Oh for shame, how the mortals put the blame on us gods,
for they say evils come from us, but it is they, rather,
who by their own recklessness win sorrow beyond what is given

So after all the training and military style preparations, felt quite confident of getting a big PB and maybe even breaking the PLS V40 marathon record set in 1998. The long runs for once felt easy, helped along by Martin and James, my long tempos had been tough but very encouraging. I had an uneventful day on the Saturday, getting my number and having a wander through the expo. Luckily it was quite late so the crowds weren’t as bad as I expected, I wasn’t in the mood to look around but oddly my wife took a shine to the expo!

We headed back to the hotel near Tower Bridge and settled into a Wetherspoons for my final meal before the big one. Oddly I bumped into Steve Way, I’d just been telling my missus about Steve’s story as a former drinker/smoker who got hooked on marathons and is now one of the best runners in the nation. We chatted briefly, he wished me luck and I was buzzing of his obvious love for the VLM and his enthusiasm. This is great sign I thought as I tucked into my pasta dish. We had a stroll around after the meal then headed back to the hotel. I got my kit prepared and settled on the bed for a nice relaxing night.

BBC2 was showing a series of 70’s themed programmes, finishing with One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, the missus drifted to sleep and I turned the telly off just after ‘The Chief just voted! It was ten to nine!’ well actually it was 10:30 so I decided to get some sleep. I had a decent rest and woke up around 6:30 – had my staple big bowl of porridge with apricots, chatted to the other runners in the hotel then got changed and made the 2 minute walk to the tube. I was following the crowds to Charring Cross and when I arrived I felt a tap on the shoulder, it was Martin Swensson. I was really excited now and so pleased to bump into the man I’d spent many a Sunday morning and Thursday night with, training for this day.

Again, I thought it’s got to be fate to bump into Martin, 35,000 runners and I bump into my training partner, team mate and all round good guy! We were both grinning like school kids as we marched up Blackheath, he was in the Elite pen so I left him to go to ‘the good for age’ pen.

The good for age pen was great. Plenty of room, small queues for the loo and nice relaxed atmosphere. I bumped into Rob Hough who’s a work colleague and he ran London the year before, he was after low 2:50’s and was telling me about his experience here in 2011, all good!

As the clock ticked down the announcement was made for the start of the womens elite race. As the made the announcement, I noticed loads of the good for age guys started shuffling to the start line. 45 mins to go and they’re on the start line! Sod that. I hung around, done a few stretches and a light jog. By 9:30 I was pretty much the only runner not on the start line, you couldn’t just jump over the fence to get a front which I found a bit annoying! Oh well, the clock doesn’t start until you cross the line.

The horn went bang on 9:45 – it took me 1 min to cross the start and the race was off. I was struggling to get going early one, I’d spoken to Carl Wright from PLS at length about the start and he’d warned me about it taking a good 3 or 4 miles to get going. I didn’t want to start dodging in and out of the traffic so early on, wasting time and energy so I settled in, keeping my eyes peeled for other runners darting in front of me and kerbs/bollards etc on the route.

I couldn’t believe how narrow the roads were on the start, I went through the 1st mile at 6:45, not panicking thinking I’d easily make this up later on. I hit 5k in 20:27 – 27 seconds off my 4m per km target – again not panicking, just trying to get into a rhythm. The crowds were so noisy even this early in the race, whistles/horns and music blaring every step of the way. I went through 10k in 40:55 – already nearly a minute down with less than ¼ of the race gone! Ah well, still don’t panic, the crowds will open up sooner or later I thought.

I was concentrating on the blue line and just before the 8 mile I felt a twinge in my gut, a stitch! I couldn’t believe it, I haven’t had a stitch since I was a kid playing football! I laughed to myself but once the stitch bit, I was puffing for breath. I dug in trying to maintain at least 6:30 pace, I got to 15k in 61:15, 15 seconds more time lost. My legs were feeling tired, I kinda felt this wasn’t going to be my day but rather than ease off I stuck to the 6:30ish pace thinking once the stitch goes, I might find another gear.

I hit 20k in 81:37 – forget a sub 2:50 now, just maintain the pace, see what happens. I went through the halfway in 86 mins but I knew my legs were not far off slowing – my breath was fine and if I’d had a heart monitor on, I’d hazard a guess I was cruising but if the wheels aren’t turning right, it matters none! I spotted the missus on Tower Bridge and she cheered louder than anyone, I then seen a few of the leading women passing the 22 mile in the opposite direction, jealous of their position. By 15 I was hurting and my pace started to slow. I decided to stop the watch and just concentrate on moving, I came towards the 17 mile mark thinking it was 18 and was crest fallen when I realised it!

I knew the missus would be at the 22/23 mile mark, so tried to push it when got near, I seen Andy Keeley from the club who shouted ‘dig in’ but I was just happy to be moving at that point. From 23 to the end I was passed by a river of runners, first of all Ian Magill from Liverpool Running Club came past, I stuck with him, chatting away but he left me. I then bumped into him again as he stopped, I encouraged him to keep going he caught me up and for a while we both ran together. He left me again but I wasn’t too concerned, Paul Riley from PLS then tried to carry me along but it was all in vain, I was spent and although I didn’t get cramp, my legs were like lead.

The last mile was a blur, it took me around 9 mins which I didn’t mind because I could savour the moment, the crowds were unreal, the sun had lit up the big landmarks and I new it was nearly over. I crossed the line with other runners who were elated which kinda put it into perspective for me. I’d still managed to sneak in the good for age at 3:08 and I wont be the first or last for it not to go as I'd hoped.

Paul Riley gave me a big hug and we posed for pics together with or medals. I met up first with Martin Swensson in Trafalgar Square who smashed his PB and club record with a brilliant 2:37. The wife came and met just after and the rest of PLS lads, Col Dobbs, Keith Boyle, Russell and Maria drifted in with their own stories of the day. We headed to the Walkabout for post run drink, I was bombarded with texts from friends and family.

Then in Euston I bumped into a few of the Liverpool Harriers lads who’d like me were quite philosophical about the day. I didn’t enjoy the race but the experience was phenomenal, an old couple were quizzing me about the race, they were thrilled that I’d managed to run a marathon, I suppose it the regular Joe’s equivalent of scaling Everest, it’s a close as you can get to achieving something great.

They’d been to see the Great Gatsby in London, being a fan of book myself I immediately thought of the last line in the classic book, ‘so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past’ – I don’t know if sums up marathon running but you have to admit it sounds dead cool!