rich_jacko

I went onwards to London last Saturday for charity run number 3, the world's biggest marathon.

I expected registration on Saturday to be stressful, and it was. Unlike other events, where your bib number is posted to you beforehand, for this one they posted out kitbags. You then had to drop these off at the ExCeL Centre, choose your finishing t-shirt, register and collect your number. Supposedly this was for covid reasons, to reduce the crowding of thousands of people together on race day. If so, it was a miserable failure. All it did was move the crowd indoors and a day earlier. Social distancing was impossible; you just had to trust a combination of luck, vaccinations and the requirement for everyone to have a negative lateral flow test in the two days beforehand. I suspect the real reason for this bizarre set-up was to influence people to buy stuff at the ExCeL's marathon show. I didn't go to the show. I was sufficiently freaked out, by the crowds on the Tube and while waiting in various queues for an hour, that I just wanted to get out as soon as possible.

After that, it was back to my hotel in Canary Wharf, where I'd literally only had time to check in, drop my bags and go, for a more chilled evening and an early night before the big race. The 18-mile marker was just outside the entrance, giving a taste of things to come. The weather was absolutely chucking it down, thankfully not giving a taste of things to come.

I woke as dawn was breaking on a crisp, dry and chilly morning - near perfect running conditions again (I've been so lucky with the weather across all three events!). After a sensible, carb-oriented breakfast (must resist having lots of bacon and sausages...), I hopped onto the DLR to Greenwich and made my way through the park to the start line. I was in the green starting zone, which was the smallest of the three, and had less of the excitement than the red zone, where all the TV cameras were. It was cold, waiting to begin, and I was glad I'd brought a foil blanket with me. It was nice to chat with other runners during the long, last-minute queue for the loos and while waiting in our holding area. I spoke with those hoping to go sub-3h30m, those doing their first or fifth marathon, and found myself stood behind the start line next to six people about to break a world record, dressed as Colin the Caterpillar. I love the dichotomy between all the different stories and challenges people have set themselves, and the way running events are such a communal, shared experience. Mind you, everyone in our holding area exclaimed, "What!?" at the guy being interviewed on the big screen for running 48 marathons in 30 days. That's just ridiculous!


As with the Great North Run, the wave starts and absence of spectators at the start line meant it didn't feel like a huge moment. I was mostly just eager to get going (and get warmed up!). It was fairly big though, being called forward with 1,000 other participants, hearing the airhorn, then all crossing the line in our three-minute window. The mass start times were spread over two hours, rather than six, as they had been in Newcastle, making for a much busier start. For all the chaos of Saturday, the organisation on the day itself was faultless, so full credit and thanks to all the organisers and volunteers (who, of course, I thanked along the way). Marshalling the runners, helping people cross the roads around us, manning the drinks and energy stations - all of these were vital jobs. Even if the road around the Lucozade hand-outs did feel rather too much like trying to run on the floor of the Roxy disco.

The early part of the run was all about not charging off too quickly and finding a comfortable pace. Easy enough, though it was tempting to go speeding ahead during the downhill mile 3. Greenwich, for the most part, looks like a residential part of any major city - normal roads, lined with houses, shops and the occasional park. It was easy to forget this was the London Marathon. Also, the 12-year-old me enjoyed sniggering at the marshalls stood either side of every speed bump, shouting "Hump!" enthusiastically and repeatedly as a warning.

As we merged with the red zone starters at the end of mile 3, the numbers grew and it began to feel more like a major event (I couldn't resist shouting, "Come on, you reds!" when they first emerged on the other side of the carriageway, divided from us "greens" and "blues" for a short stretch by the barrier). Then, just past the 10k mark, came the first iconic London Marathon moment - the tight loop around three sides of the Cutty Sark. The crowds here were enormous and gave everyone great support. If you want to know why mass running events are addictive, think about having thousands of people lining the streets, cheering you on. It was like that all the way around (easily the equal of the Great North Run), but nowhere moreso than there at the Cutty.


