Elswick Storm the Capital

The sun shone and the crowds were out in force as 11 members made their way to the start line for the London Marathon with more of team Elswick providing excellent support and encouragement on the course. It represented a great end to months of hard work and tough training plans that often get you questioning “why am I doing this?.” My personal highlights of which were the horrible treadmill runs on a work trip to Denmark to avoid the snow and ice, a 20 mile run with Rich & Ben with a park run chucked in just for fun which killed me and a 20×1 mile loop race to test the mental preparation!

> The marathon is a real weekend event as you have to make your way to the Excel arena on the Saturday to collect your race number and pack (so much for resting your legs!) where it is a runners dream with stalls selling everything running related you could possibly imagine. There was also a treadmill set up to see how long you could last at world record pace which I thought was best to avoid. It was then back to the hotel to scoff down a large pizza and find out my wife had made a little Elswick vest for my 18 month old daughter to wear ☺

> Wide awake at 2am I tried to rest till 6. It was then time for some porridge and a short walk to London bridge train station to get the train to Blackheath where amongst the crowds I managed to bump into Jason, Andrea, Mike and Elspeth before quickly losing them again in the melee that is trying to squeeze as many runners as possible into a packed train. At the blue start I met Ben and Rich and also bumped into Dom so it was great to see some friendly faces before the start.

> Being in zone 3 it only took 90 seconds to cross the start line but the number of runners meant it was a frustrating first few miles of weaving and path running to try and find a rhythm. Having last run it in 2008 the big plus for me this time was the crowds were now much bigger in the first half of the marathon which was a real plus as there are a few dull miles for scenery. At mile 8 I went past Kevin Sinfield who is a rugby league legend of mine and getting a handshake and quick chat mid run was a real boost. The next boost came around mile 13, crossing the amazing tower bridge and then getting to see our amazing Elswick supporters on the other side was a real emotional lift. Then seeing Bekele et al going the other way made me realize there was still a long way to go! I was trying to stick to the mile splits for 3:10 but as the miles got closer to 20 this was getting harder to maintain. Knowing our supporters were at mile 23 was enough to keep me plodding on despite the cramp setting in. At 24 I had to stop for a quick massage from St Johns to try and remove the cramp in both quads and hamstrings at the same time preventing me from bending my legs, fortunately about 10 yards out of shot of Colin Jackson and the BBC camera crew!

> I had a chuckle in the last mile as Big Bird overtook me and I couldn’t do anything about it and crossing that finish line brought a sense of relief and pride that all the cold and wet training runs had been worth it. Walking exhausted to the letter E for an Elswick meet up my kit bag and medal felt like they weighed a tonne, I’ve never been so happy to see Jonny Lowes who offered a leg stretch to subside the cramping! It was great to see everyone and hear how they had got on for a great day for the club. Everyone’s excellent times are below with some pictures (plenty more on the Club FB page). I’d personally like to also congratulate Richard Houghton on achieving his sub 3 dream, the mileage and dedication he has put in to doing it is incredible.

> Sorry this is a bit long but very well done Team Elswick, another day to make me proud to be a member of an excellent club and for anyone interested in doing the marathon (ballot opens next week for 1 week only) I’m sure any of those who did it will be able to provide their own great version of the day.

With best regards,
> Scott Brady