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Just recently Rachel took part in the London marathon.  Always on the look out to learn new things we asked her to share about this experience as she ran for the charity, Guide Dogs for the Blind.

Rochford Life: Rachel, first of all, congratulations on completing the marathon just recently. Tell us about it.
Rachel:  Yes, it’s two weeks and a bit back now.

RL: How long is a marathon?25 miles?
Rachel:  26.1 miles and that .1 is a long way! It was good; I think we were well trained. I don’t think we could have done much more to prepare.  Going up on the train in the morning, the whole carriage is full of people sitting there quite quietly but with a few noisier people around either saying they had done it before and how hard it was, or even people who had only got up to ten miles in their training, but everything worked out really well. We got there in good time and obviously there are queues for the loos which is notorious but by the time we got there it was just about the right time. We saw the elite starters run. There were massive screens up in the field where we were waiting in Greenwich. There are three zones. We were in the red zone which I think was for novices, and there was a blue zone for I think celebrities,   and then there is the green zone for people who have run it before, I think. One of the zones had the fun runners in, those in costumes etc. We had to collect our numbers the day before. Other races we’ve done they are posted, but for this you have to go up to the Excel Centre at the O2 and collect your number showing your passport  to make sure it is you, and then there are stalls set up, with people selling equipment trainers and all that sort of thing, and all the charity stalls are there, so we saw the Guide Dog stand and they had a sensory tunnel to go through (to simulate blindness), completely blacked out so you are feeling your way with all different sensations and sounds and that was really good, getting you in the mood. There are also flyers for other marathons; I’ve put in for a ballot for next year, but I’ve never known anyone who got a ballot place, for of course this was a charity place this year        

RL: Can you not do another charity one next year?
Rachel: Oh yes, but that does add the pressure but you know you’re having to aim for a figure. Yes, Brian and I did raise just over £4000 this year, but it’s just another pressure isn’t it, remembering to send e-mails out to people reminding them to sponsor you   

RL: How did it go?
Rachel:  Well I think falling over about half way wasn’t good and having to catch up, but other than that I think everything went to plan.  

RL: Did you stop and walk for parts or did you just keep going?
Rachel: The only bit I tended to was while drinking,  and there one particular underpass, I think, I did. On the London marathon website you can access anyone’s times and photographs and you have a timing chip on your shoe so it is monitoring 5k, 10k etc. as you go other these mats and picks you up and lots of friends of ours were tracking where we were on the website, so they actually knew times etc. before we did. When people know where you are, seeing you on their phone, and go to that place and see you. When it got to 35K which is about 20 miles, mine really dropped  and it was at that point I think I was starting struggle a little and there was an underpass where I slowed. The weather prediction said it was supposed to be really wet and everybody was dressed in clothes for that weather, and I had a long sleeved top on, but it was really sunny and warm and so it was quite hot, and so it was nice being under this underpass because it was cool , and I made the most of that, and then got going again. My husband and I seem to have had very different races. As soon as we left the start we were separated and went our own ways. We weren’t exactly on our own because there were about 40,000 runners in all, I believe, and so I didn’t see him at all until the finish. (I finished ahead of him!).   

RL: What happens at the end?
Rachel:  Well when you get to the end they cut the chip off you show and you have your photo taken with your medal. In my case you look for the Guide Dog stand and they take you off and they actually must have hired a building nearby and there they provided us with sandwiches and a massage. They also had a family room where family could wait, with big screens up so you could the people finishing but Brian was quite a way behind and he said had a banana and a Mars bar given him by people offering food along the way. In all his pictures he was walking or waving and having a really nice time, absorbing the atmosphere, whereas I was more focused on just running and finishing.

RL: How do you pace yourself?
Rachel: The day before they have wrist bands that are pacer bands and I picked up the four to four and a half hour one that I was aiming for, and it breaks it down every mile, where you should be at what time. I knew I had to do ten minute miles. At the beginning I was doing 8 or 9 minute miles so at half way I was well ahead, but I think it was at that 35k (20 miles) that I slipped behind and at exactly 23 miles I looked at my watch and it was saying four hours. I was thinking, right, I’ve got 3 more miles and I was trying to work it out as I was running along, and eventually did it in another 34 minutes, which was 4 minutes more than I had wanted to be. If I could be certain that I could beat that time I would have another go.     

RL: What was it like with the crowds of runners?
Rachel: I found it quite frustrating because on our training runs we had been on our own and then suddenly you had people all around you and particularly towards the end they start stopping and walking because they are tired as well, and they stop right in front of you so you are constantly watching what other people are doing. It was so well organised and water was available every mile but then you have all the bottles on the floor; you’re supposed to throw them to the side but people were just dropping them and they drop them in front of you and your trip over you’re in trouble, so you’re watching the floor and you’re watching other people and there was a particular point going across Tower Bridge  which was just before half way and that was quite hard psychologically, because it is going up the slope but there are thousands of people and you think, but I could really do with walking this bit, but you can’t because there are so many people.   

RL: There must be a real struggle in the mind at times?
Rachel:  Oh yes, shortly after that that you notice that you are going one way and people are coming back the other and you realise that their mark there is about 20 miles, and you are at 13 and so you know you’ve got to go 7 miles there and back here and so it really is mind games stuff. When I eventually got back to the 20 miles mark, I had a conversation with myself, that I had to pull myself together and really focus, and you can see that my time really picks up again but 20 miles for me was really tough. As soon as you get half way you think every step is getting you there, closer all the time. Brian was in a completely different world to me and I said, all I can remember is the Cutty Sark, Tower Bridge, Big Ben and Buckingham Palace. I can’t remember anything else, whereas he can tell you where he went past where he works and everything.    

RL: How have you felt since?
Rachel: Well, the Monday back at work I felt fine but the Tuesday I felt horrendous and all the aches had come out, and my neck was really hurting probably from looking down all that time at the road. We had a week off running but have just started venturing out again but it seems very hard at the moment. I don’t know if we’re still recovering but we did a ten mile run and we really struggled and both got back and said, “How did we do that two weeks ago?”     

RL: Well congratulations anyway. It sounds like it was an amazing experience which, I suspect, most of us think is way beyond us. Thank you for sharing it.  



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