Almost as if it's the world's biggest parkrun, a marathon is mostly "a run, not a race". The camaraderie and support all the runners give to each other is fantastic. It may be different for the very elite, but us mass runners are mainly focussed on our own run, rather than jostling for position. Every one of us know how much training needs to go into running this distance and have enormous respect for one another. Especially so for those taking on the extra challenge of running in fancy dress. Those runners attract more attention from the crowds, but you can't begrudge them any of it - it's hard enough running 26.2 miles in clothes designed for running in; doing it in a bulky, hot and heavy costume isn't something I'd want to do. As well as the aforementioned Colin, along the way I saw a rhino, an elephant, a stormtrooper with a feather boa, a tractor, a bride and groom pairing, a three-legged pairing, Spider-Man, Batgirl and a giant brain. You cheer them all on, just as much as the crowds do. As I and a couple of other runners passed a guy clomping along in full ski boots. As one, we did a double-take and complimented him, "Well done, mate!" As the event's tagline says, #WeRunTogether.

Beyond the Cutty, the next few miles were uneventful and I got properly set into my rhythm. This wasn't a run I needed to think particularly hard about. There weren't the constant undulations of the Great North Run, or the massive uphill slog of the Sheffield Half. This was mostly flat all the way. It was just a case of finding a comfortable pace I felt I could keep up forever (the distance is too far to be thinking "Well, I can push for this long before I start to tire) and making sure I broadly stuck to it. This was quite easy given the number of other runners to pace against, and I found myself slipping into something of a zen-like state. Beyond that, the sum total of my strategy involved regular sips of water and energy bars after 15k and 30k. A shorter run, such as a 5k or 10k is all about speed and managing your heart rate/breathing; a marathon is all about going the distance and managing your energy/hydration levels and your legs. Every mile and every kilometre of the course was marked out (most events mark out either one or the other), which provided plenty of markers to reassure us all we were making continuous progress. I kept reminding myself, £17 per km - that's how much money I was raising for charity, and it seemed like a pretty good deal. I was definitely achieving something here. Thank you once again to everyone who has sponsored me over these events.

The biggest progress marker of all was Tower Bridge. I knew it was coming up, from passing the 12-mile marker, but it was still quite something to turn the corner and see the road stretching up to it. It was the only really noticeable uphill on the entire course, but the sight of the bridge gives you such a boost, you don't care. The crowds were in full force here too, and running across such a landmark was just as iconic a sporting moment as crossing the Tyne Bridge had been in Newcastle. In London, the bridge has the added significance of meaning you're nearly at the halfway point. This was one of the most exciting bits of the course - in quick succession, you run over the bridge, past the Tower of London, join a mile-and-a-half stretch of watching elite runners passing in the other direction (the fast club athletes, by the time I got there; the Olympians were long gone!), and hit the halfway point.


After that, it was into the winding slog around Canary Wharf and the Isle of Dogs. Not that it was terrible, but this was definitely the least fun part of the course. You lose track of where you are, it goes on for seven miles before you rejoin the carriageway in the other direction, and this is the point in the run when you're starting to seriously tire. And I had to run past my hotel, knowing I still had eight miles to go until the finish line. This whole section was not helped by (a) the sun starting to beat down hard - thank heaven for the shade from tall buildings; or (b) my Garmin watch losing GPS position - curse you, shade from tall buildings! The resulting garbage pace information (16min/km one minute; 3min/km the next - Go home, Garmin; you're drunk!) made it harder to concentrate and stick to my pace. But I got through that long section, and the 32k marker was another significant psychological boost - just over 10k to go and, unlike my previous marathon two years earlier, I was still going strong at this point. Don't get me wrong. It was hard work, I was tired and ready for it to be over soon, but I was still running well. I hadn't had to stop or walk so far and it was around this point I set myself the target of keeping that going until the finish line.

