I wanted to make contact to say thank you SO much for supporting my marathon campaign for ME Research UK. When I launched the campaign back at the start of May,I could not have dreamt that I would raise over £7,500, and that my awareness video would have been viewed by nearly 6,000 people. I have been overwhelmed by the kind messages of support that have accompanied the donations and also circulated via social media; it has been a truly memorable time in my life.
I am so proud to let you know that I completed the marathon in Edinburgh on Sunday 31st May, in a time of 03:28:59, finishing 868th out of 7,184 competitors. I am even more pleased with my time, due to the intense head-on coastal wind that battered us for the last 8 miles. Official write-ups of the event mentioned how the times of the elite athletes had all been affected by this wind, and it was even reported that the eventual winner had to stop at one point as it became so strong! (
http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport...-wanjiru-and-kigen-dig-deep-to-triu.127606813) (
http://www.edinburgh-marathon.com/?news)
I also wanted to contact you to let you know a little bit about the big day!
I have always had the goal of running the marathon in under 3 and a half hours, and after 446 miles of training in the 16 weeks prior, I hit the start line feeling completely ready. After having fallen two weeks short of my last marathon attempt in 2013, due to injury, for me to just be stood on the start line feeling injury free and ready to tackle the challenge, felt like a huge moment in itself!
My plan was to run the first half in 1:45, and then push on slightly quicker in the second half if I felt able. I had ‘only’ run to 20 miles in my training plan, and at a slower pace than my goal race pace, so I knew I would be heading into the ‘unknown’. But, all the training guides I’d read said this was the right way to train, so I put my faith in this and had every confidence as I set off.
The first half went exactly to plan, with me passing through the checkpoint in 1:45:03. Half marathon ticked off, I knew I just now had to run the same distance again, only this time a bit quicker!! I felt fresh, I felt confident, and I ran with a smile on my face, relishing the fact that I was there, in that moment. I had actual goose bumps at various moments, and can remember looking down and seeing the hairs on my arms stood up…I was there, turning my dream into a reality!
My other sister Beth had joined me for the trip, and she buzzed around in a taxi to give me much needed support at miles 2, 5 and 16, before heading to the end. On passing her and high fiving for the third time at mile 16, I still felt good. My pace had increased slightly, and my goal seemed firmly in my grasp.
Then came the point at 18 miles, where we turned and started to head back along the East Lothian coastline towards Edinburgh. Without wishing to sound like I am exaggerating, the head-on coastal wind that greeted us at this point, was the most severe wind I had ever run in, and it came when I had the hardest 8 mile run left of my life. It reminded me of the winds you experience when you are a kid on holiday at the seaside, and you have to lean into it to stop yourself from falling over. It just didn’t let up, and I felt like I was barely moving! I knew that I had about an hour still to run, and this wind looked set to stay with me.
My pace gradually started slowing, and just keeping moving became progressively harder and harder. Everything in my body was saying “stop”, but I knew I had to ignore those messages, push through it and keep going. Up to that point, I had been psychologically breaking the route down into 4 mile chunks, but now it was time to take one mile at a time. As the miles gradually passed, people around me were slowing, many even stopping, and many actually yelling out at the wind in anger and disbelief!! It sounds incredibly cliché, but I just kept thinking of everyone who had sponsored me and supported me, and it kept driving me on. I was so determined I was not going to let a bit of wind beat me!
As I gradually ticked the miles off, the end was coming into sight, but I knew it was going to be close as to whether I could run sub 3:30, and I would need to turn my slowing pace around. I made it to the end of mile 25, and we finally started to move inland, away from the battering wind. At this point, the route also became lined with cheering spectators, who, although not knowing me personally, were shouting out messages of support to me, as I had ‘Tom’ written on my vest.
At this point, I realised that this was my ‘make or break’ moment. I know it sounds silly, but I would have been disappointed if I hadn’t completed it in under 3 and a half hours. I thought to myself that I had run for three hours twenty minutes, so I could do it for just a few minutes more.
I took one final hit of sugary energy gel and told myself to go for it. Not only did I have people cheering out my name, but in my head I had every single person who had supported me, willing me on as well, and this was a force to be reckoned with!! I think at this moment, it was 50% down to all of the hours of training I’d done, and 50% down to what was in my head, and you can never underestimate the power I drew from knowing that everyone was with me!!
My legs didn’t feel like they were really attached to me anymore, and the final mile was rather a blur, almost like an outer-body experience. I knew I had to run quicker, and I somehow managed to run mile 26 in 7 minutes 29 seconds, my fastest of the whole marathon! I turned the corner into the home straight for the final 0.2 of a mile, with both sides packed with supporters. I spotted Beth in the crowd, and after a final high five, I made my last few steps across the finish line, 61 seconds under my goal time!
I fell to my knees, feeling intense exhaustion, but an overwhelming joy at what I had achieved. I wanted to finish knowing that I had given absolutely everything, and I certainly did that, to the point where I was physically sick soon after finishing. At the time, it had felt like I was flying past people towards the end, and I have since heard that I overtook 361 people in the last 3 miles! Also, the elite Kenyan who won the race, did his second half marathon 9 minutes slower than his first, and it was a similar story for many other runners. I am so proud to say I did my second half a minute quicker.
I am so proud to have completed my first marathon, but I am even more proud to have been able to raise so much money and awareness for ME, and to have connected with so many different people along the way. This has been an amazing journey, and an incredibly special time in my life, one that I will never forget.
As part of our trip, we also got to meet the team at the ME Research UK headquarters in Perth. This was a special moment, and was great to see where they are based and hear about the work they are doing. I know that the money raised will be of great use to them, and hopefully, it won’t be long before positive steps are made towards finding out the causes and potential cures for this terrible illness.
Thank you so much once again for kindly supporting me. It means so much, and you really were there with me every step of the journey!
Lots of love,
Tom x
I made a tiny donation, and got a follow-up email from Tom:
