Tomorrow sees the London Marathon and J will be running. It's his 24th marathon or something like that. He is excited by the weather forecast: mild with showers. I am less excited, remembering a marathon three or four years ago when it poured and the green dye from my raincoat soaked through to my skin. Umbrellas are too hazardous in such dense crowds.
I will be perched on my shooting stick in the elite runners' drinks station at 35k, opposite St Paul's Church at Shadwell church. It's a great spot because I get to see the runners twice, on both sides of the road. I'll be trying to spot the members of the Orion Harriers, John's running club, to take pictures as they whizz by.
I was reminded of an amusing story that I heard when I was working at BT International a few years ago. It was at a time when mobile phones were new, rare, and the size of bricks. Their battery life was about an hour. BT Cellnet, as they were called then, decided to give every London Marathon runner the opportunity to make a call to a loved one after finishing the race.
The problem was, they built a bank of kiosks housing the mobile phones which involved climbing some steps. Unfortunately most of the runners were too exhausted to make it, and gave up before scaling all the steps.
It's a far cry from nowadays when many of the runners are speaking on their phone as they rush by, or taking pictures of the crowd.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Blood sweat and tears
The 2011 London Marathon was hot. Too hot for many of the runners. Even the spectators got a bit hot under the collar. But it was all in a day's work for J as he ran his 23rd marathon (and eighth London Marathon).
As in previous years, I was fortunate to be able to park my shooting stick at one of the elite runners' drinks stations, manned by John's running club The Orion Harriers.
Opposite St Paul's church in Shadwell, this is a perfect position because not only do I get an unobscured view, but I see the runners twice.
The first task for the marshalls was opening the box of drinks and setting them out on the right tables and in the right order. The elite runners have their own special bottles, some decorated, some with a gel attached, some only half full. Here's one of the most attractive bottles (left).
The elites run past at such speed it's quite difficult for them to grab their drink as they barely pause, but very few bottles were dropped.
The elite runners dealt with, it was time for the "ordinary" runners, in their thousands. J trains diligently for the marathon, six days a week, and his training includes hill running and speed work. He tests gels, different shoes (and socks: he was wearing his long compression socks) and anything that will help him to the elusive Personal Best. This year he also lost quite a lot of weight. Every pound counts.
It all paid off. Not a PB this year because of the weather, but nonetheless, J still finished in the top 200 for his age group. Here he is at looking remarkably fresh, indicating that another Orion runner was not far behind (Kym).
When we saw him for the second time, at 35km, he was lively enough to spray us all with water he'd been keeping for the purpose.
Having escorted him on many of the world's top marathons, including Berlin, Paris, Toronto, New York, Chicago and Boston, I can say hand on heart that London is the best. The most spectators; the most noise and eencouragement; the most friendly atmosphere. There's nothing to beat it. So well done to all the runners, including the ones who really struggled in the heat, and see you all next year! (And before you ask, I will still be snapping and not running!).
As in previous years, I was fortunate to be able to park my shooting stick at one of the elite runners' drinks stations, manned by John's running club The Orion Harriers.
Opposite St Paul's church in Shadwell, this is a perfect position because not only do I get an unobscured view, but I see the runners twice.
The first task for the marshalls was opening the box of drinks and setting them out on the right tables and in the right order. The elite runners have their own special bottles, some decorated, some with a gel attached, some only half full. Here's one of the most attractive bottles (left).
The elites run past at such speed it's quite difficult for them to grab their drink as they barely pause, but very few bottles were dropped.
The elite runners dealt with, it was time for the "ordinary" runners, in their thousands. J trains diligently for the marathon, six days a week, and his training includes hill running and speed work. He tests gels, different shoes (and socks: he was wearing his long compression socks) and anything that will help him to the elusive Personal Best. This year he also lost quite a lot of weight. Every pound counts.
When we saw him for the second time, at 35km, he was lively enough to spray us all with water he'd been keeping for the purpose.
Having escorted him on many of the world's top marathons, including Berlin, Paris, Toronto, New York, Chicago and Boston, I can say hand on heart that London is the best. The most spectators; the most noise and eencouragement; the most friendly atmosphere. There's nothing to beat it. So well done to all the runners, including the ones who really struggled in the heat, and see you all next year! (And before you ask, I will still be snapping and not running!).
Sunday, April 25, 2010
The joy of running
We're back home after J's endeavours in the London Marathon today. His time was a very commendable 3'43 which puts him in the top 15% of finishers. It wasn't a personal best but the weather was a little too warm.
As before, I had a great vantage point at an elite runners' drinks station in Shadwell, manned by J's club The Orion Harriers. Some of the drinks (right) and one of them being grabbed by its owner (below.)
I was able to see J twice from this vantage point: first at 14 miles on the opposite side of the road, and then at 20 miles. He looked very fresh both times. I didn't see the caterpillar of people including Princess Beatrice, or any of the celebrity runners (Lorraine Kelly, Natalie Imbruglia.)
Below is J's brother-in-law Don plus a couple of his Orion colleagues. More photos here.http://www.flickr.com/photos/14963062@N04/4553755143/
Below is J's brother-in-law Don plus a couple of his Orion colleagues. More photos here.http://www.flickr.com/photos/14963062@N04/4553755143/
113/365: Marathon preparations
Today is the day. J is running the London Marathon for about the fifth or sixth time. He still gets a bit nervous and yesterday was spent sorting out his kit, pinning his vest to his t-shirt (left)and eating pasta. He left at 7 to board a bus with his fellow Orion Harriers runners, and I will set off a little later for a great vantage point in Shadwell where you see the runners twice.
I will also be looking out for colleague Julie Penman, who's running her first marathon.
The camera is primed and ready! More later.
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