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I'm told there's nothing like a good night's sleep the night before a marathon! Well it hadn't happened on the previous eleven attempts and twelve wasn't going to be any different. I don't actually recall dropping off at all - I mean I MUST have done given that the downpour and thunder at 12.30am came as a bit of a surprise! Luckily, I remembered reading or hearing somewhere that this was nothing to worry about and that I'd sleep when I was ready. So as I bedded down for the night, I enlisted the chatter of some Friends to listen to...but it was becoming clear that the trials and tribulations of Ross, Monica, Phoebe, Joey, Rachel and Chandler weren't helping for once.
The alarm was set for 6am - which meant that 5:55am was the cue for me to drop off! Anyway, I was up, dressed, packed, unpacked, packed again making sure everything was in the bag and ready for "London Bab".....let's not go there! After the fun and games of the expo, (and since I was wide awake and now dressed, obviously!) I headed for Bermondsey Tube Station for the short journey to London Bab...I mean Bridge.
Already the temperatures were rising and volunteers were preparing the main road to become miles 11 & 12 of the marathon. As the tube pulled in, my cunning plan already looked flawed as it was standing room only, and to be honest, there wasn't much of that. At London Bridge, I headed for the platform and braced myself for the crowds and the erm.....
One deserted train ride later, I was arriving at Blackheath and things started to get that little bit more real. I headed to the Red Good For Age Start (somehow not realising until I got there that my feet were soaked from the morning dew), confidently announced that I was there to volunteer, and there I was - in the FGFA! Of course, I did do some volunteering and it was never in doubt that I wouldn't start with the speedies but it was great to see some very familiar faces on arrival! First up was Dennis, then Bella, Jo, James and Jake from parkrun HQ. Nik, Georgia and John were busy doing the very important selfies at the start (and why the heck not at that time of the morning?), Caroline and Mark from Arena 80 were familiarising themselves with baggage duties, Rich was making sure all was in order, and then running chums Mike and Alastair (who totally did deserve to be in this section) were preparing for the morning ahead! A quick cup of tea (minimum two hours before I run) was squeezed in just in time, and then Danny and Bev turned up - like Alastair members of 26.2 (THE best running club in Surbiton). Beverley like me was running today and she too donned the very smart New Balance red jacket ready for a spot of volunteering.
We went through a thorough warm-up which just happened to take place with "YMCA" being played over the speakers - all entirely coincidental you understand! (Photo credit to Danny Norman for this!) Anyway Dennis and I must have looked like we were having too much fun as a lovely lady in the arena to perform any first aid, asked us to pop over the other side of the fence to collect a table for her! We duly obliged and made our way through to red start in search of said table. I was so focused on the table that I completely blanked Steve Way (sorry Steve!) and it soon became apparent that this was a needle in a haystack scenario! Through the speakers, the marching music of the band was being played and suddenly Dennis and I were marching..literally marching to the beat. We must have somehow looked rather important as we were then answering all sorts of questions: explaining to runners that Pen 3 was after 2 and before 4. Now I know dear reader that may sound a tad sarcastic, but the marathon can do things to the runner's brain and especially for chaps, communication and counting become an art form.
Anyway, one table recovered, it was time to negotiate a path back to FGFA which I do think Dennis and I did with a certain panache! Loitering around outside as I headed back was Mel Belsdon whom this time last year was gearing up to run the marathon herself as part of the challenge set to her and nine other runners as part of the "Mind Over Marathon" programme. This time she was busily organising everyone else who was running and it was fab to catch up with her and Georgie (who also featured but was doing her second VMLM that day!) We kept an eye out for Claire, who was part of the BBC production team who was also running but alas, time was pressing! I arranged to catch up with Mel out on the course, and did warn her that a sweaty hug from me may lead to inoculations being required!
Things were warming up both metaphorically and meteorologically speaking. The area was buzzing with activity and over at the Blue Start we could hear the start of the races for the wheelchair athletes and the women's elite. Queues were forming to enter the FGFA start and as 10am approached, it was time to lose the jacket and don the Arena 80 AC vest. Runners can talk about anything to each other be it toilet habits, nipples or chafing so when I was asked for a spot of vaseline from a fellow runner, I didn't hesitate! "Thanks mate, you've saved me" he called as he trotted to the start line. I couldn't help wonder, how far on his journey home he would be, by the time I crossed the finish line. (In hindsight, he probably WAS home!)
As I slowly made my way over to the start, there was last chance for a hug with fellow parkrun ambassador Mike Houston and a few good wishes shared. Rich then wished me all the best! Then the runners were under the control of Georgia and the other volunteers as they were guided to the start line ready for the Queen to press a big red button at Windsor Castle to set them off. And away they went - top club runners who would be aiming for 2:30 times - and in amongst them was Tom - a good friend from my overseas days for Neilson. If someone had told us 13 years or so previous on that beach in Ortakent, Turkey, that we would be preparing for the London Marathon, we'd have demanded to know what they were drinking....and ensure we had a double of it.
As the start groups made their way to the start, I kept an eye out for the third section - this was where I was supposed to start from. There was still time for a quick selfie with Sandra who organises the brilliant Ealing Half Marathon and "one for the road" - photo of course - with Bev, courtesy of Danny before I saw a spot, and started to head to the start! There were people I wanted to see as I left, and there of course were Georgia, Nik and John (whose roar reminded me of an identical one at mile 23 of VMLM 2014!). Just past them were Jo, Bella and Jake who also cheered loudly.....and then that was that. Off I went. Marathon 12 - my third London and one that was to provide experiences that I'd never had before.....but that's another story