Bucket List
If it’s not already on your list and you haven’t already ticked it off, make sure you add ‘Run the London Marathon’ to the list of things to do before you die…having just completed my fourth London Marathon in ten years, I’m a big advocate in taking part in something amazing at least once in your life.
Nothing compares to running the streets of our beautiful capital on a spring day to the shouts and screams of the great London public, cheering you on every step of the way. It’s the nicest day in London by far – even as a spectator – London becomes a hive of friendliness with a sense of camaraderie, usually reserved for Cup Finals or the folk up North.
Unexpectedly, this year was my most successful marathon. I only had 10 proper weeks training after my arm came out of plaster, so I invested in a running coach, who introduced me to the merits of the run-walk strategy…basically I ran the whole marathon and did all my long training runs running 5 minutes and then speed-walking 1 minute and it worked a treat, I didn’t hit the wall and I didn’t stop once. The last five miles my 1 minute speed-walk got less speedy, but I kept smiling and finished in just over 5 hours. I enjoyed every minute and would encourage everyone to give it a go.
I was running to raise vital funds for DEBRA, a charity which helps EB sufferers and their families – If you’ve never heard of DEBRA, please take a look at the very good work they do here: http://www.debra.org.uk/real-life-stories/intro and if you’d like to donate some money for this worthy cause, you can still sponsor me https://www.justgiving.com/Sam-RookeVLM.
Running for a charity helps you cross that finish line, it gives you the determination to get up in the morning in the wind and the rain and run 15 miles while everyone else is tucked up in bed and it certainly puts a smile on your face when you collapse into bed on race day. So, run yourself a memory that will last a lifetime and help others less fortunate in the process.
