A double marathon in the heat of South Africa, run either uphill or downhill on alternate years? And this year it was uphill?
Well why wouldn't you want to do that?!
Here is Ralph's report of all that unfolded during this gruelling race on 4th June 2017.
http://www.deapp.co.uk/_uploads/uploads/Comrades%202017.pdf
Well done Ralph - amazing stuff!
At the Summer Party on Saturday night we finally found out who had taken home the silverware in the 2016 - 2017 Club Championships!
The ladies results are as follows:
Female Club Champion - Sarah Bailey
Senior Female Winner - Rebecca Jackson
Female V30 Winner - Melissah Gibson
Female V35 Winner - Maria Fitzgerald
Female V40 Winner - Yvonne Linney
Female V45 Winner - Jennifer Watt
Female V50 Winner - Elizabeth Adams
And the men's results were:
Male Club Champion - Tom Easten
Senior Male Winner - John Foxall
Male V30 Winner - Jose Manuel Pabon
Male V35 Winner - Tom Corbett
Male V40 Winner - Harry Claxton
Male V45 Winner - Ralph Dadswell
Male V50 Winner - Rob Willin
We were also delighted to hand out more trophies for the different club awards categories, which this year were:
Club Personality -Frank Doyle
Clubman - Jennifer Watt
Most Improved Runner - Yvette Burton
Most Improved Beginner – Darren Loftus
Well done to all the winners and to everyone who has raced, volunteered, taken part and run for the club over the last year for helping to make it a fantastically successful season.
23rd April 2017
Huge flock of Ealing Eagles soar at 2017 London Marathon
A total of 49 members of local running club Ealing Eagles completed the 2017 London Marathon on Sunday 23rd April.
In a record breaking year for the London Marathon 40,382 runners took on the course, which starts in Greenwich and covers 26.2 miles through East London and the Docklands area before heading past the Tower of London, Big Ben, and finally finishing on the Mall close to Buckingham Palace.
The annual marathon is the biggest single fundraising event in the world. Several of the Eagles taking part this year were raising money for charity, altogether raising an incredible total of just under £39k for their various good causes.
Four Eagles had a different but equally important role on race day as official volunteers; Rachel Job, Paul Thomas, and the team behind the Ealing Half Marathon Sandra Courtney and Kelvin Walker were part of the team looking after the runners at one of the three start areas.
Many other members of the club were on hand to cheer the runners on from various points around the course and from their regular spot at the 23rd mile, providing a much needed boost for the final push to the finish.
Chair Thom Martini commented ‘the London Marathon is a very special event and every year it demonstrates both the diverse range of runners we have and the supportive nature of the club. This year our runner’s times ranged from 2 hours and 41 minutes to just over 6 hours, and they were all cheered into the home straight by their club mates’.
The full marathon results for the Ealing Eagles are as follows:
Easten, Tom 02:41:53
Overton, Colin 02:48:30
Kaufman, Matthew Alexander 02:54:36
Pabon, Jose Manuel 02:59:16
Dadswell, Ralph 03:06:58
Fryatt, Ewan 03:08:54
Claxton, Harry 03:11:43
Gibson, Melissah 03:18:30
Lawes, Greg - 3:21:22
Keenleyside, Piers 03:23:18
Tanner, Michelle 03:34:12
Lambert, Chris 03:34:53
Sanderson, Carole 03:36:29
Schmidt, Emily 03:36:58
Verbossche, Michelle 03:37:40
Kucharska, Malgorzata 03:39:46
Robinson, Paul 03:40:17
Mackenzie, Sarah Jane 03:42:07
Luksch, Kerstin 03:42:59
Johnson, Charlotte 03:50:19
Sexton, Bernard - 3:51:28
Goodman, Luke - 3:55:10
Vickery, Heidi 03:56:58
Gaga, Laura 03:57:22
Minhas, Pardip 03:57:30
Adams, Elizabeth 04:00:57
Burton, Yvette 04:02:28
Szczech, Bernard 04:02:50
Maryniak, Marcin 04:11:36
Lang, Paul 04:15:02
Baker, Jennifer 04:19:58
Lewis, Holly 04:20:31
O'Hare, Christina 04:26:44
Chybowski, Stefan 04:33:35
McClements, Rachel 04:34:06
Mirza, Naveed 04:38:48
Fernandes, Kim 04:42:53
Duff, Angela 04:46:31
Hart, Suzy 04:46:43
Wiggins, Pamela 04:54:15
Burton, Faye 04:59:25
Panton, Nigel 05:03:09
Cann, Laura 05:11:55
Thakker, Jesal 05:12:30
Bennett, Steph 05:18:49
Mulrenan, Catherine 05:22:45
Mizzi, Peter 5:27:20
Moran, Carol 5:45:04
Müller-Choudhury, Tasnia Taniqua 6:06:01
As XC season comes to a close, we take a moment to hi-light and celebrate the achievements of our juniors in their first winter of competitive racing.
• Our juniors participated in two XC leagues this winter- Met League & the NW London XC League;
• 13 juniors ran over 10 league fixtures, some raced in a single fixture, some raced consistently;
• 3 juniors represented their boroughs in the London Youth Games at Parliament Hill;
• 2 juniors raced at the Southern XC Championships;
• 3 juniors raced at the Middlesex XC Championships.
By no means was it easy for our juniors to put themselves up against other well established clubs. But, at every event, they showed grit, determination and heart. We are proud of their achievements this winter and we hope you are too.
None of this, of course, is possible without our dedicated team of volunteers and we are grateful to them for their assistance with the development of our juniors. But, we need more volunteers to train as coaches (either as athletic coaches or cirfs), particularly to help train our older juniors. If you think working with young people is for you, then please be in touch with us at juniors@ealingeagles.com. We'd be delighted to hear from you.
We now look forward to our first spring/summer season of competitive track and field events....so watch this space!
At the 2016 AGM, it was agreed that a sub committee would investigate various sites where the Eagles could establish a base.
