Virgin London Marathon 2010 - application sent

Once again I've applied for the London Marathon. This is the sixth year in row that I have tried for a place, having been unsuccessful in the five previous years. However this time should be different. London marathon rules state that if you apply for five consecutive races and are unsuccessful on each occasion you receive preference in the ballot sixth time round. Notably they stop short of ensuring a place, but I am hopeful.

London Marathon 2001 was my first 26-miler. The race was a tough slog for me, having never run any running event previously. However, the atmosphere was amazing! The constantly cheering crowds, egging everyone on, was truly inspiring and ever since I've been looking forward to running the race again. 2010 will be that year. I can't wait!

Post-marathon - training begins again

The Jungle Room, Graceland

I always find post-marathon training a bit of a struggle. After working up to 26.2 miles and enduring and enjoying the thrill of the race I like to take a wee break from training. And after the Georgia marathon was no exception.

Being on holiday I had the perfect excuse. Trips to the Georgia Aquarium (biggest in the world I'm told), Graceland, Nashville, etc all provided an ideal distraction. Although I had my running gear ready most days, it was never used. It was fun, but not good for races ahead. Now I have to sort myself out for summer - 10Ks and all.

So far things are going OK. Two runs in I am up running about 3 miles without any real problem. However with a 10K race 3 or 4 weeks off I need to 'up' that just a bit. Wish me luck :-)

Marathon No.9 - The Hills of Georgia

It's taken me four days to get round to typing this up account of the ING Georgia Marathon. Pain and disappointment hasn't helped. The target was 4 hours. The outcome was somewhat different.

Aiming to break the 4 hour mark, I positioned myself with the 3:50 pace team. The plan was to keep up with those guys, allowing myself a 10 minute cushion for the later part of the race. That would hopefully take me to the finish within my target time. However, my hill training has been sporadic to say the least, and I was about to come unstuck as a result.

Atlanta, and around, is not known for being hilly. However, it's not far from the Appalachian Mountains, so a few hills shouldn't be unexpected. Well, there were a 'few' hills. And a few more. And by about mile 13 I was beginning to feel the worse for the apparent never-ending up-and-down of the route. There are some worthwhile site en-route to the finish line including Martin Luther King's Birthplace, the Jimmy Carter Center and the Miss Daisy House (from Driving Miss Daisy), but I missed all those in face of the onslaught of hill-hell.

As for my time. Hmm.. Well, it was a 'little' over 4 hours. I did have fun and I'm still having a great time here in Atlanta/Georgia, but my next marathon is going to be somewhere a lot more flat. That I promise.