Marathon Number 12: The Thames Meander Marathon

What is becoming my worst enemy now is my mind.  As the end of this challenge is almost in sight, it's doing crazy things to me.  Not that I want to keep on whining about it, but I am still unwell. I guess the only way to get 100% better is to stop running marathons for a while so my body can fully recover.  Well we all know, with now only 3 more to go that is not going to happen! So when my alarm went off at 5.15am, the sensible, logical Kerry, said "don't race today, stay in bed and sleep" That is all my body was screaming at me to do, but I have this small demon inside of me that says get up and keep going.  This is far more louder than my sensible side. As I made my way to Kingston, I sat on the train and thought up ways I could get out of this race. I even thought about just doing the half marathon, but I couldn't do that, and I wouldn't do that. Having already done this race last year (race number 2) I knew exactly what was in store. A nice, flat, comfortable race just out and back along the Thames path. Simple! Then I remembered how friendly the race was and my heart was starting to warm to it. 

As soon as I arrived at Kingston, it was already obvious what kind of weather I was going to have today, cold, wet and miserable. I arrived at the race HQ to a busy, but a warm friendly atmosphere. It felt like I was with friends I hadn't seen in a long time. Then I started saying hello to runners I keep seeing at races. This was great, and my worries about the race were starting to disappear. Then just as I walked over to the outside loo's, I heard "Kerry!!" being shouted out in a South African accent.  It was my wonderful marathon friend Lisa. I can't tell you how relieved I was to see her. I met Lisa exactly a year ago at this very race. She helped me finish, and have bumped into each other many times at different marathons. She has become a very special person during my challenge. I instantly knew that everything was going to be ok today. What was more exciting was that this was her 92nd Marathon. She is on course to join the mighty 100 marathon club in April next year. I am in ore of her. She is a back of the pack runner, just like me, and she just gets on with it. I would love to believe that I was capable of becoming a member of the 100 marathon club. 

The race got off to a good start, but almost instantly we were at the back of the race.  There wasn't much I could do today, as my legs were still sore from Frankfurt, but the best thing about today's race was that there was no pressure. Within the first 4 miles the heavens opened up. It poured down and the puddles were forming all over the place, thick with mud.  As first I was delicately trying to skip around them, but when the half marathon runners passed us with mud splashed up the back of their legs, I realised that I just had to get dirty! So I happily ploughed through them. My feet were soaked to the bone. There was still a very long way to go and I knew my feet were going to be in a bad way after this.  All of a sudden I felt someone riding beside me on a bike, I looked to see that it was the amazing Marathon Man UK(Rob). If you do not know who is he, I highly suggest you Google him.  In a nutshell, he has just completed running 370 marathons in 365 days.  I first heard of Rob during this race last year. I thought me running 15 marathons was crazy, but when I heard of what we was doing I couldn't believe it! That is a lot of running. I followed his journey ever since.  He has inspired me so much, and reading his story has keep me going. He rode alongside us for a few miles. It was so great to speak with him. He was so friendly, and humble. If I still had any doubts about the rest of this race, they were now all gone. It was so incredible to hear how he copes with running through pain. I'm so honoured he took the time to chat with us. He wished us well, and rode off. We felt amazing after this. 

The rain was now coming down harder than ever. I could hardly see in front of me. I was soaked, and covered in mud, yet somehow this made me feel proud. I wasn't letting it stop me. The muddier I got, the more prouder I felt. Lisa was amazing. She could talk the hind legs of a donkey. She was telling me story after story and I clung on to every word she said. Most of the time I even forgot we were running a marathon.  She has so many tales to tell from all the marathons she has run and she is amazing at helping people that are struggling at the back finish. There really isn't anything to dislike of her, she is like a running fairy godmother. We got to the half way point, stopped for a few minutes to refuel and have a bit of banter with the marshals. By now the rain had stopped and I was beginning to get cold. I was completely soaked. I was dreading the 13 miles back. Thankfully one of the marshals threw 2 bin liners over me to wear to keep me warm. We were now running back, but with the wind against us. It felt like someone was trying to push us back from running forward. Looking back now, I kept wondering why people that passed by us started at us. It was quite simply because, Lisa was wearing a Flamingo on her head and I was running in 2 bin liners! At the time it all just seemed perfectly normal. 

The 13 miles back seemed to take for ever. We got passed 16 miles and I was starting to feel the pain in my feet and my back. I just kept trying to focus and Lisa's stories and not think about it. When we got to Richmond, we took a few minutes to look at the view. It was a beautiful late afternoon. The sky was now clear and the sun was getting ready to set. It looked lovely by the river. We made our way to the last 6 miles of the race, which were through the woods. All of a sudden, Lisa made a comment on how dark it was getting, and she was right. We both laughed and agreed how horrible it would have been of either of us weren't here. Then all of a sudden, it got really dark. It was only 5.15pm. There was no lighting at all. It was pitch black. It was pretty scary! There was puddles all over the floor and it was impossible to dodge them. I just gave up trying in the end. Thankfully I had my mobile phone, and had to use it as a torch. This had slowed us down considerably as we just couldn't see pass the end of our noses. Every now and again there would be a firework exploding that would reflect across the river. This was lovely too see under the circumstances. 