This sub-committee has been working hard over the past year and at the 2017 AGM, Nigel Panton and Kelvin Walker gave an update on the progress.
Kelvin has also put together this summary on the progress.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-AC0rbRvI1HQ2NMSkVLbm9rdDA/view?usp=sharing
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me at chair@ealingeagles.com
Hello everyone - quite an important public service announcement....Facebook has suspended Mr. Eagle's account because they suspect he is not real. This means that we're not able to post as Mr. Eagle, and also that some of you might notice that events have disappeared from what you can see.
This is very much a live situation for the committee, we're just working out how much this has affected things and also how to fix it so we really need you to bear with us please.
If you have had an event SET UP by Mr. Eagle and you now can't see it please email us at info@ealingeagles.com and we will try to work out a way to make it live again or transfer the host from Mr. Eagle to someone else.
Please DO NOT email us just to say you can't see an event you are attending because that will get extremely confusing.
The last week I only had time for two more four mile runs. Each time there was a fair amount of pain in the foot to start off with but then it eased off and the rest of it felt much better. My foot had healed in the last month but not as much as I would have liked. I had long abandoned any hope of having a pain free day, but it was a bit of a concern just how much it still hurt. With no significant runs done in a long time, I had no idea how it would go over marathon distance. I had some last minute misgivings about going through with it but I felt like deferring would let too many people down. Happily, I didn't get a cold or sick in any other way like a lot of people do in the final days. Maybe this was because I already had something to worry about. I went to the expo on the Wednesday evening. I only stuck around long enough to grab my number and drink a couple of the free samples of beer. I was a bit sad that I had gone there on my own and not made the most of it. With so much going on, I hadn’t managed to get too excited about the event. Having learned a lesson from my previous marathons, I didn’t go overboard with the eating during the final days. The Saturday evening meal was nothing too rich, just pasta, tuna, cheese and tomato sauce. I slept OK because I didn’t quite appreciate what was coming.
Very early on Sunday morning I joined the big group of fellow Eagles for the coach to Blackheath. Naturally, my foot was hurting a bit more than it had been. It wasn’t until I got to the start area that the enormity of what I was about to do properly started to sink in. I run a lot, but 26 miles still seems a ridiculously long distance to me. Thankfully there was ample toilet provision and fast queues, because you can never go enough. I still wanted to go even after I had ducked out of the starting pen with only minutes left. The nerves and the adrenaline was unbearable. As we set off, I let the crowd of runners sweep me along and my injury was soon forgotten. The first few miles of it could rightfully be described as carnage. In no other race have I been so pressed in by bodies. Just when it thinned out, we merged with the streams of runners from the other starts and the chaos escalated. I saw someone dressed as a giraffe take another guy out because he couldn’t see properly. I like to have my personal space when I’m running and I think being crowded in makes me run faster because I just want to get around people. A couple of miles in I was firmly on three hour pace and it seemed impossible for me to go any slower. My plan of trying a steady 7:30 or 8:00 pace to start off with had gone out the window. I felt good though and it seemed like I might do well at this in spite of everything.
At this point I should probably mention that I was wearing a tutu and had my name written on my vest in bright pink letters. The latter was Brenda’s idea. The purpose of this was to stand out for the people that knew me, but this did backfire somewhat because it meant that everyone noticed me. With so many people shouting my name I ended up missing those that mattered. The encouragement, which was complementary for the most part, was amazing and I it felt good to finally find out why the London Marathon is so rewarding.
I got a huge buzz going over Tower Bridge and soon after I hit the halfway point in an hour and 31 minutes. It was my fastest half marathon of the year. Unfortunately, I then had to run another half. Within the next few miles my troublesome left calf started to twinge and threaten to cramp up. I had no choice but to slow up in the hope that it would behave itself at a gentler pace. A few miles later, my right calf started playing up as well. The section around the docklands passed slowly. Every mile took longer and became more of a challenge, and the only thing that kept me going was the knowledge that every painful step was taking me closer to the finish. This was turning into last year’s Manchester Marathon all over again. That time I went to the loo and found I couldn’t start running again. This time I once again gave in to my bladder and hoped the same thing wouldn’t happen again. It slowed me down but I kept running, and I managed to continue to do so for a few miles at least, counting down the distance to the magic mile 23.
I couldn’t sustain it though. When I reached the City, the calves completely seized up and I had no choice but to stop and stretch them. Not even the crescendo of crowd support could keep me going anymore. Mile 23 and the Eagles cheer squad came finally, and I couldn’t miss it with all the signs before it. I had to put on a brave face and run past the outstretched hands as best I could, although, as the photo shows, my face told the story all too well. I had to stop and stretch again as soon as got past, and from then on each attempt to run was increasingly futile. My calves just weren’t having it: walking was bad enough but running was out of the question. So for my second consecutive marathon I was hobbling to the finish line. I was having a good time though. The crowd was cheering my name constantly and that put a smile on my face. At about mile 24, my tutu got the attention of a BBC crew and I found myself being interviewed about it by Colin Jackson. My mind was so elsewhere that it didn’t immediately sink in that I was on live television.
From then on I could only walk as fast as I could manage, the final roads becoming a blur as the emotion of it all welled up within me. I ran the last few yards the best I could with calves that didn’t work and the relief at finishing was enormous. My time was 3:34:53, something close to the time I was expecting although not at the even pace that I had planned. It might have been worse if I had done the first half slower; I don’t know. I had an extra unexpected challenge of having to walk a surprisingly long way along the rest of the Mall, but then a lie down on the grass and a beer made me feel a bit better.
I’m really glad to have had the opportunity to run it this year. It was the right thing to go ahead with it even with my injury. I would like to thank the Eagles for giving me the place and everyone that gave their support. Thanks most of all to Brenda for sticking by me, even through the times of emotional as well as physical hardship.
