Running stories
Les runs in record time!
Nearly 35,000 runners braved the drizzly London weather on Sunday 23rd April 2006 to run the 26 mile Flora London Marathon from Blackheath to the Mall.
Les Hughes is one of the runners who completed the race. He shared his training diary with us over the last couple of months. We asked him to tell us how it went on the big day and if this really was his last marathon!
This was my fourth Flora London Marathon and it has to be said, the hardest one so far. What made it the hardest? Well firstly, I was out to beat last year's time which made things slightly more stressful as you always have one eye on the clock. Secondly, I was with the eight minute milers at the start and I decided to try and go with them at the beginning which took a fair bit out of me early on. I couldn't keep up that pace but it did give me a bit of a cushion towards the end and I finished in a personal best time of 3:39:02.
Running conditions on the day were ideal as it was cool and overcast with a bit of rain. However, the first three miles were pure hell and a real worry as I quickly developed a pain next to my left shin and it also felt like I had a house brick in my stomach (those bl**dy bagels again!!). After stopping for a quick stretch and loosening my laces I felt a whole lot better and the pain in my leg gradually disappeared.
After that all went reasonably well until about 19 miles when sore feet, heels and calves really kicked in. From then on it was a case of taking each mile at a time.
The last few miles were absolute purgatory despite the enthusiasm of the crowds on the Embankment. It's so easy to say the night before that whatever happens I'm not going to stop, but on the day it's so different. I have to admit that I did walk for a couple of minutes towards the end (in the underpass where I couldn't be seen!) and I also had to stop a couple of times just before the Big Ben turn with cramp. Without those stops my time could have been nearer 3:35. It felt so, so good when I made it to the finishing line.
After the race it was off to United Response's reception at the Dukes Hotel and a lovely warm welcome from Pippi. As always, the reception was a really great way to finish off the day (despite the fact that I nearly scalded my private parts in the shower!).
Will I run the Marathon again? Well at the moment the answer is a firm 'No' but I remember saying that three times before and each time I've come back for more!
Before signing off I must say a big thank you to my sports injury therapist, the lovely Louise Neville, who for the second year running has kept me going with treatment and advice (and given me hell about my diet).
For further information please contact the fundraising team