Eventually we saw two people coming to our rescue with head lights on. It was the race organisers.  We were so grateful that they were still here, as we were now over 7 hours. Sadly as they walked with us to the finish, there was still a loop of about a mile left to complete. Yes it would have been easier to have just stopped there and then, who would know, right!? Even one of the organisers couldn't believe we were going to complete that last loop. We were both in so much pain that it would have been great to stop, but we are both fighters and are passionate about our marathon running. We had to be honest and true to ourselves. I hated every step. Especially as we had to run passed the finish, but we did it. We finished it. It was pitch black, and I felt like I had been running for an entire day. We had run through the cold, pouring rain, thick mud, dirty puddles, wind, darkness. It was quite an adventure! I can't thank Lisa enough for helping me through it and staying by my side the whole way. Also to Hermes Running for allowing us to finish the race! The girls where great to us at the finish, keeping our bags safe and even putting our medals round our necks. This has become one of my favourite races and I am sure I will be back next year, with a torch! Marathon 13 will be in 3 weeks, and I am delighted to learn that Lisa will be there, and she will also be at my final race, in Portsmouth on the 20th December. I thought I would struggle with the last 3 but now I am looking forward to smashing them all. Lets just hope I can shift this damn cold. 

Marathon Number 11: Frankfurt Marathon

I had been so sick in the days leading up to this, that I wasn't sure that I was going to be able to do this race. Had it just been a marathon for myself, I would have pulled out, but I am in no position to pull out of races now, as finding replacements at this late on in the challenge is impossible. I have to stick with the final 5 no matter how sick I am.  Unfortunately being sick meant that I couldn't get excited about Frankfurt.  I loved running Berlin so much, that I hoped this would just be as good. I had to literally put myself on auto pilot and get on with it.

I got an early flight to Frankfurt and had to go straight to the marathon expo to collect my race number.  I got there at about 12pm, and was worried it would be super busy, as they usually are the day before the race. Thankfully it wasn't too bad, and I collected my number as soon as I got there and my pre-race goody bag. Usually I like to spend a bit of time at the expo, but I was feeling so unwell, I had to get out of there. I didn't even look to see what was in my goody bag.  I found a McDonalds near by and stuffed my face with a pre-marathon Big Mac, whilst seriously questioning whether it was safe for me to run this marathon. I just had to keep telling myself that I can do this.

I went and checked into my hotel, which was only a 10 minute walk from the start, I hadn't realised how close it was.  This made me happy, as I didn't have to worry about how I would commute to the start line. The hotel was fab, really fancy.  It made a sick girl feel much better. I got to my room and all I wanted to do was sleep. I slept for about 4 hours.  I felt so bad that I had flown all that way to sleep and eat Maccy D's. Thankfully my hotel had a really nice restaurant so I didn't have to go out for my final carb loading meal.  I sat and coughed, sneezed and sweated through my pasta and took myself off back to bed.

I woke up still feeling dreadful.  I forced myself down for breakfast.  The breakfast room was full of fit, healthy marathon runners, and not a single person was speaking English. I felt so sorry for myself being on my own, with no one to talk to.  One of the breakfast buffet options was champagne! I can't tell you how tempted I was to just grab the bottle and go back to bed!! I pulled myself together, checked out of the hotel and made my way to the start.  I was a bit disappointed with the dull atmosphere.  The buzz was nowhere near as good as Berlin and it also felt like this marathon was going to be far more competitive!  There where not many charity runners! I placed myself in the 4 hour runners pen, as I wanted to give myself a good head start and just waited for it to begin.  I was terrified of what this race would happen during the 26.2 miles.  I just stared at the ground like I was about get on the scariest ride at the funfair!

As soon as my feet went over the start line I wanted to quit.  I was already a sweaty mess and I hadn't even ran half a km.  My chest was so tight, and I was struggling to breath.  I had told myself that this was not safe and I should pull out. After the first km I agreed, in my mind, I would quit at the next km, The streets where so crowded with supporters, that I didn't want to pull out in front of a big crowd. So I kept saying to myself, next km I will pull out.  Just after the first km, my mate Norm caught up with me. I told him that I was going to quit and that I would see him at the end. I think even he was convinced I wouldn't make it, as he saw the state I was in. Somehow I had got myself to 8km, and the race was now starting to go out of the city, and the streets where considerably quieter! Now was the perfect time to stop, but there was just something stopping me. It may have been the tramp that was now running along side of me. He looked like he had just rolled out of a rubbish bin, and thought he'd start running a marathon.  I looked down to see his shoes where about 5 sizes too big, and he stunk of all manor of bad things. I kept running just to shake him off, but he left me for dust! It's bad times when you are overtaken by the local tramp!

