What a fantastic experience I had running the London Marathon. It was so special to run through London and end up finishing on The Mall. The weather was a nightmare for running – so very hot – but on the plus side it brought the crowds out who were unbelievable and very supportive. There were bands playing all along the route, children handing out sweets, people shouting encouragement and generally a real carnival atmosphere – London at its best.
Half of my friends and family there on the day saw me and the rest missed me. Poor mum and her gang got to the finish after missing me several times only to find out from my brother Paul that I was back at the hotel having a much appreciated leg massage from the fabulous CRY volunteers.
My friend Cats carried a banana round with her to give me at Canary Wharf when I passed her, which never happened as she missed me too. Many of my wonderful supporters said by the end of the day they felt completely exhausted but enjoyed the experience enormously.
I finished in 4 hours 33 minutes, and was thrilled as I wanted to do it in under 5 hours and hoped maybe to do it in under 4 hours 30 minutes – but bearing in mind the hot conditions on the day my time was far better than I thought I would end up doing, so I am on a real high.
The only mental problem I had was to accept that Darth Vader and Scooby Doo were able to run at my speed in full costume (if not faster).
I ran in memory of Sebastian English, who collapsed and died whilst playing rugby aged 15. Ten years earlier his father Howard died aged 32 in similar circumstances, and now it has been established both had a genetic heart condition, ARVC.
By running in their memory I hoped not only to raise awareness for CRY but also valuable funds
I have been overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity and support and it has really helped me during the training and more importantly on the day.
I have already raised £6,500 and there may be a little more to come, but it just shows how wonderful everyone has been and how all the donations matter as they all add up to the final total and wow what a total.
I am now resting which is proving rather difficult after all the busy training weeks leading up to the race.
One thing I didn’t struggle with was enjoying the celebrating afterwards in my normal Mary-Lou style – starting with a fabulous party at my friend Sophie’s house in London in the evening after the race, lots of good food and LOTS OF CHAMPAGNE.
Thanks to everyone at CRY for all their support.