Gary's Run in London

From Pinehurst Club 2010

Received from Gary Comerford after his London marathon run.

"As promised here is my London Marathon Post Race report. I want to thank everyone who has supported this run by donating to Sleeping Children Around the World. If you have not as yet contributed, there is still time to go on line [at this link] and contribute or just send me a big cheque."

London 2010

Who would have ever thought that getting to a Marathon could be more difficult than the marathon itself; Volcanic ash, cancelled flights, respiratory concerns, airplane safety, and getting there only to have it cancelled were a reality five days before the big race. Through the terrific work of Eileen and a great travel agent, they managed to get me on a flight to Europe on Tuesday evening. A stopover in Paris and Amsterdam to do a little business and I was ready for my last marathon.

Listening to the weather forecast on the telly made me think I was in Mumbai, they predicted a high of 22 C. Now 10-15 is fine but 22 is a bloody heat wave for London in April. Need to hydrate! On the bus we go to Greenwich for the start of the race. There were hot air balloons, helicopters, huge TV screens, fabulous music and more port-a-pot ties than I've ever seen in my entire life. There were Virgins everywhere! I mean Virgin signs, including Sir Richard Branson himself, as Virgin was the lead sponsor. The corrals were set up and marked better than I've ever seen. This was one very well organized race. But 30 min. from the start the clouds opened up and it just poured! Glad I remembered the Glad garbage bags.

The gun went off, I think. I was so far back I needed binoculars to see the Kenyans. Off went 37,000 runners and one of the largest marathons in the world had begun. As is normal, the first couple of hundred meters were slow, in fact very slow and the sun began to burst through the clouds. The temperature began to rise, and I quickly discarded my throw away top. This was going to be a hot day. You could see the steam rising from the road. Normally I run about a 5:15 per k pace early in a Marathon but I was averaging 6:10 for the first 5 k. I wasn't re qualifying for Boston in this race. In fact it was going to be my slowest marathon ever as well as the marathon where I had the most fun.

The crowds were unbelievable right from the start. All through Greenwich people were cheering us on. At one point we passed the Greenwich clock and went from running in the eastern hemisphere to the western hemisphere. Early on I caught up to a group that called themselves the “human caterpillar”. There were 33 runners joined together all decked out in green outfits and the two lead runners wore red hats. At the very front there was this goofy guy wearing Butterfly wings. This was really neat to see. I ran with them for about a thousand meters, and chatted them up. Later in the day I found out that the goofy butterfly was Richard Branson. Two of his kids and Princess Beatrice, Fergie and Andrew's daughter, were part of the caterpillar chain.

At 20 k we crossed Tower Bridge and headed towards Canary Wharf. The crowds continued to be deafening. I know I'm running slow as my half marathon time is 2:12. At 22 k I see runners at the 35 k mark on the other side of the road heading for home and they look a lot stronger than I feel. As we run into Canary Wharf I say to myself” there won't be much crowd support here”. Boy was I wrong. The sound of the crowd was again deafening. Thousands were cheering, dancing, waving, and offering you a pint. The Caribbean dancers at 30 k were stunning and helped to really motivate the male runners. I was actually feeling strong, but that's probably because I was running so slow. At 35 k, I usually hit the wall. At Boston after heartbreak hill it was ugly. But in London, I just kept running like the “Eveready” battery. The slow steady approach is actually quite enjoyable. At 40 k you can see Big Ben and it's a welcome sight. A hard right after Westminster and there is St. James Park and Buckingham Palace just 800 m ahead. Around the bend and onto The Mall for a strong finish. Final time 4:40:18. My tenth and final Marathon done. The last of the Five Great Marathons of the world completed.

Going forward my annual run will be a half marathon, which Cathy says will be less stressful on the family. Finally a very big thank you to everyone that has, or is planning to support "Gary's Run" for sleeping Children Around the World again this year. Your annual contribution makes a big difference to so many kids in India.

Thanks for all your support,

Gary