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The London Marathon
by Grant Seaton - 21:57 on 29 April 2017
The London Marathon 2017 My personal journey to the starting line of the London Marathon in Blackheath on the 23rd of April this year was an interesting one to say the least!! After the disappointment of not obtaining a ballot place for the 3rd year in a row and then a further disappointment of not being accepted for a Golden Bond Charity Place for my favoured charity I thought my attempt to get an entry for 2017 had ended. It was then that I was made aware that ADAC would hold a ballot and I was able to enter it along with any other member that wanted to… It was another chance, but again I didn’t get overly excited so as to try and curtail further disappointment.. When I received a text from a certain Andrew Kennedy to let me know I had been successful it was a surreal feeling… I was in! I had the chance I had always wanted and the icing on the cake – I was going to be running in the Black and Gold of ADAC!!
Now I have only taken part in one marathon in the past, it was in 2013 and it was the Loch Ness Marathon. My training for that marathon had been relatively pain free up until I got over the 16 mile long run mark where IT Band issues materialised…. I was able to overcome those to some degree with good old rollering and anti-inflammatory meds and managed to record a 3:53 time in my first ever marathon. You would think that this would delight me, but on the day it was very unconvincing – I went out far too fast, at half way I did a 1:45 and then timed 2:08 in the second half where I had to run/walk over the last 6 miles. My lack of core strength showed from mile 16. I would learn from that experience for London Marathon – I was determined!!!!!
I went about sourcing a good 16 week sub 4 hr training plan that would help me train and I also set aside time to work on core strength with a regular circuit that I could complete in the comfort of my home with the aid of a couple of kettle bells. Training started well and the weeks followed a very similar routine – Tuesday was track speed work, Wednesday was an easy run with Thursday more progressive steady. Saturday was 3 or 4 miles and Sunday was the LSR. Monday and Friday were welcome rest days although at times you feel like you want to be back out – core strength work tended to be put into those days. Mileage was building and I was feeling strong and getting fitter. It was around the middle of January that I started to feel a little out of sorts, but I put it down to too many 5am starts and long days working. Stomach cramps were the main issue and I wasn’t able to continuously run the miles with many stops along the way. I visited the doctors and they took bloods and arranged to send me up to DGRI for investigations. That happened within a 2 week period and I continued the training during that time, albeit on a lower scale and with it being regularly interrupted. The DGRI investigations found that I had IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease) although they were unsure if Colitis or Crohns Disease was the correct diagnosis. Biopsies were taken and a follow up meeting would take place once the results were in. Meds would be arranged to help matters in the meantime.
I continued my training as best I could but the mileage started to drop and the number of sessions also. I had to train wiser over this period until things were under better control. To be fair to DGRI they have been great and were constantly contacting me for updates. I met the consultant who confirmed that there was nothing sinister found in the biopsies but also explained that IBD is a lifetime illness and that they need to work on a trial and error basis to get it under control. I continued for a couple of weeks on the initial meds which weren’t helping massively so a decision was made to put me on a 9 week course of anti-inflammatory steroids. I remember the night before starting the steroids heading out for a 5 mile run, only making it 2 miles and having to stop 3 times on that run. These new meds had to do the trick or London was possibly in doubt…. The consultant had even mentioned that I should maybe stop running for 3 months to let things settle…. That suggestion barely reached my brain for consideration… it was not an option.
I started on a cocktail of around 16 or 17 tablets a day when the steroids were introduced and I went out for some of the best runs I had been on for some time. A Cheshire Cat Grin returned. I can do this!!!!!!! There were still little setbacks, but London was back in my sights and I still had 6 weeks to go. This was right at the very important time as well as the longest runs were about to kick in. A 20 miler, then Coniston 14, followed by a 22 miler. All were tough, all were done, the 3 weeks had gone well and the tapering was about to begin…..
In the week leading up to London, Pasta and Chicken were the order of the day – in fact they were the order of everyday. Not only was this an exciting week for me, but Lisa and Archie were travelling and staying with me and Archie had never been to London before. As the Saturday approached the nights became more sleepless – this was happening!! The Saturday was full of high spirits with runners chatting on the train on the way down and Virgin Trains were even on time for us!! We headed over to the Excel Arena to the Expo which was absolutely amazing…. So much to see and do, very well organised, and a few pounds were spent on the many stands. We even spotted Ian Beal from Eastenders who was being interviewed on the main stage (7 hours was his target!). After the Expo there was time for a few hours sightseeing at Tower Bridge some last carb loading at Pizza Express and then over to Hyde Park to find our apartment for the night! The running kit was laid out, number attached, and I tried to get some rest for what was to be the biggest running event of my life…..
I figured the easiest way to get to the start a Blackheath, Greenwich, was to catch one of the free trains from Victoria Station which was around 2 miles from our apartment. I left at around 7am and made my way through Hyde Park in what seemed like perfect conditions for running, dry, not too hot or cold, overcast and very little wind. There were many runners dotting around and as I got closer to Victoria there were more and more. The train was announced and around 500 runners headed to the carriages that awaited…. Standing room only, but it was all friendly banter and it was all part of the experience. It should have taken around 30 minutes to get there so we would be there for around 8:15am, plenty of time to get my bag into the drop off and to do all of the necessaries before the off! The train made it about 5 minutes in to the journey when we ground to a halt…. We sat for around another 5 or 10 minutes before the driver announced that we were being delayed due to an incident…. A further 5 or 10 minutes passed and the driver then explained that it was due to a body being found on the line and that we would be changing our route and setting off soon. We were actually delayed for around an hour and arrived at Blackheath around 9:15am. The main charity for VLM 2017 was Heads Together, a mental health charity, and this episode really struck a chord with me and others did speak similarly on the train. Mental health being a taboo subject for too long and the royals were heavily involved in publicising the need for it not to be. Good on them…
Off the train and a 5 minute walk up to the blue start…. Bag dropped off and not really any amount of time to think about what was in front of me. Into pen 5 and we were on the 10 minute countdown…. More great banter between runners, everybody was 100% up for this… I crossed the line 3 mins after the gun and we were off….
