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.
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