Thankfully, I didn’t do any serious damage to my foot, but it is going to take a while longer to heal and I won’t be able to do as much running as I did previously. I said right at the start that this might be my last marathon. Now, I am not quite so sure. I would certainly jump at the chance of running London again. There is always the chance that the next one may go better.
Ealing Eagles Running Club is entirely run by volunteers.
We say this all the time, so most of you are probably well aware of this. But did you know how many volunteers it takes to keep the club going?
Well, there are currently 8 committee members for a start. Then two club runs every week, which each have a leader and two tail runners. That's 14. We then have coached sessions on a Tuesday and Thursday, so that's two more. Plus Beginners twice, sometimes three times a week and the Improver's sessions, which are commonly two additional coached sessions a week. That takes us up to 21. We also have 4 club members who manage the Junior section. Plus the person who collates all the club champs information. Plus Mr. Kit, the fabulous Piers Express.
That's a bare minimum of 26 volunteers needed each week to keep this club of around 800 members going. That's over 1,250 opportunities to volunteer every year, most of which are filled by the same small group of amazing regular volunteers.
And that doesn't even count the additional volunteers we need for the Juniors and Beginner's sessions. It doesn't include the 10k committee, or the team who arrange the Gunnersbury summer league. It doesn't include captains for events like the Welsh Castles or the Green Belt, Summer League and Cross Country. It doesn't include marshals, pacers, timekeepers. It doesn't include the people who bring the tea urn and cakes to events. And it doesn't include all the club coaches who work behind the scenes putting together training plans and meeting with their coachees in their spare time.
We ask all club members to volunteer for something twice each year. This isn;t a nice to have, it's vital for the club to run effectively.
There are loads of things you can do - at the moment these include:
To volunteer for any of the above roles, register your interest by emailing us at info@ealingeagles.com. Other opportunities for specific events come up all the time, so keep an eye out on the newsletter and Facebook.
I know we're all loving these longer days and pushing all thoughts of winter to one side, but in preparation for the next Cross Country season here all the provisional dates for all the fixtures so get them in your diaries now so there are no excuses when the XC Captains come calling...
Met League:
14 October – Claybury
11 November – Stevenage
2 December – Hillingdon
13 January – Wormwood Scrubs
10 February – Trent Park
Sunday League:
29 October – Cheshunt
12 November – Trent Park
17 December – Willian (early start at 10.00am)
14 January – Cassiobury Park, Watford (we also need to provide marshals for this event)
18 February – Royston
SEAA XC Fixtures:
21st October 2017 - Cross Country Relays at Wormwood Scrubs
18th November 2017 - London Cross Country Champs at Parliament Hill
9th December 2017 - Cross Country Masters & Inter Counties Championship at Horspath Track, Oxford
27th January 2018 - Cross Country Main Champs, Venue TBC
Other XC Fixtures:
Middlesex Champs – first weekend in Jan
Nationals – last weekend in Feb
For those of you that have been training hard through the long, cold winter, in preparation for your spring marathon, now it's all done (or nearly done for those that have yet to run your marathon!) you may be thinking what do I do next?? Don't despair as there are plenty of racing opportunities coming up over the summer to get you out of your post marathon blues!
Whilst it may be nice to have a bit of a break after all those miles and it's very important that you have some recovery time, if you're on good form it would be a shame to waste it wouldn't it?! So why don't you put your feet up for a bit and read all about the Club Championship races?! The new Club Champs year starts at the beginning of May and there are plenty of races to sign up for, across a variety of distances! This can all be done from the comfort of your sofa (except the actual running part!)!
Check out this link for all things Club Champs related and look out for the event pages on Facebook! http://www.ealingeagles.com/club-championships
We also compete in a Summer League with a number of other London based clubs and these 5 miles / 10km races will be on throughout the summer. If you don't fancy running then we are hosting the first fixture of the League at Gunnersbury Park so why not come along and help out?!
http://www.ealingeagles.com/summer-league/
http://www.ealingeagles.com/news/2017/4/18/volunteers-for-gunnersbury-summer-league
Below are some of the races coming up over the next few months:
May
14th May 5 miles - http://www.secondsunday5.com/
28th May 1 mile - https://www.vitalitywestminstermile.co.uk/
June
4th June Summer League at Gunnersbury Park (hosted by the Eagles)
18th June Summer League at Harrow
25th June 5km - http://www.nice-work.org.uk/events.php?id=205
July
2nd July Summer League at Dulwich
16th July Summer League at Regent's Park (Club Champs event)
28th July 7km - Wedding Day 7km
August
13th August Half Marathon - http://bbhm.burnhamjoggers.org.uk/
20th August Summer League at Battersea Park (Club Champs event)
September
3rd September 10 miles - http://www.thehrc.org.uk/harlow102017.htm
Looking forward to a good turnout at these events!
Entries are now open for the Eagles / ESM track night on Wednesday 28th June via this link.
This is just for the senior events, junior entries will be taken on the night.
The timetable will be as follows:
Junior Events
5pm - Long Jump (Under 11)
5:45pm - 600m (Under 11)
6:15pm - 75m (Under 11)
Senior Track
6:45pm - 100m - r1
7:15pm - Mile
7:50pm - 100m - r2
8:10pm - 5000m
Senior Field
7:00pm - Hammer
7:00pm - Long Jump
8:00pm - Shot
The wait is finally over for those speedsters who were looking to get onto the teams for this year's prestigious Welsh Castles Relay!
The Welsh Castles Relay is an annual 2 day event held in June, organised by Les Croupiers Running Club. Running the length of Wales, the route covers over 200 miles and 20 stages starting at Caernarfon Castle on Saturday morning and finishing on Sunday afternoon in Cardiff. The route passes within 2 miles of 22 castles, 16 forts (dating from Roman times onwards), 2 motte & baileys and 5 mottes. A prestigious race, 65 teams compete in the relay and have to get through a rigorous selections process.