I was very aware of how slow I was going, and how much I had fallen behind, but there were still runners behind me, so I agreed with myself that I would run until the sweeper car pulled me out of the race. That way I wasn't quitting. Soon enough I had got myself to 22km. I had made it half way, but I was struggling badly now, I kept looking behind me in hope I would see the sweeper car, but it was nowhere in sight!  Then a girl ran alongside me and said "are you running the full marathon?", in disbelief! I held my head up, looked her straight in the eye, and proudly responded with a strong "YES!!, YES I BLOODY AM!!" There was a relay marathon going on at the time. So every now and again you would get fresh runners running passed you, she was one of them!. It was so annoying and her judgement on me gave me fire in my belly to not quit! "I'll show you" was the response in my head! From then on, I never looked back for the quitting option, I just looked ahead and started thinking about putting the medal round my neck!

At about 27km, another girl was suddenly right beside me.  She asked me if I was OK?  She was having problems with her hip and knee and she offered to stay with me to help me finish. It was perfect timing, as I needed to talk to someone to take my mind off the running. Just before we hit 30km, the sweeper car pulled up alongside me. It had arrived. The guy driving it told me that the race had now finished and I was officially out of the race! The race was only 4 hours in, and it had a 6 hour time limit! so how was the race finished? I told him I was finishing no matter what, and he'd have to drag me off if he wanted me to stop. He said completing the rest of the marathon was at my own risk! I just ignored him, and carried on. It was actually a relief when he drove on, as now there was no pressure! When ever I run a race, the one fear that goes through my head is that I am going to be last. I have been close to it, but it has never happened. Well this was it, I was last, but more importantly I hadn't given up. I was still fighting.

When we finally hit 30km, I started to have a real low moment. I think I cried for about a mile. My body had cooled down and I was freezing. I couldn't run any faster to warm up. I just had to keep talking to block it out. I kept having to talk about why I was doing all of this.  I then started thinking how awful it would be, travelling back to the UK having quit the race.  All of a sudden, we had another lady who had caught up with us. She was having a tough time and she joined forces with us.  She couldn't speak much English, but her boyfriend, who was walking beside her, was doing his best to translate.   It was her first marathon, so it became more important to make sure she finished!

It was surprising how many people where still out supporting the race. Though not all of it was welcoming. Even though I don't speak German, I could tell that we were being mocked and laughed at! We hadn't seen any other runners for so long!  Then at 36km we started seeing the runners who had finished. Wearing their medals proudly, hobbling their way home. I had a taste for the finish now, I kept fantasising about it. Soon enough we only had 5k left to go, but It still seemed like a long way! I had another wave of feeling so unwell.  I think by now, I had just gotten good at blocking it out. Coming down to the last 2km, it was so dark. I felt like I had spent an entire day running.  Then I saw my mate Norm, who had finished. He told me that there were no more medals left at the end. I thought he was just winding me up. He said that he hadn't even got one.  I didn't want to believe it, even more so for the girl who was running her first marathon.  I had to believe that he was joking because I would have just thrown myself to the ground and cried!!

As we ran down the last half km, everything was being taken down around us. We had to keep asking marshals where to go next.  The race finishes inside a stadium, this is one of the perks of the Frankfurt Marathon. It's quite a special moment, and  I had been looking forward to that moment so much, though I knew it wasn't going to be as amazing for me.  As we approached the entrance to it, they closed the shutter down on us, leaving us just standing outside like idiots. I literally couldn't hold the tears in any longer. 20 seconds later the shutter opened back up for us to finish. It was soul destroying.  All the people inside where just laughing at us, not in a supporting way!! It was horrible. All the lights were being taken down, and the red carpet was being cut up.  Then my worst fear had come true.  NO MEDALS!! Utterly devastating!! How the hell do you run out of medals??? There was literally nothing left for us at the end, apart from a bottle of water, and getting one of those was hard work. Then finding someone who spoke English to get an explanation was even harder.  I was told that I would get one sent in the post, but the damage was done.

I went to collect my bags, that were thankfully still kept safe for me, and tried to cheer myself up with a second helping of a Maccy D's.  I painfully walked over to it, only to find it was CLOSED!!! Everything was closed, as it was a Sunday! Could my life get any worse today!? I sat on the nearest bench and just cried, and cried.  Looking back now, I can laugh at what a state I must have looked, but I was so exhausted, hungry, sick and fed up, that everything seemed like it was a thousand times worst than it was, but the worst thing about it all was that I was on my own. Thankfully I have great support on social media, and was getting kind words of support from Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. I had the worst journey back to the airport, but once I was there, I had time to reflect on my day. I didn't have a medal, but I had my pride. I never gave up.  It was the hardest struggle I have ever had during a marathon, but I learned so much about how strong I can be. I didn't care about being last, being laughed at! This is my journey!, my challenge! and no matter how slow it takes me, I can proudly say that I have now completed 11 out of the 15 marathons.