I got into a really steady 8:30 pace really quickly and it was busy but not packed which was ideal. The Heads Together Team from the BBC1 Documentary were just in front of me just before mile 1 and I was able to wish a couple of them good luck and they did the same to me…. I must admit that I did find the first 3 miles very emotional and I found it hard to stop smiling… I was sure that would change though as miles clocked up!!
Around mile 5 I spotted a Carlisle Tri Club Vest and got speaking to the lad who was called Baz Harper, it turned out that I had ran the Great North Run with his brother and Nigel Hall a couple of years ago. It is a small world really!!! He was aiming for a 3:30 and I knew that was not in me, so we wished each other a good one and off he headed through the field. I then made the most of experience for the next 7 miles, taking in Greenwich, Woolwich, Charlton and Deptford. The crowds were out, the pubs and bars were open, bands and music troupes played and it was a carnival atmosphere. It wasn’t long before the crowds got considerably bigger and we were heading towards the first big landmark in Tower Bridge… as I approached the bridge I was running beside a lady who had a London City Runners Vest on… we looked at each other and she told me to prepare for one of the best parts of the run, the cross over the Thames…. She wasn’t wrong… the crowds were deafening and I was nearly half way there….
Up until mile 10 I had been fuelling with Lucozade Sport only and was using my own flasks to avoid the usual drink station scrum… I had purchased a packet of Cliff Bar Shot Blocks at the Expo in case I needed them and as it turned out I took a block at miles 10, 16 and 22. My flasks had run out by half way though so I needed to fill back up. At mile 15 miles I was feeling really good, I got a bottle of Lucozade Sport and started trying to fill up the flasks whilst running… it wasn’t working.. I moved over to the side and got them filled up …. Starting back running I then took the opportunity to phone Lisa and Archie to find out where they were standing. Lisa thought the worst as I hadn’t planned that call but I was able to explain that I felt good and should see them between mile 23 and 24, hopefully in around 70/80 minutes. They were on the Embankment and my target was now to get there in a reasonable state and then I would be within touching distance….
The next section was around the Isle of Dogs and into Canary Wharf…… the weather had picked up and the sun was beaming now…. It was starting to get hot and tougher. I kept pushing on and around mile 19 I could feel a twinge in my right knee which moved up to my hip/bum area very quickly… It was now a case of sticking in and trying to take my mind of the pain…. I had heard somebody saying on the delayed train earlier… if things get tough start counting slowly from 1 to 100, then when you get to 100, go back to 1 and start again….. I did this a few times and it did help…. As well as that I also made a point of running on the outside of the road and giving as many of the kids high fives….. you tended to get lots of encouragement from people when you did that…. I was now nearly back at Tower Bridge, heading onto Lower Thames Street (where I normally stay when on business in London, so I know it quite well). “Enjoy it Grant… enjoy it!” I kept telling myself… bizarrely, although there was pain, I was able to keep going with relative ease although the mile splits had got slower.
I then entered Blackfriars Tunnel, I was about to exit this tunnel onto the embankment and Big Ben would be in sight….. The sun was beaming in from the tunnel exit and the noise of the crowd and music was getting louder and louder…… I seemed to exit the tunnel just as the music that was playing had just reached a high point, the crowd were going bonkers…. The beat picked my pace up, I could see Big Ben….. Lisa and Archie were less than half a mile away and I was in the last 3 miles.. The flasks were empty again and I picked up another bottle for filling up… after much crowd searching I finally found Lisa and Archie and stopped to fill my bottles with them. They were commenting that I looked fresh…. I did apart from the hip… the flasks were filled, a couple of IT Band stretches and I was back on the road hunting down my sub 4!!!!
As I had just started back up on the right hand side of the road stood a familiar figure with a microphone in hand…. The one and only Colin Jackson! I gave my sweaty hand a wipe down and prepared for the biggest high 5! Thankfully he didn’t leave me hanging and was laughing his head off as he gave me another boost!!
Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament approached shortly afterwards shining in the sun and it was then a sharp right passed them down Birdcage Walk…. The 800m sign was visible….600m…… then Buckingham Palace….. another turn and the end was in sight… I knew I was 3 minutes under the clock time, so I was going to do it… I had done the sub 4!!!!! Over the line and the medal was very quickly presented to me….. I HAD DONE IT!!!!!!!!
The time was never massively important, especially after the journey I had been on to get there. Sub 4 was a bonus…. Was it a PB though? No, I actually missed it by 12 seconds… but it was a much more convincing performance than Loch Ness. 3:53:17 was the official time.
As for the IBD…. I have to thank my main sponsor Imodium that got me through the 26.2 miles without having to even think about that. IBD is another taboo subject just like the Mental Health Charity that was the main charity. Hopefully my success in the London Marathon can help inspire others to overcome adversity and achieve their goals regardless.
It was an absolute delight to represent the best running club around in ADAC. The support from members has been immense, especially from Joe Boardman (King of Strava) and Andrew Kennedy (Long Run Partner). Thank you ADAC for making my dreams come true and letting me take part in the run of my life.
I was lucky enough to get in the Great North Run this year through the public ballot so that will be the next goal as well as trying to try and recover well and take part in as many of the ADAC Summer League Events as I can. Go Team ADAC!
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