Last year the ladies team took 2nd place in their category and were labelled as a team to watch. They will be looking to keep that momentum going this year! The ladies team will be made up of:
Melissah Gibson
Sarah Bailey
Rebecca Jackson
Francesca Cooper
Ellen Easten
Harriet Betteridge
Yvonne Linney
Jennifer Watt
Jenny Bushell
Claire Morris
Kira Norrington
Kelly Scanlon
Michelle Tanner
Emily Schmidt
Lucy Rigg
Michelle Verbossche
Olivia Parker-Scott
Sophie Foxall
Malgorzata Kucharska
Sarah Mack
On paper this year's men's team is the fastest Eagles team to go to the Welsh Castles Relay. 9 men will be making their WCR debuts. Let's see if they can get that pesky 4 minutes off and finish in the top 10 this year!
Tom Easten
Dave Chryssides
Tom Rowles
Colin Overton
John Foxall
Ewan Fryatt
Matt Kaufman
Jose Manuel Pabon
Kieran Morrisroe
Andrew Guy
Kieran Santry
Bernard Sexton
Harry Claxton
Stephen Ralston
Rob Willin
Raf Machnik
Mike Lawrence
Chris Lambert
Phill Turner
Cam Easton
Stages will be allocated shortly.
I had deferred my London Marathon place and written my last blog. So I thought I was finished with my ballot winner’s commitments for this year. How wrong I was…
It was two fellow Eagles who pointed out my schoolboy error. It seems that as a ballot winner I had agreed to write a race day blog. The fact I hadn’t actually run the marathon was, apparently, an unacceptable reason to renege on this commitment.
Now these two rather stringent Eagles will remain nameless. Let’s just say they looked suspiciously like Lisa Emerson and Allie Collins and leave it at that. They pointed out my obligation in the Wellington pub, whilst we celebrated the achievements of those who had not only made it to the start line, but the finish line too.
Now, a more sober man may have checked the ballot winners’ T&Cs but by this time I had imbibed three pints of some disturbing real ale – Runner’s Old Gusset, or something – and so I readily agreed to write a final blog. My brain was clearly more malleable than my hip.
However, the following day I thought that a final blog may not be such a bad idea after all. It could be a way of drawing a line under this year, putting things in perceptive and pondering a few lessons learnt.
The truth is that after reluctantly deciding not to run I wasn’t really sure what to do or where to turn. What should I do between deferral day and race day? And how would I feel when race day finally arrived? I had found myself in a sort of deferral limbo. This doesn’t mean I spent a month in Trinidad dancing under a stick, though perhaps I should have as it may have done wonders for my wonky hip.
Instead I moved towards my ‘non- race day’ reading other ballot winners’ blogs and completing the occasional Parkrun if and when my hip felt up to it. I occasionally went to work too.
When my non-race day finally arrived, it arrived very early. About 4:30am in my case because Rachel was volunteering at the start. This meant a certain Mr Walker and a Mr Thomas would be rocking up in a taxi at some unearthly hour before heading off to Blackheath.
Fortunately I soon fell back into a deep slumber and awoke, feeling oddly apprehensive, several hours later. It was straight into the kitchen to make a cuppa before stumbling bleary-eyed into the front room and whacking on Aunty Beeb (which you’ll be relieved to hear is not a euphemism).
It must be said that the BBC’s coverage of the marathon is pretty good. But for Deferral Boy here those first few images of the runners, volunteers and spectators were a slight kick in the ribs. I sat in my chair leaning forward at the screen; elbow on knee, chin in one hand, tea in the other – Rodin’s the drinker.
I don’t mind admitting I was feeling sorry for myself. I had my bottom lip pushed forward like a sad toddler who had missed out on the sweets. I’m not sure how long I sat there motionless, watching the screen, but the tea eventually went cold and remained unfinished.
Eventually I snapped out of this self-absorbed nonsense and gave myself a stern talking to. Enough of this feeling sorry for myself; it was time to throw away my limbo stick, get washed and head out to mile 23. I might even put some clothes on first too. Yes, there were Eagles and other runners who needed and deserved some jolly good support.
So it was that a little over an hour later I found myself ambling up the steps of Monument Station and out into the teaming London crowds. I could hear the thunderous roar of the spectators straightaway. As I headed towards Lower Thames Street the cheers grew louder and for reasons I cannot quite explain it was all music to my ears. As I ducked under the tape into the Eagles’ zone all deferral blues vanished and I instantly became another spectator and supporter greatly enjoying the atmosphere.
Coincidentally the first two people I met had also deferred and we cautiously asked each other how we were. It turns out we were all fine and enjoying the day. Throughout the afternoon several other people kindly, but tentatively, asked me how I was feeling and what my injury prognosis was. I really appreciated people asking, though I suspect my answers were edited to shorter and shorter versions as the day went on.
I heard that some people felt it best not to ask on the basis that I was probably fed-up with answering the same questions over and over again. You people are great too because without your forethought it probably would have become a bit wearisome. As it turns out the balance was perfect.
However, far more important was the convocation of Eagles (apparently that’s the collective noun) who flew past mile 23 throughout the day. One or two stopped for a sweaty hug, most opted for a high-five and at least one danced with Mr Eagle. All looked absolutely awesome.
Later on in the Wellington pub I heard tales of the highs and lows from our ballot winners. However, I won’t repeat them here in case I spoil someone’s blog. I think you’re in for a few good reads.
If you ever find yourself having to defer London, or any other race, my advice is to go along anyway and get supporting; maybe even volunteer if you can. Either way you’re likely to have a great time. What’s more the achievements and jubilations of fellow Eagles will only serve as a motivator for you to fix, if possible, whatever caused you to defer in the first place.
My only regret is that I didn’t head out earlier to support at a few points along the route before heading over to mile 23. Nonetheless, my marathon day was a fun-filled afternoon surrounded by a terrific bunch of people. And what’s more the next day there wasn’t an aching muscle on sore joint to be had.
