Linda Kitching – Loyal Supporter
After entering the ballot for the London Marathon unsuccessfully many times, this year I was finally lucky enough to gain a place in the 2022 event held on Sunday October 2nd.
I’ve watched the marathon on television over the years and always been inspired by the wonderful stories and fundraising of the runners interviewed. Raising funds for the Samson Centre this was my chance to be one of them!! Over the summer I’ve been training with my friend and running partner Josie who was running on behalf of MIND.
We headed to London the day before the event – due to a train strike it was more challenging for many participants to travel. We had decided early that we would stay in London the night before and were pleased we had accommodation booked as we met a few people on the train for whom the lack of transport had made their pre-marathon arrangements very complicated!
On the morning itself Josie and I set off for Greenwich Park separately as we’d been allocated different start locations which was something I hadn’t previously considered. Every train out of London Bridge was packed with runners and there were some great conversations as we nervously made our way to Blackheath. I also hadn’t appreciated that the three routes didn’t converge until over three miles into the marathon. My start time was 10 minutes ahead and as we knew there were toilet stations every mile we made a plan for me to wait at the four mile toilets – and look obvious – so we could meet…
The pre-start areas were superbly organised – plenty of toilets for nervous bladders and a great opportunity to see the breadth and depth of outfits being work to take on a marathon – including a fireman, a rhino, a runaway bride and an ironing board and full line of washing!
The start was quite subdued but the support along the whole marathon route was fantastic. Josie and I succeeded in joining up at the four mile mark and were able to run the rest of the route together. We had supporters popping up at various points along the way which was a real boost every time. Crossing Tower Bridge at the halfway point was a real highlight – we were both still feeling relatively fresh and the weather was perfect. On training runs the last few miles can feel really tough but I definitely felt the crowds helped ease that as before we knew it we were running past Buckingham Palace and up the Mall towards the finish line.
