People keep asking me if these marathons are getting easier. Well the answer is a straight forward no! I very much doubt I will cross a finishing line with the thoughts of "Oh well that was easy" Some are certainly harder than others for sure, but 26.2 miles will never feel like a walk in the park!
I had a horrible time at Brighton last week. I spent most of the race in so much pain. I had no idea how my legs would hold up to Manchester. Plus I have never done 2 marathons over 2 consecutive Sundays before. This was going to be an almighty test for me, physically and mentally. I pride myself in being a super strong minded person. I am willing to push myself to the limits to see how strong I think I am. I am so determined when I put my mind to something.
In a nutshell, I really loved the Manchester Marathon. My preparation for it was pretty poor though. I hadn't even realised that it started and finished at The Old Trafford Football Stadium. Being an Arsenal fan this hurt a little. Needless to say, it was a great setting for a marathon start and finish.
I got myself to my starting pen and no sooner from when I got there did I bump into the first of many people that I know from social media. First up was a guy called Mark who has been a great supporter of my challenge, so it was wonderful to finally meet him. Then from when the race got started faces were popping up everywhere. I ran with quite a few people who knew me from Instagram, which was brilliant. I comfortably ran to 13 miles with no problems at all. Though I was very well aware I was running a slow pace, as the running mass was way ahead of me. Though I can't fault the people of Manchester. They were just as supportive for the people at the back, than the super faster runners way up front. This goes for all the marshals who were just brilliant.
As I approached mile 18 I could see a girl up ahead. walking with a silver foil blanket wrapped around her (I call them space blankets). I could see that she was struggling so I made it my mission to catch up to her. Her name was Megan. She had pulled a muscle in her leg and had been walking since mile 13. She was in agony and wasn't sure she would be able to carry on. I just couldn't let her quit! She was at mile 18!! and I know damn well that 8 more miles is a lot to go, but if you can get to 18 you must carry on regardless. I made it my mission to stay with her to get her through it. I wasn't bothered about chasing a time. I just needed to finish this race safely. By the time 20 miles came around I was feeling it too. Every bone and muscle in both of my feet were letting me know how angry they were. I just had to up the conversation to keep both our spirits high. The general public were an amazing help with this too. Everyone acknowledged us as we both limped on by.
Every mile after 20 just seems like a fuzzy blur now. The roads just looked the same, the people just looked the same. All I kept thinking about was how amazing it will be when I have the football stadium in sight...THE FINISH! Then just approaching mile 23 I looked down to see a ten pound note staring me in the face. Now bending down to pick that up was fun, and even more fun standing up again. I felt like I had won the Euro millions! Maybe that bird that covered me in poo during the Brighton Marathon last Sunday was lucky after all. Then no sooner after that one of the race marshals said to us " not far to go now ladies. Just to the end of this road, turn right and you will be at the finish" Now every marshal since mile 13 had been telling me that there wasn't far to go, or you're nearly there, but this marshal was telling the truth. This was coming to an end. We turned the corner to be greeted with the finishing line. I started started to pick up the pace, as I always like a sprint finish no matter what state I am in. I always find that magical stored energy from somewhere! I grabbed hold of Megans' hand and got her over the finishing line. I realised at that moment that helping her to finish was one of the best experiences of this challenge so far, I helped her finish her first marathon. Even though it hadn't gone well for her she didn't quit, I kept her going and actually she had helped me to finish too. It was a good distraction from my own pain keeping her going.
So marathon number 6 bagged. Can I run another marathon this Sunday? Can I actually do this? Can I actually run it BLINDFOLDED? well the answers are YES,YES AND YES!! Come hell or high waters I will be doing the London Marathon THIS Sunday blindfolded...so watch this space.
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