London Marathon 2019

By Stuart McGeachy

The London marathon is probably the race of choice to do and on most runners bucket list, so it was hard not to take up the opportunity of a championship entry to the event. I'd qualified on the back of a sub 1:15 half marathon time for Great Scottish run the year before so I thought it was too good a chance to pass up. I'd ran the Berlin marathon last September in 2:46, which is a good time, but slower than I'd hoped and I knew I could get in a sub 2:40 time given the right circumstances. As most people who know me will confirm I can be quite sore on myself with times and rarely satisfied , probably because my expectations exceed my ability!! However, my Berin time had really frustrated me given my training and I knew I didn't force the race hard enough.

My training for London was decent. I had a couple of injuries that disrupted certain phases of the training mesocycle, but I was confident I'd put enough in for a sub 2:40. I was a bit unlucky for some of my runs as the weather was horrific for some of them with snow, heavy rain and winds on some of the key 22-24 mile runs. In addition, my tune up half marathon on Balloch to Clydebank was a nightmare as injured hip on mile 8 and limped home in heavy snow for the remaining miles! I've never felt as cold as that in my life! However, I had a successful 10 mile race a few weeks later for Tom Scott race finishing in 55 mins and this helped put my mind at ease.

Unlike most years for London, the temperature wasn't going to be an issue as storm Hannah hit London the day before, so it was cold and windy on race day. Typical....I can't ever seem to escape the bloody wind! I had a minor back issue on the week leading up to the race, which seemed to take a worse the night before at the restaurant! I was finding it hard to stand and pain was running down my hip....I couldn't believe it! Thankfully Elaine managed an 'amateur' Ostepoath adjustment (don't try this at home!) to click my SI joint back in to a more comfortable position and this seemed to fix the issue...marathon is back on!

Race day and managed to get to that starting are in time. The Championship entry runners have their own section separate to the other runners to warm up, so it was good to know I'd get a good starting position just behind the elites. The conditions were cool so perfect for running...no excuses!

The race started and the elites went off at a ridiculous rate! I crossed the start line a few seconds later and tried to follow my game plan of approx 5:55 min mile pace. My pace was quite steady on the first 10K, which I did in 36:51. The pace felt comfortable, but that might just be the adrenaline! My favourite section is Tower Bridge as the crowd is immense at this stage. I knew the Dougie and Katie Ferguson would be there. To show appreciation of their support I somehow gave them the big V's! I meant to do the peace sign but got it round the wrong way so got a bit excited...sorry Ferg's!

I crossed the Half marathon mark in 1:18:12 and still untroubled, but I knew still a long way to go. As we approached Canary Wharf about 17-18 mile mark the route is more winding and undulating. From experience this is when I normally start to feel the effects of the race...and so this trend continued! I wasn't struggling, but you start to feel the effects and need to ensure you're fueling correctly at these stages. I saw Elaine cheering me on at mile 19, as she had at Cutty Sark, which really helped and gave me a boost to push on out of this section to the finish line.

My Garmin pinged an alert for mile 20 and I reached it just under 2 hour mark, which was the aim, and I knew I had a chance of a sub 2:40. 40 mins to run a sub 40 10K...that's how I broke it down. Unfortunately my legs were tiring and we were now hitting a strong head wind all the way to the finish, so I knew it would be tight. By Mile 22 I knew a 2:36 time was out as my pace was slowing badly. By mile 24 I was kissing goodbye to 2:38....just hang on for a sub 2:40!

Big Ben was in sight (at least the scaffolding around it was!) and I'm really needing to pick up the pace, but here's not much in the tank. I've not hit the wall, but I'm finding it hard to pick up a pace like a did at Berlin. I then reach the 400m to go sign, longest 400m I've ever done! Legs are going as fast as they can going down the Mall as I see the finish line...which isn't very fast! I can see the time and know it will be tight....and it was....2:40:01! 2 seconds shy of my target!

I thought I'd be really gutted about the time but it's fine. It was still a solid run, even if it was a few mins slower than I'd hoped. It was a 6 min PB and I know given some better fueling that I could get a 2:35-37 marathon.

My fellow CRC chums Alex Soudan and Sarah McFadzean were also running and produced outstanding times as well. Alex finished in an amazing PB time of 02:56:59. The big man has just got better and better with his marathon times over the last year. Sarah also had a great run in 03:52:45, which wasn't a PB but still impressive given the training. As per usual with Sarah she looked fresh at the end and could probably have done another 26 miles!

A big thanks to the Ferg's for a cheer at Tower Bridge (and somewhere else I missed you guys) and Elaine for supporting me throughout the race at Cutty Sark, Canary Wharf and on the final few miles. It definitely helped, even although the crowd support throughout the race is incredible. It's the second time I've done London and would definitely recommend it for most runners to try if they get the chance.