The Finish Line

This will be my final entry in this training diary. It is the end of July and I am just about to begin training for the 2007 Windsor Half marathon – the race that started it all off. Also, an application form for the 2008 London Marathon has just dropped through the letterbox.

I have to admit, I am sorely tempted.

The marathon seems and age ago now, but in fact it is little more than 3 months. I haven’t thought about it for a while, but the arrival of next year’s application and drawing up a training plan for Windsor has brought back a few memories. Ironically, I haven’t run for about a month due to an Achilles problem, which I still haven’t totally shaken.

The final amount that I raised for Shelter was £2912.50 – almost double my original target! They are being a bit slow about returning my £200 deposit (doubtless they are still hoping I will forget about it) but otherwise they have been a good charity to run for and I am pleased that I was able to raise a lot of money for them. If I ran again, who would it be for?

With the additional perspective of the last three months, it has become clear to me just how much effort I put into running the marathon. It really did take over my life for 6 months!! Since I finished, I have been able to put more effort into my work, spend a lot more time with my friends and eat and drink enough to make up for everything I deprived myself of in the build up to the race.

But at the same time I am missing something. I am missing the physical exertion. I am missing (weirdly) the spin classes and the laps of Richmond Park. I am missing finding new parts of London and new paths through old favourites. Most of all, I am missing the challenge.

I don’t know whether I will apply to London again this year, but I do know now that I want to run another marathon. If nothing else, I can’t live without knowing whether, with the benefit of experience, so extra training and – fates willing – a cooler day, I might complete 26.2 miles in less than 4 hours…

So watch out Gordon Ramsay. Friends, prepare for more boring running anecdotes. Osteopath McWilliam, hold a space in your diary indefinitely. JD will run London again….. or possibly New York (watch this space).

But, for now at least I must bid your farewell, good reader.

I have an application form to fill out.

The end at last: JD with his medal