Wow! I just finished the marathon! What an amazing experience from start to finish - I think I can honestly say that crossing the line 5 minutes under my 4h30m target must have made for one of the best experiences of my life.

First off the stats, brought to you direct from the London Marathon website:

My race started in the red zone, in trap 6 surrounded by the other runners aiming for a 4h30m race time. We started bang on 9.45am, and it was only two or three minutes on the race clock before the crowd started to open up and the 26.2 miles of running started.

It was only in the first mile though that I realised I already needed to take a leak, despite having taken advantage of the portaloos twice in the starting enclosure. I think the gallons of water I’d glugged the day before and all morning weren’t quite through my system, and that was about to wreck my otherwise perfectly planned and prepared first marathon. I also started the race with a slight cramp in my right thigh, and suspected that the two things were related.

Luckily, the foresight of the race directors had put bathroom breaks every two miles, and I managed to dive into the second batch at mile 4 as a door opened just as I was passing. Perfect timing, and only about 60 seconds lost from my pace. The cramp disappeared almost immediately, and I started to feel really good about my race.

I’d sucked down my first goo gel at mile 2, and the second at mile 6. I started the race with 5 plus two chocolate and granary energy bars. Planned to meet Kat and the gang outside Gordon Ramsay’s “The Narrow” on the leg into Docklands, so that’d be an opportunity to replenish my supplies from the extras I left-out for Kat in the morning. From a hydration point of view, I’d already tested and rejected the Orange Lucozade Sport drinks, so planned to stick to water through the race. It’s not a good idea to guzzle liquids, so I aimed to take on about a third of a bottle at every two miles. This was a good strategy, but unfortunately left me needing yet another wee-stop before I ran into the crowds of Rotherhithe. Opportunity presented itself in the form of a handy row of bushes just behind the water break of mile 7, and despite being too polite to stare I did notice that it wasn’t just the boys taking advantage of nature’s facilities!

I expected to see my first batch of supporters (Duns, Taij and Ram) going through Rotherhithe, but no sign of them in the crowds. Oh well, at least with “FLUKE” emblazoned on my running vest I was getting plenty of support from the crowd, most notably a gospel preacher and his congregation just outside Greenwich, “Hallejulah, go FLUKE”! Ha haaa!

Hunger pangs started to strike around 10 miles, so without breaking pace I gobbled down the first of my energy bars. It didn’t take long for the rejuvenated glycogen reserves to kick-in, and before I knew it I was turning North across the Thames over the picturesque Tower Bridge, just short of the marathon halfway point.

I’d already been liberally soaked and battered by the hail trekking through South London, but with the sun back out on the North side my trainers and kit were nicely drying-out. A good job, as wet socks usually herald blister city. Regularly slurping goo gels was keeping my energy peaking, and at the 15 mile point I was feeling great!

Caught-up with the next gang of friends at Gordon Ramsay’s “The Narrow”, on the last leg into Canary Wharf. I’d expected to see Kat, my mum, aunt and one of their friend’s Liz, but only spotted the towering form of the larger than life David and Claire peering over the crowd, with Shen peeking out behind them. Had time for a quick hug and jump up and down, before zapping off towards Docklands. At a post-race catch-up it turns out the whole gang were in attendance, and had been there for over an hour. At the very moment I was on my final approach, the paper bag holding the bottle of Thai “Snake Whiskey” Kat gave my mum split from the previous rain. Just as I passed, they were all staring at the rather grim form of a long dead pickled cobra on the pavement! LOL! Kat only managed to get a pic of my backside as I sprinted away at race speed, disappointed that my family hadn’t shown-up! D’oh!!

The Docklands leg is longer than most runners expect, but having lapped it several times in training I knew what I was in store for. Even so, there’s quite a bit of doubling back and forth, and in all the whole circuit takes almost an hour, at my meagre pace at least.

I was sure I was finally going to see Kat at the next planned meeting point alongside Limehouse DLR. Had my eyes peeled for the gang, and the first one I spotted was Shen, wielding Kat’s Digital SLR. Against all my expectations, I was still feeling fantastic at the 20 mile point, so managed to give a big grin for the camera while I grabbed an armfull of goodies to top-up my dwindling supplies.

Hilariously, this second stop was an opportunity to check-out the awesome supporter shirts Dave and Claire had made in honour of my big race. Great job dude!

On so onto the final stretch West towards Buckingham Palace, and the end of the marathon. A final chocolate bar and goo gel got me as far as Southwark Bridge, but I think the sight of home just across the river and the lure of a far too comfortable sofa was the first sign that my race was turning tough. No amount of chocolate or glycogen gloop was going to make a difference at this point, and the grimmest part of my whole race was felt plodding through the long road tunnel towards Blackfriars Bridge. My average speed had dropped significantly, and this was the point just before mile 24 that I had a rather extended walk through a water stop. Was passed by two rather attractive fellow Shelter supporters as we broke back into the light at the end of the tunnel, and despite the restarting rain that was just enough of a boost to get me back up to pace for the last 2.2 miles to the finish line.

I unexpectedly caught sight of Mei-Mei and the gang as I passed Jubilee Bridge, they were out watching for Lai who was also running his first marathon, and gave me a big yell as I passed them. An awesome pick me up for the final stretch. By this point I was really running on fumes, but with a bit of grit and determination I managed to get my pace back down to a sub-10 min mile. The elation of almost finishing started to kick in as I caught sight of the 800 metres to go sign. By 400 metres elation turned to emotion, and I felt on the verge of breaking into tears as I crossed the line at 4h25m, cap in hand and pumping my fists for the cameras.

What an experience. £3,000 of sponsorship and 500 km of training had paid off. I nailed my target time and had one of the best days of my life.

Ps. I just signed-up for the 2009 marathon ballot! Fancy joining me?!