Tickle tastic London Marathon 2009

What a day, a years worth of training, managing my diet and managed to shave 53 seconds off my finishing time.

Sunday the 26th March 2009 the last ever Flora London Marathon, last year was my first marathon which just so happened to be the one hundredth year of the official marathon distance (set by the London marathon). I was honoured to run both this and last year dressed as Mr Tickle for Children. A lot of people are amazed that not only do you volunteer to run the London Marathon but then to do it it in Fancy dress costume! My answer when asked is "why not" it's going to be hard anyway so you might as well make it as hard as you can?

Last year the temperature was around eigtheen to nineteen degrees celsius an nice spring day, this year it was in the mid twenties a swealtering hot summers day. The temperature inside the costume was five to ten degrees hotter inside on both races.

It was a beautiful morning, my preparation had gone well training hard since September even completing a twenty one mile run across Dartmoor in five hours and twenty minutes. I was physically feeling strong mentally very well settled. The race started I managed to literally bump into Mr Bump and Little Miss Giggles and as we crossed the start line together after twenty minutes of shuffling closer and closer to the start. The first seven miles felt good and I was running well, until I passed the Cutty Sark I felt myself getting hottter as the day started to really warm up as it approached mid day. The Next five miles around Rotherhithe and along Jamaica road to Tower Bridge definatley felt slower and hotter. I hit the bridge and slowed to Striding walk, as I crossed the bridge I remembered being interviewed last year which felt really positive I picked up the pace and started runnning again down past the St Catherine Dock towards The Docklands and Canary wharf the miles stretched ahead of me then you pass the half way point that felt good I had go to the Half way point in two hours and forty minutes that felt positive. The race continued under good spirits I managed to catch Peter Andre and Katy Price I managed to muster the energy to give Peter some words of encouragement for Katy, the look on his face was a beauty, it was " a man dressed as Mr Tickle has just ran past me cheering Katy on???????".

I got through Canary Wharf and things where getting harder at the seventeenth mile water station they had run out of water at eighteen so few people where giving out water I ran past without getting any, then nineteen no water and at mile Twenty I hit a wall. I reccomend the water for the marathon comes in smaller sizes and more of them it was a very hot day. The wall I hit was massive I arrived at mile twenty at around four hours thirty, I had only six miles to go it took me a full seventy nine agonising minutes to complete the last six point two miles, they are possibly the hardest miles I have ever run (coming close to the commando thirty miler. I managed to dig deep running the last 385 yards with my all coming in at five hours forty nine minutes and fifty seven seconds. What a day, emotional as last year close to tears and a very tired boy.

I have managed to reach my target of Two Thousand Five Hundred Pounds for Chidlren with Leukaemia. Thank you to all those of you have donated sponsored helped and encouraged me along the way. I simply hope my briefest moments of suffering can help prevent others from suffering a whole life time?