London Marathon, 23 Apr 2023

It’s taken me a little bit of time to write this report due to it taking a while to process what a monumental day it was!

I have wanted to do the London Marathon for nearly 10 years and had previously entered the ballot every year without success. When I managed to get a championship qualification time last year in Rome, I was ecstatic and extremely excited.

This marathon build up went very well - my long run distance went further and more comfortable than it had done previously, I was consistent with my sessions each week with zero niggles- only a few minor illnesses to get through. I was really excited for what I could do on race day and set myself the stretch ambition of aiming for a 3hr marathon, followed by the realistic ambition of a PB (sub 3hr 13).

Come race day, i was a nervous wreck. The distance or incoming pain didn’t worry me - I think it was overwhelming emotions of finally reaching that start line. My mum accompanied me to the championship start at Blackheath and I felt like a bit of an imposter. There were some extremely fast ladies and men in this pen, and Megan the sprint duathlete was joining them… I found some fellow team mates who helped calm my nerves. The heavens opened 30mins before the start which was not enjoyable, however the temperature was perfect.

After a little dance to Parklife - requested by Sir Mo Farah (just in front of us!) the starting horn went and we were off. I set off at what felt like an extremely comfortable pace, I was relaxed and moving well. I had planned on sticking with a 3hr pacer but sadly there were no pacers in my wave… I glanced at my watch and realised I was doing 6:35min/miles, whoops (6:52 pace needed for a 3hr marathon), but as the first 10k was a gradual downhill, I kept it going and thought I would see what happened- mistake. At the 10miles point I was averaging 6:41 min/mile pace and I realised I needed to slow down or I wouldn’t survive the remaining 16 miles to go! I tried my best to slow down, which was difficult when surrounded by a very congested course of fast moving runners from my wave and the good for age wave.

I finally dropped back and felt more comfortable crossing Tower Bridge;  hitting the half marathon point at 1hr 29 (a new half Marathon PB!) before winding around Canary Wharf. I saw my mum for the first time at mile 15 which helped elevate me and before I knew it we were on to the final 10k stretch across central London to the Mall. This is where it really started to hurt - my legs were sore and my posterior chain muscles became progressively less responsive. I began to feel like I was shuffling along with planks of wood for legs but looking at my pace, I was consistently around 7:30 min/mile pace - better than it felt! I kept the gels and electrolyte chews going and managed to keep trundling along, doing lots of mental maths in my head to work out that I could definitely still come in under 3hrs 10. We got to Westminster and I knew there was not far to go. The final stretch up to Buckingham Palace before turning to the mall was longggg - I tried my best to increase my tempo whilst also trying to avoid cramping up.

I crossed the finish line and as per my last marathon, burst into tears of happiness! Finish time 3:07:33.

My body was extremely sore and I had to take multiple sit down breaks en route to meet back up with my mum. When I found her, she helped me to lie down and elevate my legs on the St James Park lawn - a friendly police officer came to check I was ok, my response - “I’m fine, I just ran very fast and now my legs really hurt!” We all laughed. I managed to get myself up and slowly walk myself home. London marathon - complete!

I now sit here 1 week later reflecting on the race. Many people talk about the London Marathon being a “magical event” and they have to keep coming back every year. I personally found it all very overwhelming. I have never done a race with as many people supporting before - the wall of noise was insane and often it was a bit too much! Perhaps if I hadn’t put myself into the pain cave quite so early on I might have enjoyed it more! Additionally, having just come off a week of tranquil night shifts, I was still only gradually reintroducing myself back to daylight and the rest of society! I did however really appreciate all those who called my name whilst supporting on the course, I enjoyed trying to quickly work out who it was and attempt to give a wave! How you all stuck it out in that horrid rain I do not know!

If I had stuck to my planned pace/joined a pace group right from the beginning, I may have been closer to that elusive 3hr marathon. However, I am really pleased with my performance overall. I tested my mental and physical limits once again and can now call myself a London Marathon finisher! I managed my best block of marathon training despite working a busy A+E rota and trying to maintain bike speed and power. I had several gut problems during training but persisted with pushing the gels and trying to train my body to behave. Come race day, I had no GI disasters at all which was a huge achievement for me too.

Marathon number 3 ticked off. Whilst in no rush to do another quite so soon, I am of course thinking about the next one. I have managed another qualifying time for a few elusive races… so will have a think. For now, we head back to duathlon racing- next up Darley Moor in late May!

Megan Powell