My first London Marathon - a readers report

April 15, 2024

If there is one sport that attracts people of all ages, abilities and experience it is running, and if there is one event that captures the imagination of millions it is the London Marathon. In this our first report featuring a readers experience we publish Alexandra Mankowitz’s account of the day.

Shortly before the London Marathon, I had a realisation that it’s the training, and not the marathon itself that is the hardest part of the process. Today I know the real truth - that nothing beats the pain, the struggle and the inelegance of getting out of bed the next day. And out of my chair. And onto the loo. And - horror of horrors - down the stairs. The pain I feel is my body screaming, “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!”.

When I started training for the marathon, I was a 29-year-old woman about 3 stone overweight. I’m glad to say that things have completely changed since then and that now I am a 30-year-old woman about 3 stone overweight. So much for the visions I had of me running down the Mall in skimpy shorts, light and sprightly and not a wobble in sight. However, I’m definitely firmer. At the beginning my bottom wobbled so much that I almost wanted to have a special support garment made for it (a bum bra?) because it was so uncomfortable.

I couldn’t reliably give you a mile by mile account of what happened on the day. Or, at least, if I did, it wouldn’t begin to tell the true story of how it felt. I could tell you that a rhino nearly knocked me over. I could tell you that I was overtaken by a chip, a pantomime horse, a clown and a man dressed as Borat (think green bikini). I could tell you how I muttered to myself, ‘there but for the grace of God go I’ as I ran round a man who collapsed at mile 13. And again as I ran past the young woman shaking with tears in the St John’s Ambulance tent, fitter than me, thinner than me, yet destined never to finish. More moving still were the countless normal (not that running a marathon is normal!) individuals running the marathon in memory of loved ones, their photos and young ages printed on the backs of their shirts.

Thomas Edison said that genius is 1% talent and 99% perspiration. Well, when it comes to running a marathon, I’ve learnt that it’s impossible to say what percentages of determination, application, pain, physical fitness and mental commitment make up the 100% that get the individual to the finishing line but I can say this; that perhaps more important than all of these is the support that you get from the crowds on the day. Britons are not known for valuing success - the pom-pom hyperbole of our American cousins is quite alien to us. But somehow this is all turned on its head on marathon day - with Londoners of all stripes offering sweets, shouting your name (most people have it printed on their shirts) and willing you with all their might to succeed. No wonder I was singing ‘Maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner’ as I passed Big Ben on my way to mile 26.

A marathon is not a mere road race. It is a collective assault on the boundaries of what is possible. It is the footsteps of 34,000 people proclaiming, “I want more from life”. And it is the result of that desire, made flesh, its effect rippling out to inspire more and more to take up the challenge.

The bottom line is that I have done what I set out to do and completed a marathon in my 30th year. And my conclusion is that a marathon is just like childbirth. It’s one of the most excruciating things we put our bodies through and yet, year in year out, thousands of people revisit the scene of torture for a rerun. As the old marathon t-shirt joke goes, “Never again - Until next year”. And, in spite of all this pain, I’ve followed the crowd like a lemming and applied for 2009, praying (perhaps with my fingers crossed) that I won’t get a place.

Alexandra ran the marathon for PhabKids and has so far raised £3,074. You can still donate by visiting: http://www.justgiving.com/girdle. She kept a blog of the training process, which you can read here: http://sturdy-girdle.blogspot.com

Alexandra Mankowitz for Sportsister

If you would like to write a report about an event you are entering whether first timer, keen sportswoman or seasoned pro, we would like to hear from you. Just email us at [email protected]

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My first London Marathon - a readers report

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