At 37k, I passed that all-important "only a parkrun to go" moment and entered very familiar London territory. There wasn't just an arbitrary distance to the finish line any more; it was a route I knew well. (Well, perhaps not running through Blackfriars Tunnel, but generally.) This was the first and last moment during the run that I had a serious think about my finishing time. Having established I wasn't going to break sub-3h45m (a possible goal I had going in), but nor was I going to be slower than 4h, unless anything went badly wrong in the last stretch, I dismissed such thoughts again and just concentrated on making it to the end without breaking stride. Others were slowing around me at this point. I tried to encourage them along where I could, but I was too tired to shout very much.


Along the Embankment, past the 25-mile marker - I could feel the end was near as I passed the corner of Westminster Bridge and Big Ben, 1,200m to go... Up past Whitehall, along Birdcage Walk and alongside St James's Park - it's just name-dropping landmarks at this point. This was it, the third and final big iconic section (after Cutty Sark and Tower Bridge) leading up to the finish. The signs marked 600m to go... 400m to go... I rounded the corner past Buckingham Palace (noting the Union Jack flying; Her Maj wasn't in!) and saw the finish up ahead. I got a boost from hearing the announcer talking about everyone coming in now achieving a finish in under 4 hours. It was in the bag at this point and I didn't have the energy for a sprint finish. Along with a couple of others, I spread my arms wide, soaked up the atmosphere and let myself relax a little, just enjoying cruising the final straight up The Mall and across the line. A finish time of 3h52m26s. I'll happily take that.


I paused for a selfie (getting out of the way of a runner dressed as a tree, who was doing the same), collected my kit bag, then went to join the park full of runners collapsed on the ground, to rest my weary legs, have a snack and a drink, and catch up on messages - lots of good luck messages from friends and family, as well as congratulations from those who'd been following my progress online. In my goody bag, as well as the extra layer and food items I'd added, there were much-needed bottles of Lucozade and water, a hefty finisher's medal and the brightest finisher's t-shirt I've ever earned. It'll certainly be handy if I go jogging at night and need to be seen... from orbiting satellites.

Eventually I struggled back to my feet. This was hard. I gave the corporate stalls a miss, but cheered on the people who were still running as I made my way back to the Tube. Having been lucky with the weather so far, the heavens now opened for a brief deluge. I got wet, but mainly felt sorry for those still out on the course. It felt nice to be treated like royalty by the Underground staff - a finisher's medal got you a "Well done!" and free passage through the barriers. Random passers-by also paused to congratulate anyone wearing a medal. There were still runners passing by my hotel when I got back, and the sun was out again, so I stopped to cheer them on before retiring to my room. The remainder of the day saw me attending to my aching body, phoning Mum and Dad, taking advantage of the hotel pool and sauna (Bliss!) and staggering out as far as Nando's for food replenishment. After which I went to bed at quarter to nine and slept for ten hours.

I felt stiff and sore on Monday morning, but triumphant. I made further use of the pool and sauna, and was able to make full use of the breakfast offer, without having to worry about running. There were several other runners staying in the hotel, so lots of mutual congratulations and swapping notes on how we'd done (a near clone of Dave R had run it in under 3h30m). I checked out, popped briefly into our London office to pick up my new security pass for work (None of my colleagues was in) then joined the queue for medal engraving outside the New Balance shop on Oxford Street.

I was expecting to have to wait, but I spent almost as long waiting as it took to run the marathon. I'm not even exaggerating; I was stood in line for about 3h45m. Not what your legs need the day after running 26.2 miles. Luckily it was a fine day and I had a book to read (thank you, Stephen Fry!) but still, had I known it would take that long, I probably wouldn't have bothered. The people doing the engraving were lovely and friendly, but there really needed to have been more than two of them. Negative marks for post-event organisation, just as with the pre-event arrangements. As a result, I missed the last super off peak train back by about 20 minutes, and spent 3 hours waiting around Kings Cross - St Pancras. I bought books, beer and pasta to pass the time, and eventually made it home around a quarter to ten. I was very glad I'd booked the following day off work as well.

