There have been two races that as a newbie runner were immediately put at the top of my #BucketList.  The New York City Marathon and the London Marathon. NYC, because it's the largest marathon in the world and London because....it's LONDON!!!  For this Mississippi girl, there wasn't anything more romantic than running through the streets of that amazing city.

Getting to the race itself was a piece of cake.  MFH (My Favorite Husband) and I had a terrific location for our hotel so it was a simply tube ride and a brisk jaunt up the hill to the corrals.

I found my pacing group with ease and pretty soon we were running!

The course was very crowded and this surprised me.  I've run quite a few large marathons and have never felt quite so squished on the course.  I had a time goal to meet so got a little frustrated at the lack of wiggle room.

I quickly switched race goals from a time goal to, just enjoy this amazing experience.  That's exactly what I did!  

The London Marathon turned out to be a complete blast!!!  I loved every step!

Running along the Thames, I entertained myself by reminding myself that the "Th" is just pronounced as "T" and the "ames" is not prounced the way my poor, befuddled, American mind wanted to prounce it.  For quite a while, I was practicing saying it the correct way.  Funny the things you do when racing!

I had a friend meet me at mile 17.  That sweet guy had stood there for close to 3 hours holding a sign and a dish of Jelly Babies (I'm a huge fan of those things, now!) waiting for me to run by.  I stopped, we gave each other a quick hug, stopped for a selfie and waved good-bye.  What a great guy to do that!

I chatted with a man who was running his 200th marathon.  I chatted with a girl about my daughter's age.  I walked a bit with a Seik.  

The people you meet at these large international races are amazing people!!!  I swear that's my favorite part of racing.

All of a sudden we ran around a bend and there was Big Ben.  I still can figure out how I didn't see that until then!

Running towards the finish past Buckingham Palace was enough reward for this kid!  What an amazing race!  What a terrific time!!!  I was sad that it was over.

This is a definitie Must. Do. race!!!

I had the time of my life!!!