Quite frankly I don’t know what all the fuss is about…
So I did it. All 26.2 miles of it ( or in my case 27.... Does that make me an Ultra runner?!)
The day started off well. My lovely coach came to pick me up and take me to the coach. Full of good advice and bad jokes Mark was on form! I got on the coach and wasn't too bad. No full on panics and the journey was quite smooth. Before I knew it we were off to the starts. I had been worried about this bit as my training buddies were all in red start but I went off with Chris Lambert which really helped.
I also went and met some lovely Run Mummy Runners....as prearranged, by the Lucozade stand. It was lovely to sit with them for a bit and check how everyone was.
Before we knew it, it was time to get in our pens and then we were off. As I went through the start on the left I looked over and there were Kate, Harry and William waving at me...I gave them a cheeky wave back and smiling I was off.
My plan if I felt good always had been to go off behind the 4:30 Pacers and assess how I felt. Off I went, my legs felt very heavy but I hoped that would go. Through mile 1 with an amazing atmosphere and suddenly I noticed they had run it in a 10 min mile...now that was a lot, lot quicker than the 10:18 pace that it should have been. I stuck to them for one more lap but having clocked a 10:04 I realised it was nuts so slowed down. My legs strangely hadn't settled.. They felt like lead and completely different to any other training run. I knew something wasn't quite right but kept thinking it had got to go soon. I'd managed every single long run without pain on pace so couldn't see why this would be any different (at least for the first twenty miles!).
Mile 5 and I saw Simon Hardy up in the sky ( or at least on top of a huge building) it made me smile and I appreciated the cheers. Went past my wonderful coach and support crew at mile 7.5 and still felt not great but ok.
Mile 8 however was a turning point and not in a good way. My ankle suddenly felt awful. Every step was hurting. Again I thought I could probably run it out but it wasn't going away. I had already spoken to my physio about it earlier in the week and had been given some exercises to help. I am not a physio and probably won't explain it very well but basically my ankle wasn't rotating very well...and this had suddenly become very intense. At one point I wondered if I had somehow caused a stress fracture ( not that I know what that feels like but the pain was ouchy) however I was too scared to go to medical incase they told me I couldn't continue.
At mile 11.5 I saw my wonderful sister and mum and dad...they were urging me on but I stopped for a cuddle, it felt hard and I needed some love! Very soon after I saw my hubby and children. I am ashamed to say I burst into tears. It was hurting so much and I just wanted to stop on one hand but on the other hand there was no way I was not getting that medal.
I left them cross with myself, my family have been so supportive throughout this training. It has affected them and our weekends yet they have adapted and been amazing throughout, Ed even being my training partner on a few occasions. What had I done but looked miserable when I saw them. They were giving up their day to run around and be my support crew. That was the kick up the butt I needed.
I began to dedicate each mile to a different person. Turning onto Tower Bridge was as awesome as expected. I was doing this, I was lucky enough to be running one of the best races in the world.
I trudged on getting slower all the time and a few times when the pain got too much I walked. However I was still determined to enjoy it. I soaked up the atmosphere and the encouragement was amazing. I saw more Eagles which really helped and other friends. At one point I waited ten minutes for the toilet. I had obviously drunk too much and as a time was out the window by that point I thought I might as well wait. Little known to me I caused my family to worry as the toilets were right by a medical tent....whoops!
Mile 18 I saw a friend from my children's school who helped me out a lot when I first started running. It was so great to see him and so well needed. I knew the Run Mummy Run girls and my family were coming up at mile 19 so I carried on in a run and hobble fashion. It was so good to see the cheer squad but they weren't letting me stay for too long! I was pushed on quite quickly, bless them.
At mile 20 I was in bits and my cousin got the tears next but she was amazing and on I went. Now the focus was mile 23.
Having been on the other side of mile 23 I wanted to get there smiling the ankle felt a tiny bit better so I picked up the pace relatively speaking. After all I had my place in one of the most iconic races in the world because of you,guys. The Eagles have been training buddies, advice givers and fantastic support throughout....I wasn't going to let anyone see I was in pain and I was determined to rock the flyby!
Flyby rocked and I was on my way home. I did make sure I appreciated the sights and the atmosphere.
I have never been so glad to see the London eye. I knew I was going to do this, I was going to be be of the one percent of the population who have run a marathon. The crowd were electric. I knew I could not stop despite my ankle hurting again as I knew I wouldn't start again. I carried on....and did get carried by the crowd.
I turned onto the mall and the smile went on. I knew most my photos wouldn't be good as I don't have a poker face (just an in pain race face!) so wanted one or two decent ones. I finished!
I got my photo, got my bag ( with potentially an exclusive t shirt as it has no adidas stripes on!) and headed to go and see Mark and my family. It was emotional! I had finished the marathon. After all the doubting I was a marathon runner!
I have been celebrating the last two days and taking advantage of the free food with your medal. Also catching up on drinking!
I have also been trying to process how I feel about it all.
I guess the answer is mixed. I always said I wanted to finish the marathon smiling and enjoy it. Well I did that. I made sure I did. I had to slow right down to do it but I stuck to my guns, adjusted and blasted that goal out of the water!
However ( this is the really honest bit I wondered whether to put in, but I have prided myself in being very honest about everything in my blog and I'm not going to change now) I had expected to be sub 5 ...all my training had pointed to this being a goal I could definitely achieve and I do feel ( rightly or wrongly) I failed in that respect. This makes me feel sad, I trained so hard and was so out from where I had expected to be. I am so frustrated with my ankle and how hard I found run in on it. Somehow I feel like it's my fault....not quite sure how or why but I do!
On the upside I am so proud to be a marathon runner. I am so proud to have raised so much money, thanks to all my sponsors, for such a brilliant cause...the charity Mencap. I am over the moon to have the support and love of the Eagles, Run Mummy Run and my friends and family.
Would I recommend doing a marathon? Absolutely. If I can do it I honestly believe anyone can.
Would I do another one? HELL, YEAH!
Thank you to everyone who has supported me on my journey, my training buddies, people who have sent messages of support, my friends and family, the RMR crew and my wonderful coach Mark who I can't thank enough for investing so much time and faith in me.
Thank you too Eagles, from the bottom of my heart. You gave me the opportunity of a lifetime.
So, I finally I was to arrive at one of those events that defines your life into two halves – before and after running a marathon. I had those pre-exam nerves and couldn’t relax. As I arranged everything I would need for the next day a nagging feeling that I was missing something struck me, and as I searched again through the instructions I finally found a sentence that confirmed my fears; I didn’t have the clear plastic kit bag that you had to use to get your things transported from the start to the finish. Perhaps it fell out of my bag at the Expo, perhaps they never gave it to me at registration. I’ll never know. I did see two people with the kit bags as I left the Expo and wondered where they had got them. The helpline couldn’t say for sure they would have spares, so I packed light in case I needed to take up kind offers from other Eagles with spare space in their kit bags, and took my spare clothes in a similar bag from another half, just in case that was acceptable.
Given all this I was even more grateful to only have to make to Ealing Green for 6:45am to catch the Eagles coach to the start. It was cold, but fortunately not windy on the exposed Blackheath starting area, and after a photo we split into our separate start areas; I was in Blue. It was on a scale I hadn’t seen before; rows of baggage trucks along one side, port-a-loos along another and the starting pen along the third, with urinal areas and large changing tents in the middle, and an EHM team handing out bottled water. I went straight to the info tent where to my delight they had a box of spare kit bags. It had felt like unboxing a new toy only to find it dented, and suddenly I felt like a genuine full participant like everyone else. However, as I packed light, I was feeling the cold and on the edge of shivering in a long sleeve T-shirt and bin bag, and was hoping that I wouldn’t use up too much energy keeping warm in the long wait until the start. After a second nervous visit to the urinals, we dropped off our kit bags with 30 minutes to go. The queues were just beginning to stretch out across the start area as we entered the start pen. The warmth of the surrounding runners made it a bit warmer as the minutes ticked down and we finally shuffled forwards. I’d put in an very optimistic finish time when I applied so was fortunately in pen 2 with some other fast Eagles runners, and when the hooter finally went it took less than 40 seconds to cross the start line.
The main aim of the first few miles was to settle into an efficient rhythm at the right pace, which seems bizarrely slow given the excitement. After about a mile, just when it looks to be thinning out a bit, the Green start suddenly merges in. Shortly after I saw someone in my peripheral vision lose balance, perhaps clipped by someone else. It looked like he would be righted by the runner between us, but he somehow missed him, and in what seemed like slow motion he tumbled to the ground. Fortunately, perhaps because he had plenty of time to think as slowly fell, he didn’t land hard, but did a sort of stuntman roll towards me so I ended up hurdling his head, his hand clipping my foot on the way over. I could hear the sounds of runners trying to avoid a pile up behind me, and made a split second decision that I wasn’t in the best position to help, and I would more likely add to the carnage if I stopped.
After 2.5 miles the course drops down off the heath down into Woolwich, where the huge mass of the red start flowed in like a giant tributary. It must have had a later or slower start as I saw the red 3 hr pacer go past, and I’m sure I glimpsed Jose up ahead, which worried me. I was checking my kilometre splits and freewheeling down the hill had got me ahead of schedule of my target time and I consciously tried to scale it back as we headed to Greenwich. The crowds that lined the route were getting deeper and noisier, and charity cheer squads would erupt into deafening cheers if one of their runners were spotted. I ran along the side of the stream to take in the atmosphere. I had ironed my name onto my Eagles vest a couple of years ago for the EHM, and I was getting plenty of plenty of personal encouragement. I vividly remember catching the eye of a man about my age, who with the SE London accent I remember from my childhood told me ‘Come, you can do this Harry’ like a friend I had known all my life. It was around this time I spotted the first of the mobile Eagles cheer squads, standing on something to rise above the throng.
I was checking my km splits on my watch, and checking the clock times on the mile markers against my Xempo pace pocket. The water stations were every mile or so, and even if you missed them, you could find a runner who had finished with a bottle. Each time I soaked my head and took a swig rather than a gulp. I carried four gels to take every 45 minutes, alternating caffeine ones, though the first one I took resulted in mild stomach cramps which had me worried for a while.
After the landmark of the Cutty Sark there were a lot of miles to tick off to Tower Bridge and the psychologically important milestone of half way, when the miles left are less than the miles run. I was beginning to spot the same runners again, and would exchange the odd words with runners from local clubs I recognised. The pace wasn’t feeling as easy as at the start, and I knew the halfway in terms of effort was still some miles away. As I passed the London Pride stand they were blazing out Dizzee Rascal’s ‘Bonkers’, and I was emotional transported to watching the GB hockey team score in the 2012 Olympics down the road. I loved the music at various places around the course, whether live bands or blaring out of loud speakers.
It was shortly after halfway that the elite men came flying down the other side of the road on the way to the finish – a reminder that we were in the same race, though I was some way behind. I’d purposefully not run the route in training as I wanted to experience it all fresh. This did mean I was a bit disorientated in the Docklands, not quite sure where I was headed and the effort was steadily building. When I finally ran past the towers at Canary wharf I didn’t have the energy to look up, and was thankful of the roving Eagles cheering me on. By 20 miles I was beginning to feel drained and focused on ticking off the 3 miles to the cheer squad. The stream of runners had thinned out a bit, and more of them were struggling. I had steadily banked another couple of minutes ahead of my target, but I still feared hitting a wall in the last few miles and fought to keep the pace up.
I was worried about not getting up on the pavement early enough for mile 23 and ran on the right hand side to make sure I didn’t miss it. When it arrived it seemed very narrow with a marshal on it who wasn’t looking in my direction. It may have been the emotional lift of seeing my wife and kids but it suddenly felt like running down a steep hill. I hadn’t planned what I should do, and I just let out a roar as I ran past a blur of familiar faces, high fiving as I went, and it seemed over in a second.
