Photo finish - Adam W's London Marathon

Hi folks, hope you enjoy the first of the Striders' tales from the 2012 London Marathon! Over to Adam W to tell his story......

 

I’d strained and strained to remember every last intricate detail of what was my first full marathon. Unfortunately, my memories were blurred into a maelstrom of noise and colour, pain and elation, exhaustion and glucose. 

Blurred that is, until I was shown a series of photos taken by my family and girlfriend at various points along the marathon route. 

Then it all came flooding back.

Mile 11 - ecstatic

The first, taken at mile 11, shows a pristine Striders vest, with a relaxed and happy looking owner, grinning at the camera, giving cheerful thumbs up. The background of the photo shows a relatively disperse crowd of people and I remember how ecstatic I felt at mile 11. Ecstatic as I was no longer crushed and stunted by hordes of people running frustratingly below the pace I craved. Ecstatic because I felt great, like I’d only run 1 mile instead of 11. Ecstatic as I’d just seen my family and girlfriend who’d come to support me. And ecstatic because I was finally running the London marathon after three disappointing years of failed applications.

Mile 24 - fatigued

The second, taken at mile 24, shows a sodden and dishevelled Striders vest, with an unconscious looking owner, eyes closed with a fatigued hand feebly raised in acknowledgement of his support crew. I remember how hard that mile was, how time dragged and I seemed to be looking at my Garmin every few strides, assuming it was broken as time was moving so slowly. I remember feeling confused at how something that had initially felt so easy, was now so draining.

 

The final photo, taken seconds after crossing the finish line, shows a Striders vest, blue writing partially obscured with red and gold medal, the owner sporting the most exhausted and yet contented face imaginable. And I remember the feeling of sheer rapture and euphoria. The satisfied feeling of knowing that the four months of missed binges with friends and perpetual heavy, sore legs had made the preceding three hours, fourteen minutes and sixteen seconds one of the most poignant milestones in my life to date.

Mile 26.3 - exhausted yet contented