The one with a little help from my friends

On the drive to Bletchley I was confronted with a heron struggling to stand upright in the road.  Not a good idea on the M1.  I managed to avoid hitting the poor creature but don't imagine it survived too much longer after I swerved past.  The image returned to me several times later that day as I went through my own struggles to stand upright while attempting to complete a marathon.

My plan for the weekend double was to try a run for 25 minutes, walk for five minutes strategy on both days so that I didn't completely tire myself for the ongoing Munich training and also so that I could directly compare the two days in order to gauge the effect of longer runs.  I wasn't feeling 100% at the start but have been through that before and usually feel better after a mile or so.  However, on this occasion things started to feel tough quite soon, particularly considering that I was taking it easy.  My legs were tightening up rapidly and by mile 20 the vague dizziness had become full on head spinning and my hearing was muffled, as if both ears had filled with water.

During lap six of the seven I decided that I couldn't finish and had started to climb the steps up to the flyover in order to double back to the start/finish area and give up.  Luckily I decided to turn round and continue but my progress on that lap was stilted as I had to sit down every 500m or so.  I was really touched by the compassion shown by my fellow runners, offering their own supplies of drink, food and pain killers to get me through, halting their own progress to ensure my safety.  Despite all the encouragement I had decided that lap six would be my last and resolved to pull out at the final aid station.  I was then caught by my fantastically positive friend Kate shortly before the end of the lap, and in her usual forthright way she informed me that if I dare think about not finishing she would 'kick my arse'!  This was enough to make me re-think things and at the aid station my partner Mandy and another friend, Emily, were brilliant, setting me up for the final three and a half miles.

I was stumbling through this final lap when I drew level with another competitor struggling to finish.  Fiona and I struck up a conversation and agreed to assist one another to the finish line with encouragement and tales of suffering during previous events.  As a regular ultra-runner she had some great stories to tell.  The effect was brilliant, we chatted away and whereas the previous lap had felt as if my legs were seized-up and energy almost entirely depleted, I was at least able to maintain forward progress, it was pretty slow but 15 minute miles were far preferable to the 20 minute miles of the previous lap.  Again, it was remarkable the difference made by taking my mind away from the pain of the moment and reinforced to me the power of the body to continue in testing times.

That evening I was unsure whether to start the following day but happened to bump into Fiona again, and she was having similar doubts and so agreed that we'd both give it a go.  I was certainly not feeling great overnight and it was with a fair amount of trepidation that I started day two.  Within the first mile I knew it was going to be tougher than day one and by the end of the first lap I had been forced to make a slightly panicked dash to the toilet.  During lap two I threw-up a couple of times, and again on laps three and four.  However during lap four I started to feel slightly better and asked Mandy to get me a pint of beer for the next time round which I knocked back in quick time and started to feel much better.  This was strange as I hardly touch alcohol anymore as it tends not to agree with me these days, but somehow that's what I felt I needed at that time.

Starting off my penultimate lap in much better spirits I drew level with Emily, who had been so helpful to me towards the end of day one.  She explained that she was wanting to put in a fast lap as she had a train and ferry to catch.  This was a great incentive and so, chatting as we went, we slowly increased the pace and even managed to register a 9.30 for her final mile, ensuring she was in plenty of time for her connection and even achieving a course PB for her!

The final lap was easy and I even managed to run my final mile at target marathon pace which I would not have thought possible at any point during the weekend given the way I had felt but again says something about the powers of recovery of the human body.  

These two events were a real test of endurance, and cliched though it may be, finishing them truly was a victory for me.  If I had gone through with my brief intention to retire from the race on day one I would not have started day two and my marathon record would be missing two very unremarkable finish times.  But secured in those finishes is my knowledge that I was able to keep going when it was far easier to give up and also the power that can be drawn from fellow runners.  Two people enduring their struggle separately can be burdens to themselves whereas the simple decision share the journey for a while somehow lightens the load for both.  I really did get by with (more than) a little help from my friends!


17th August 2013 Enigma Gold Marathon 5:23:00   #19
18th August 2013 Enigma Reverse Marathon 5:24:26   #20