Despite such occasional setbacks, it had been a triumphant trip. And let's not forget I wasn't just doing this for the challenge, but to raise funds for the National Autistic Society. My sponsorship page remains open for anyone who still wants to donate - I know some people have qualms about donating until after the event ;o)


What next? London has given me greater confidence in running marathons, so I doubt it will be my last. At York, I started too fast, hit "the wall" around 30k and half-limped to the end. I made none of those mistakes this time around and kept running throughout, at a satisfyingly consistent pace. Yet my finish time was around 2 minutes slower than York. Did I err the other way, and pace myself too cautiously? I feel I've got a sub-3h45m in me; I only need to shave off 11s/km. Not next year though, as I want a break from marathon training over the summer. Maybe in 2023...

It's goodbye to ridiculous amounts of training runs, and back to the normal Parkrunning schedule, post-marathon. Italics indicate an unusual course:

Date	My Parkruns	Time	Position overall	Position males	Position VM 40-44	Age-graded score
19th Oct	105th	20:59	27th/385	25th	5th	65.53%
26th Oct	106th	24:09	76th/274	68th	9th	56.94%
9th Nov	107th	20:38	22nd/415	22nd	3rd	66.64%
16th Nov	108th	20:56	20th/333	19th	1st!	65.68%
23rd Nov	109th	20:26	12th/295	12th	3rd	67.29%
30th Nov	110th	20:48	19th/301	18th	2nd	66.11%
7th Dec	111th	20:36	13th/375	13th	3rd	66.75%
14th Dec	112th	21:11	12th/266	12th	2nd	64.91%
21st Dec	113rd	21:22	21st/328	19th	3rd	64.35%
28th Dec	114th	20:38	16th/188	16th	2nd	66.64%
4th Jan	115th	21:05	25th/521	25th	4th	65.22%
11th Jan	116h	21:05	22nd/548	22nd	2nd	65.22%
18th Jan	117th	20:45	12th/513	12th	3rd	66.27%
25th Jan	118th	20:19	12th/473	12th	1st!	67.68%
1st Feb	119th	21:18	38th/713	37th	6th	64.55%
15th Feb	120th	21:06	22nd/444	19th	1st!	65.17%
22nd Feb	121st	20:57	20th/399	17th	3rd	65.63%
29th Feb	122nd	20:42	20th/424	17th	2nd	66.43%

26th October was a slow run, which I expected it to be, coming just six days after my marathon. Mostly I ran it just to prove to myself that I could. It was too soon though (as well as being wet and miserable), and I hurt afterwards. I volunteered the next week (time-keeping), to recover and get back on form for the week after.

28th December was a spot of Christmas tourism, doing the Evesham Parkrun near my parents' home. Despite the course being back-and-forth along the riverbank, it was one of only two local Parkruns that wasn't cancelled because of flooding. The course isn't the best, with a bottleneck turning point right at the start, but it was just about manageable with 188 runners.

I volunteered again for New Year's Day, where there was a record-breaking turnout of 750 runners! Seeing that many people running around Hillsborough Park together was fantastic. From my vantage point by the car park, it looked like a continuous stream of people for an hour. The high attendance has continued throughout 2020 so far, with only one week having fewer than 400 people (and then it was only one fewer!).

On 25th January, I marked my second-fastest ever time at Hillsborough and, on 1st February, I smashed 18 seconds off my previous reverse-direction PB at the 7th anniversary run. It's harder in reverse, you see. No matter what Becky says. Or Neil. 1st February was also the morning I tried to get back into longer running in preparation for this year's Sheffield Half Marathon. I ran a 10k Ooty Loop beforehand, then did my customary extra lap at the end (helping Dan & Tan to a sub-40 finish), to make it 10 miles in total.

