later feeling slightly better, tissues in hand. Those experiences also helped ease any concerns about being less than 100%.
A few minutes before the start I did my best Hulkamania impression and ripped of my plastic poncho. I was ready! The countdown was on courtesy of the man in space himself, Tim Peake. It would have been awesome if they had Major Tom to do the countdown but there were no Bowie tributes unfortunately. So the Brighton marathon weekend takes the bonus points here for their "Heroes" usage. Anyway, I digress, lift off!
I managed to keep controlled and just ran at a comfortable pace, through the first mile in around 5:12. Perfect I thought, even if a little surprised it wasn't quicker without any further effort. The 2:14 group was just ahead and the gap wasn't growing too much but I was surprised to see I went through mile 2 with 10:35 on the clock with the 2:14 group about 10s ahead here. I'm pretty sure the 2 mile marker was late as I surely hadn't just run a 5:23 mile this early in the race (my garmin had it as 5:12 so at least I was being consistent). I knew the downhill of the 3rd mile was just around the corner and all I really cared about was getting on that group ahead. The downhill was perfect for closing the gap as I just relaxed into it with a slight effort increase and by the bottom of the hill I was attached with a 4:57 mile. We went through 5km with 15:55 on the clock which was nearly bang on 2:14 pace. I had a quick chat with my mate and fellow 2:16 marathoner Andrew Davies and said I wanted to hang on to the 2:14 group for as long as possible. It wasn't long before Andrew dropped off the group and it was no surprise as the pace seemed to roll on from the downhill momentum (well, picked up really) and the next couple of miles were a tad fast with a 5:02 and 4:59, going through 5 miles in about 25:30. Things just didn’t feel right at this pace so this is where I dropped off the group as I was trying to maintain my effort levels without overcooking things and experience told me to be careful!
It was a tough call to make as I knew the shelter the group provided would make getting to halfway that much easier but I also knew how the wheels can fall off when you overreach. Running solo, I just concentrated on maintaining my effort which was easy enough to do but my pace suffered due to the head wind. By 15km I'd dropped behind 2:15 schedule but at least I had a small shower of freezing hail/sleet to divert my attention! At 11 miles I finally caught an Irish guy who had dropped off the 2:14 group and it felt so much better to be running with someone again, maybe because I then slowed to his pace as I was trying to conserve a bit of energy now. As we slowed slightly this allowed Andrew Davies to pull up alongside. In relation to our earlier chat about me wanting to stay with the 2:14 group for as long as possible I quickly said something along the lines of "well that didn't fckin work"! We quickly set to work together and almost instantly dropped the Irish guy. It was quite cool going over Tower Bridge with just the 2 of us together to soak up the atmosphere. It was a far cry from 12 months earlier when I slung my way across the bridge dressed as Spiderman. That was one insane crossing of Tower Bridge dressed as Spidey, playing up to the crowd and web slinging all over the show. I was far more constrained this year, opting to save every bit of energy for what lay ahead.
We went through halfway in 68:30 which was almost exactly pb pace for both of us and whilst well off the pace I wanted, I was confident I could conjure up a decent 2nd half and negative split. We hit 14 miles and I was now in very familiar territory. I had been running the 14-21 mile section regularly in the couple of weeks leading up to the race as in the past I had found it be my Achilles heel of the course. This time around I knew every turn and gradient change and exactly where the mile markers were placed thanks to the white paint markings that appeared in the last week. This really helped me focus on the course mile by mile and we seemed to get around this section really well, only a small blip here and there with how I was feeling. One of my favourite parts here was crossing the bridge on Narrow Street which is the boat entrance to Limehouse Basin. This was completely free from spectators and the silence this created was most welcome after being constantly bombarded by shouts and cheers. Don’t get me wrong, I love the crowds at London but I felt like I really needed a sensory break to gather my thoughts! Another memorable moment was cruising past the legendary big mzungu, Craig Mottram, just before 17 miles. He seemed to be struggling after setting off at a pace that would have qualified him for a record 5th Olympics for Australia. Being a 5000m specialist in his day and not really built to run marathons meant it was always going to be a tough day but he at least toughed it out to finish in 2:28.
