This was my first marathon and ever since I received my acceptance letter (with a broken leg) from the ballot, i’ve been really excited for this event. 

I am not a natural runner, I'm much more at home in the pool and on the bike but I set myself a challenge reward; if I can run a marathon, I can enter a Ironman and that is how I initially saw it, a means to an end. When I lined up at the start however, thats is when it hit me and I appreciated what it meant to be part if it.

Registration process - This was all seamless and i mean seamless. They kept me up to dat every step of the way with increasing number of emails closer to the event. The only negative for me was having to pick up your number in person. I see why they do it and why people want to go top the Expo but for me trying to nip in and out in my lunch break, it wasn’t ideal.

Communications - As mentioned above it was excellent throughout, even received my finish time less than 10 minutes after finishing.

Logistics - Bag drop and retrieval was so smooth, no sooner had i finished that someone already clocked my race number and collected my bag ready for me before I’d even found the truck.

Event - As for the day, wow the crowds were simply amazing, so many more people than I was expecting and the noise in parts was deafening. You really get the sense in the latter stages of the race that the whole crowd is cheering just for you and willing you to cross that finish line. I saw several people stop running and the crowd just bellowed encouragement to help them on their way. I strongly suggest you have you name printed on your top because when its starts getting tough, the crowd just push you onwards. 

I feel must point out that I commute into and work in central London daily and rarely want to visit on the weekend. Daily commutes on the tube tend to douse your enthusiasm for London and Londoners. We are all ear phones in, cell phones out, trying get to work in the shortest time possible and woe betide anyone who makes eye contact or tries to spark up a conversation. Well not today people! the Londoners today lined up the streets, offering food, drinks, ice pops, the kids looking for high fives, the fireman dousing us with firehoses to keep us cool, the publicans putting on a band and BBQ outside their pubs. These people made this event, there wasn’t a single section of that race that where i didn’t think, WOW this is really something. Even after the event i was getting high fives and congratulations on the tube.

Finally, I would say to anyone who has any doubt about doing this race, just do it. o.k. so your unlikely to set a PB and there are lots and lots or people which becomes congested in parts, but it’s cheap if you get in the ballot and I doubt you will find an event that comes close to the atmosphere. Run for the enjoyment not for the time.

Finally big shout out to the visorclub who at mile 13 were cheering an supporting louder than anyone else, greatly appreciated!

London you did us proud!