This year, I want to tick off some of the volunteering jobs I've not yet done. On 8th February I stood in as Funnel Manager for the first time, and discoverd in involves almost as much running around as doing the Parkrun normally!

The last three weeks have included a slight diversion to the normal course, due to the amound of mud around the tennis courts. After a very slippery finish for the first go, we're now finishing on the path and the alternative course seems to work well. 3 1/2 abbreviated laps means more downhill than up, so it should be good for fast times. I've yet to work out a good rhythm for pacing it though; no doubt I'll figure it out just before we go back to normal. (We had an even more slight diversion earlier in the year, owning to drainage work by the climbing ropes. Naturally, the library downhill was restored to normal just in time for it to become the library uphill for the anniversary run.)

Today, with my first Monday off work, one of the things I did was a proper training run for the half marathon. 10 miles in 80 minutes, out around Strines Reservoir and back. It was a lovely day for it, with the storms of the past few weeks nowhere around. I was reasonably pleased with my time, but I'll need to find 5 minutes from somewhere if I'm to break through the 1h40m barrier on 29th March.

"Remember where you were when Eliud Kipchoge ran 26.2 miles in 1h:59m:40.2s!" they are saying.

I'll remember. When he was crossing the finish line, I was just about to start my final lap of my own personal record-beating run. Okay, I didn't exactly make human history, but it feels like a big personal achievement nontheless. I finally broke through that 20-minute barrier that I've been struggling against for the last 2 years! :o)

Not only that, but a few weeks ago I completed a double milestone by running my 100th Parkrun and completing my 25th Parkrun volunteering on the same morning. I also baked! Here's how Hillsborough Parkrun reported it on that Facebook:



"Thank you very much to Richard Jackson (pictured) who brought along 10kg of delicious flapjacks for all the runners & volunteers to enjoy this morning. This was a lovely gesture from Richard who today celebrated running his 100th parkrun as well as volunteering for the 25th time – 2 t-shirts in one day !! Thank you again Richard."

Parkrun achievements aside, my next big running challenge is almost here. There's only one week to go until I attempt my first marathon and I've been training hard - 10-15K runs during the week (either to Ooty and back, along Rivelin Valley or laps of the park), Parkruns on Saturdays and longer runs on Sundays.

All this training has obviously been paying off. As well as that PB, as I've had a good (park)run of times on Saturdays lately:

Date	My Parkruns	Time	Position overall	Position males	Position VM 40-44	Age-graded score
17th Aug	97th	21:34	13th/288	13th	3rd	63.76%
24th Aug	98th	21:28	17th/323	16th	6th	64.05%
7th Sept	99th	20:56	17th/407	16th	4th	65.68%
14th Sept	100th	20:54	28th/426	24th	3rd	65.79%
21st Sept	101st	20:39	18th/319	18th	1st!	66.59%
28th Sept	102nd	24:06	91st/426	84th	6th	57.05%
5th Oct	103rd	20:47	25th/431	24th	2nd	66.16%
12th Oct	104th	19:59	18th/461	15th	3rd	68.81%

Bold indicates a PBs, italics an ususual run - touring at Bury St Edmunds on 21st September and pacing 24 minutes on 28th September. Volunteer-wise, I was on time-keeping duty on 31st August, close-down on 7th September, set-up on 14th September and the aforementioned pacing on 28th September.

(And, just so I remember my PB lap split - 06:35 at the end of lap 1; 13:15 at the end of lap 2; 19:59 at the finish.)

I was a few weeks late starting longer runs, but I've more-or-less stuck to my training plan since. I've run in sunshine, the wind and the rain, although I haven't braved torrential downpours and I'm hoping to avoid them on the day! For the last couple of weeks, I've been tapering down for the big day. My Sunday run diary has looked like this:

• 18th August - 26.3 km/16.3 miles, Meadowhall and back via the Five Weirs Walk and the canal path. 62% of a marathon in 2h23m00s, 59.6% of my 4-hour target time.