Just after mile 19 miles there was a little dog leg which is there to make up some distance lost due to a slight course change caused by the never ending construction around Canary wharf. This was the first time I'd been able to get a glimpse behind and I was surprised to see a few familiar faces so close, mainly as I’d refused to look back! I remember seeing Aaron Scott, Kojo Kyereme, and Tom Payn, maybe only 20 seconds back, and they were moving nicely. I hadn't been too focused on splits so it wasn't until 20 miles that I was able to work out where we were at. We were just outside 1:45 which meant a sub 32 10km was needed just to break 2:17 and even have a sniff of a pb. I wasn't too worried about this as I was feeling good and running well and I just wanted to get to the finish as quickly as possible and post a respectable time. I passed my coach Nick who was screaming that the guys up ahead were all dying but I was already dead set on going for every second and every position I could but it was good to know there were some targets coming up. We passed a few guys in the next couple of miles before turning back onto the Highway and in to the final stretch to the finish.
Andrew and I were still running well together as we ticked off the miles and we were getting close to the magic “one parkrun to go” point, just after 23 miles. I had planned to just go for broke from this point but there was enough of a headwind to deter me and it felt like it was just a little too early. Another km went past and we exited the Blackfriars tunnel darkness to appear along the embankment. At 24 miles I decided to go for it and put in a bit more effort and Andrew dropped off so I was now solo. It was a great feeling to be running strongly down the Embankment as there have been many times when I’m in damage control by this point. I was looking out for the 40km time as I knew that if running well it is possible to run the last 2.195km in around 7 minutes dead, so I’d get a good idea of my finish time. I was hoping to be under 2:10 as that would give me an outside chance of a pb or at least sub 2:17 but it ended up being 2:10:25ish on the clock. Never mind, every second still counts and 7 minutes of running is nothing! The crowds were out in force now and it’s a special feeling to be running past loads of people under the watchful eye of Big Ben as you make that last final push toward The Mall.
I was at the point where I couldn’t really push any harder but I could see a runner ahead of me with a number on his back which meant he was off the Championship start. Normally this doesn’t mean much but in recent years London Marathon have split the results for Elite and Masses so anyone running under 2:20 off the “Mass” start appears right at the top of the results and it can look like you’ve “won” the London marathon! Unfortunately he was just too far ahead of me and I couldn’t close the gap enough but a final sprint down The Mall saw me finish in 2:17:26, 6 seconds behind him and enough to take 2nd off the mass start. Andrew, who I’d run with from 12-24 miles, came in about 20 seconds later. We were both agonisingly close to our pbs, I was only 37 seconds short of mine and Andrew was around 50 seconds short of his. We had a celebratory man hug and I think we were both breathing a sigh of relief that we had each other there on the day. It could have made for a long lonely day otherwise!
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| Official Splits |
Although I was well off my target time (well, 2.5% to be exact!), I was actually really happy with my run considering the way things panned out. In my buildup I’d been working on my psychological game with my mate Stu, who works for Chimp Management under Dr Steve Peters, and I felt I’d executed the mental side of things very well. Or to put in into Chimp speak, I’d managed my Chimp. I’d had to deal with getting a cold and running with it and also the mid flight decision to let my dream slip away without giving in later in the race. At the end of the day, I felt I’d run the best possible race for me on the day. What more can you really ask for I guess?! On the physical side, it was my fastest London time by 3.5 minutes, it was the first time I’d run under 2:20 at London, and it was also my 2nd quickest marathon ever. All this and I was freakin sick! Whether that was worth 0.5%, 1%, 2.5%, or even 3% is kind of irrelevant as I’ll never know. However, it does give me some really good confidence going in to the next marathon as deep down I know I was worth a bit more on the day.
Another good thing to come out of the day was that I did actually run an Olympic marathon qualifying time (sub 2:19). The GB places were decided on the day but as I have dual nationality it is still possible for me to run for New Zealand.