Then came the dreaded underpass out of the reach of the crowds. I was really having to work hard now but I was determined not to drop the pace. The Embankment seemed to go on forever. I was catching three men in an inflatable boat. I’d run with Darth Vader for bit, been overtaken by a monk and passed someone dressed as a peanut, but up until now I hadn’t seen too much fancy dress, and I was determined not to beaten by the boat. Turning round past the Houses of Parliament, the photos show I’ve got full race face on with half empty half haunted expression. I remember seeing people stopped with less than a kilometre to go trying to stretch out cramp and hoping that my legs would hold for a few more metres. When I turned into the Mall and could see the finish I knew I could make it, though no sprint finish; my body was in too delicate a state to try anything that rash. I managed an Eagle pose for the cameras and then a wave of relief as I made the finish line over 3 minutes inside my target time and gratefully received a medal. But as I picked up the goody bag and walked down to the baggage trucks chatting to a Fulham runner the pain in my legs seemed to get worse as they stiffened up. The sun, which had come out in patches during the last few miles suddenly seemed intense and hot and I was glad not to still be out on the course. I went to meet Plan International who I raised some money for, as it seemed rude not to say hello, and they were very charming and grateful, and gave me another little bag of goodies.
I walked over to the pub in Waterloo and was struck by the number of people who stopped to congratulate me. One family even asked if they could take a picture of me with their little girl. Getting on the bus in the morning with all the other Eagles, and then starting the race in a crowd of tens of thousands, it was easy to forget what an achievement running a marathon is, and this was an unexpected but welcome reminder. They didn’t ask what time I got – just the finishers medal was enough. Everyone has had their own journey to the finish line, and I have been more fortunate than most. A group enjoying some beers on the Southbank in the sunshine called over to say that the café was giving out free brownies to marathon runners, which turned out to be true.
The Eagles were gradually arriving at the pub and following a welcome shower in the gym round the corner I finally met up with the family for a welcome beer. The rest of the Eagles, runners and supporters filled up the corner of the pub, the beer eased the pain, and we relived the day’s achievements. It was people chatting about marathons they had run which had finally hooked me into trying to enter the London marathon – I wanted to feel part of that world, to share the experience. It was also a challenge to motivate me to improve as a runner. Apart from the slight hiccup with the kit bag I had been incredibly lucky, from winning the last ballot place to staying injury free and fit during the training, to having perfect running conditions in what is arguably the best marathon in the world, with the best cheer squad of any running club. People asked at today’s victory brunch when I will be running my next marathon. But I can’t see how I could possibly top this experience.
I don’t feel qualified to give any training advice, my training had fit around family life and was influenced by what I felt comfortable with from my experience as a rugby player in my youth. Be wary of people who are more excited about success, than doing the thing that they want to be successful at. I enjoyed the whole journey; training runs along new routes or with fellow Eagles, club champs races. Run your own race and enjoy your running.
In April 2017 Eagle Piers Keenleyside completed this gruelling event which takes place in the Sahara desert. You can read all about his adventure by following this link:
In April 2017 Eagle Piers Keenleyside completed this gruelling event which takes place in the Sahara desert. You can read all about his adventure by following this link:
With just 4 days to go, it is all becoming very real, with marathon being mentioned everywhere, though fortunately in the weather forecast it was to say it was good conditions for the runners. Even prince Harry had been to the Expo.
I managed a decent crack at the Thames Towpath 10 miler; I couldn’t quite keep up the early pace in that tricky third quarter. I doubt we will see such a dusty towpath in April again, and given the sunshine, and my daughter’s birthday paintballing later that morning, I was grateful of the early start. There followed some shorter runs, scoping out Harrow on the Hill in the dark, a possible WCR training run. Over Easter a different canal (pictured), with more locks than I’m used to, and finally some unavoidable hills when visiting my mother over Easter. Even the facial hair is coming along nicely. With 740 miles in the bank since the start of the year at an averaging 45 miles a week, I have run over a marathon for each mile of the marathon on Sunday.
Today, nervous about making sure everything is in place for race day I went to pick up my number from the wrong side of town. I’d never been to a running Expo before and didn’t know quite what to expect. Opposite the entrance were rows of booths to pick up race numbers – presumably getting it out of the way first to make sure people don’t forget what they came for, and then oddly you pick up a the timing chip separately. Then there was a challenge to run on a rolling road 400m at elite marathon pace. I jogged down from Canning town to save some time, so I was all set in my running kit and up for a challenge. It was hard work, and tricky staying in the middle of the slightly spongy rolling road, but 70 seconds later an Abbot World Marathon Majors cap was mine. Slightly sweaty, next was the large Adidas merchandise area, reminiscent of the 2012 Olympic shop. I was confident enough of finishing the race to treat myself to shirt and running top. Then it was into the Expo proper with hundreds of stands for running products, charity stands and race promotions. My Eagles WCR top was noticed by a Runners World pacer from Les Croupiers, and I found another Eagles member who was very complimentary about how friendly the club was. On the main stage there were experts preaching race day tactics to the faithful. There was a goody bag similar to what you would normally receive at the end of a race to pick up if you flashed a race number. Then, finally there were the photo opportunities to support all the fundraisers. Apparently over £16 million had already been raised. It was all very different to picking up a number from a gazebo in a field.
I’ve managed to squeeze training runs in around family life, from early morning runs into work to running round Greenford in the dark while my daughter swims. I have even found late night pounding the pavements after carbo loading a stash of spuds uncomfortable, but tolerable. The long runs have generally been early on weekend mornings. But still there has been an impact, and this is probably the right time to thank everyone, in particular the mother-in-law who has been looking after the children when I head out for an evening run, for patiently indulging my slightly selfish personal challenge. It will all be over soon. Just one final long run left on Sunday.