• 25th August - 32.2 km/20.0 miles, Rivelin Valley and Crosspool, out to Forge Dam and back via the University. 76.3% of a marathon run in 3h2m52s, 76.2% of my target time.


• 1st September - 28.2 km/17.5 miles, Meadowhall via Firth Park and Concord Park, then back again via the canal path. 66.8% of a marathon in 2h29m08s, 62.1% of my 4-hour target time.


• 8th September - 22.1 km/13.7 miles, out to Damflask, two laps around the reservoir and back. 52.4% of a marathon in 1h59m06s, 49.6% of my target time.


• 15th September - 28.2 km/17.5 miles, an Ooty loop followed by Rivelin Valley/Crosspool/Eccy Road via the Botanical Gardens. 66.8% of a marathon in 2h30m51s, 62.9% of my target time.


• 22nd September - No run this week owing to my long weekend away in Suffolk/Cambridgeshire.


• 28th September - A Saturday rather than Sunday run. 34.1K or 21.1 miles, out along the canal path to Rotherham and back via the Five Weirs Walk. 80.7% of a marathon in 3h05m50s, 77.4% of my target time.


• 6th October - 30.4 km/18.9 miles, Forge Dam and back via the University and Botanical Gardens, plus an Ooty loop at the end. 72.0% of a marathon in 2h45m00s, 68.8% of my target time.


• 13th October -21.1 km/13.1 miles, Damflask and back, Rivelin and back, then 3 laps of the park. 50.0% of a marathon in 1h46m54s, 44.5% of my target time.

Lots of people have sponsored me for the Yorkshire Marathon already - Thank you so much! I'm already raising more than a penny for every metre (!) and I'm very close to my £500 target. If you haven't sponsored me yet and would like to, you can do so here.

I'd also love to see you at the finish line if you fancy a trip to York next weekend. All going well, I should hopefully be crossing the line sometime between 1:15pm and 2:15pm. (4 hours would be 1:30pm but I'm not confident enough to be any more precise than an hour-long window!)

Wish me luck!

Happy summer solstice, everyone! :o)

(Yes, it's a day earlier than usual. That's because it's a leap year.)

Just for a little while, I'm going to try to forget all the politics and think about all the good things coming up soon:

- After 3 weeks of rain, the sunshine is back!
- 2 birthdays and a christening to celebrate this weekend
- The Company putting on The Scarlet Pimpernel next week
- Upcoming visits from parents in July and sister/nieces in August
- Sunfest at the Rising Sun 7th-10th July

Currently in Garmisch, on holiday with the Chiverses. I'm sat out on our balcony right now, enjoying the view of the mountains from our apartment. It's been a fairly grey and rainy first few days, but the forecast from today onwards looks a lot better. I can see the Zugspitze! :o)

We've still been out and done a lot - much walking and the occasional royal palace, courtesy of Mad King Ludwig. Photos to follow when I get back!

I'll be having an open house this Sunday for my birthday, from 1pm 'till late.

The weather forecast is less than summery, so I think I'm going to nix the BBQ idea. This does mean there's a slim chance I might not end up with lots of leftovers from the party buffet for a change. Don't eat beforehand! ;o)

There's no particular theme or grand plan this year. Just come around and chill. Clearly a sign that I'm getting old.

Although there may be new Lego sets to build, so not that old.

Bringing an umbrella with me to work today was the best decision I've made all week.

I wish I'd brought my camera with me too. I saw (from a safe distance!) a double-decker bus ploughing through spray as tall as itself.

Merlot is spending the night indoors. I didn't have the heart to throw him outside in this. I'll go round in the morning and let him out again.

Ed and Krissy - If any of your outside plants drown, it's not because I've over-watered them!