Wow, what a day. If you are thinking of doing the London Marathon at some point in your life then I will say DEFINITELY DO IT!

Words cannot describe the atmosphere, with people cheering you on from start to finish.

This is such a fantastic experience from start to finish…from the first easy four-mile run 16 weeks before the day of the race, through the challenges set before you during the training, the day itself and of course the well earned champagne celebration afterwards!

I felt strong, fit and ready on the morning of the marathon and so I should, I had done all my preparation over the previous four months. The weather was a lot warmer than forecast, but I didn’t change my race plan. I got into the queue for the toilets and sipped at water until the start.

As it was so warm I decided that I would carry the water until I finished the bottle, as I knew the first water station didn’t appear until about mile three and I was afraid of dehydrating early on. I threw the empty bottle but kept the top. I have read several times that a good tip to keep the upper body relaxed when running long distances is to imagine you are holding a crisp between your thumb and forefinger…I lightly held the bottle top this way and it worked! At the first water stop I picked up a fresh bottle of water, had a few sips and put the top back on, (the bottles of water are handed out topless….. that’s the water bottle not the people handing them out). I could carry the water with me again and sip when necessary. I repeated this routine for the entire race. However I did have to stop to use the toilets at mile eight!

The crowds were there from the start, children dressed up outside their school playing music and cheering, but my favourite at this point was the priest outside his church sprinkling us with holy water as we ran by! There are three different start lines for the London Marathon. I was in Red, the ‘Gold Bond’ charity start, and at mile three all the starts merge, together with a lot of banter! Booing each other and my start chanting: ‘Red start Red Start Red start!’ At mile four, half of my tooth fell out! Bizarre I know! The atmosphere was already building and at mile five the drumming group under the flyover really start to get you fired up (it was near here where I first saw Ron).

Everything was fine right through the race, I was ‘high-fiving’ small children who where holding their hands up for us and generally enjoying the crowds and support. The fancy dress runners where great to spot, a man running in full wedding dress, a banana, lots of supermen and women, a Rubik’s cube, lots of male and female fairies, a bunny girl, a wonder-woman with a beard, people tied together, spider man, Elvis and of course the Rhino, I could go on!

The support all the way round is phenomenal, both from the spectators and other runners. I saw runners stopping to help others in distress and the crowds shouting out everybody’s names. The crowd of spectators on Tower Bridge was a real special moment. I waved at TV cameras and tried to smile at the photographers! I saw Ron again at about mile 19, canary wharf. He had taken a collapsible footstool to stand on and was peering above the crowds like a meercat! It was great to see him again. I knew my pace dropped a bit after this but I still felt strong. I checked my time and thought I should make a 3.50 finish. However, my calf muscle started to feet a bit different and I slowed further, but a time check made me think I could still break four hours if I kept at this pace.

But at mile 25, with only 1.2 miles left I was forced to pull up with severe cramp. It felt as though somebody had clamped a red-hot vice around my right calf muscle. I hopped to the railings in tears with the excruciating pain; the crowd were desperately encouraging me. After a rest and stretch I tried to move and after about five paces the same thing happened. I was going to finish even if it meant crawling over the finish line. Eventually I got going again and managed to throw my arms above my head for the photograph as I crossed the finish line, just behind Gordon Ramsey! Four hours, 3 minutes and 17 seconds. The reunion with Ron, and some fellow Malvern joggers in the pub immediately afterwards was a perfect end to my first marathon experience. Would I do it again? You bet!