My foot is getting better day by day, but not quite as quickly as I would like it to. I would be happy if this marathon was another month or two away, rather than next week. I have got so out of the habit of running that I am actually starting to get used to not doing it. Being lazier isn’t much fun, however, and it all reminds me of why I went running in the first place. Now it is hard to motivate myself to do just a few miles, and I don’t know how I am ever going to run 26 of them. I guess it is a normal part of maranoia to feel a bit unhealthy, but I really haven’t been very good with regards to that since the training regime fell apart. It is too late to train now and I might benefit from having a decent rest. The one thing that has cheered me up is that, the way things are going, I am hopeful that I will at least be able to get round.
Week 13 – 13 miles
I didn’t want to wait anymore to be able to run again so I put every effort into getting well enough to do so. I rolled a frozen water bottle under the foot and stretched the calf as much as I could. I stuck with the weekly routine of physio and needling. The podiatrist raised the question of there being something different to plantar fasciitis when I told her about all my cracking and popping sensations and the location of the pain. She said it could be bursitis instead. I wondered if it was plantar but there was something else as well that I had done by continuing to run on it. That would be more of a worry if that was the case. All the physio could do was massage the calf, which was always a painful experience, and move the foot and ankle around. He was pleased with how much better I was at lifting myself up on the foot and said I could go for a short run in another couple of days if it felt OK. I didn’t really care if it felt OK; I was set on running no matter what, because I needed to know if I could attempt ten miles on Sunday. Wednesday's dry needling left me a bit sore so I couldn't attempt the run until Friday. I did three miles round the canal with my colleague Will at an easy pace. A few minutes in I felt a twinge and, though that eased off, it didn't turn out to be as painless as I thought it would be. I really enjoyed it though and I felt like I could have gone for longer. After nearly three weeks of no running, the buzz was amazing.
I was a bit sore soon after I finished the run. The reaction is rather delayed, which means I'm allowed to start thinking things might not be so not be so bad for a while before my foot starts playing up. Saturday, however, I felt so much better that I could almost forget about my issues. It helped having the lovely weather to take my mind off things. I turned up for the start of the Towpath Ten a little more confident that it wasn't a terrible idea. It was already warm and pleasant at eight in the morning. It was nice to be doing a race once more and to see some Eagle faces. I hoped that my hangover would keep me from doing anything too ambitious: eight minute miles was the plan. When we set off I found it difficult to go that slowly. A bit of shin stiffness and some pain in the foot made the first few miles rather uncomfortable, but then my legs warmed up a bit. I felt better when I hit the paved inland section coming back from Richmond. My resolve to hold back had been steadily eroded by the many people overtaking me and I finally gave in when I encountered one of my pet hates of fellow runners: the guy that loudly and overenthusiastically thanks every marshal that he goes past. The fact that he was suddenly less cheery when I sped away from him led weight to my long held suspicion that this is a deliberate tactic. Now a good 40 seconds a mile faster than the runners around me, I overtook a lot of people and was having a lot more fun. I finished in 1:13, rather quicker than my original intention and maybe faster than I should have gone. The only immediate disappointment was the realisation that it was still too early in the day to go to the pub to celebrate.
The pain kicked in half an hour after I stopped and my elation at finishing the race turned to gloom when I couldn't walk properly anymore. I still was unsure what this meant for me running a marathon in just two weeks time. Yes I finished, but it felt difficult to do despite being way off my usual standard and I felt very uncomfortable afterwards. My success depended on continued improvement in the next 14 days.
Week 14 - 8 miles
Monday I felt a lot better again. If I hadn't, then it would have meant there was a serious problem. This week, a sense of laziness really kicked in. My determination to get the last minute training done at any cost had evaporated and I didn't feel remotely like a runner anymore. Maybe it was nerves because the big day was looming ever closer, but I found myself thinking that I really had lost it after having to stop. I hadn't exactly swapped the training for a healthy lifestyle and I am starting to regret that now. But I guess that doesn't really matter because I only want to finish it now, and I won't listen to those that say I might surprise myself because, if I try to go too fast and it all falls apart, it won't surprise me at all.
Nothing new happened at the physio except that he advised me to have two days of rest after even the gentlest run. Following this advice would severely reduce my opportunity to run even if I had the motivation for it. This week's needling session was all of the fun of getting stabbed in the foot. Slowly. Previously, the pain had been bearable but this was genuinely unpleasant, especially when I knew that this was a larger bore needle going right down into the attachment point of the plantar fascii. All this was seemingly not in vain, however, as I definitely felt better after it settled down.
I had all of two runs of four miles each. I could have done longer for each if I had the time. After stopping I had a long time to wait before I could go again and that severely limited my mileage, which was probably a good thing. One thing that bothered me is how much even a walk of a few miles made my foot hurt to a comparable degree. Saturday's run was more fun because I was at my dad's and I could go along the cliff top at Reculver and have the sea air around me. I still had to get through an initial few minutes of discomfort before things got easier and that worried me slightly now that there was just a week more to go.
There isn't much left that I can do. The couple of short runs that I will do this week won't tell me whether or not I am going to manage 26 miles next Sunday. I can only go to the start line and hope that I have done enough, and also that I haven't ruined what all the hard work gave me. It is difficult for me to stop wondering how the hell I am going to run a whole marathon when my foot still isn't happy about doing simple things. I have to just try. Quitting now just isn't an option. I'll see you all on the other side.
The Eagles are hosting the first Summer League fixture for 2017 and we need your help to make it a success!
If you are able to volunteer on the day we will need marshals and people to man a drinks station, as well as assistance with setting up at the beginning, packing up at the end, helping with the tenderfoot race and the relays. Also we need to provide all the runners with food so if people can bake or bring food too that would be great!
If you are able to help out on the day and/or bring some food please put your name on the spreadsheet so we can keep track of everyone!
If you have any questions please contact race@ealingeagles.com