London Calling

This was originally published in the October 2008 edition of Footnotes - the magazine of Great Western Runners

Bereft of runner’s profiles for this issue I did for about thirty seconds considered publishing mine. I started to read through the questions and it was then that I realised I had something much more pressing on my mind – yes it’s that time of year again. Well actually it’s a slightly different time of year but yet again I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my You’re In magazine. The one that for the past four years has failed to arrive, instead I get pictures of grown men, dressed as Batman, Robin or some other super hero weeping openly in the street.Yes it’s FLM ballot time again. I don’t fully understand why a totally online entry system means that we only find out that we’ve been rejected again only slightly before the posted version – but nevertheless I find myself religiously checking the website every lunch time for snippets of information, visiting chat rooms I would never normally visit and then panicking because I haven’t received the various emails that others claim to have had. I convince myself they ended up in my spam folders and plan to keep a special eye out for the postman as he skips excitedly to my letter box with the news I’ve waited so long to hear.

The irony is when the day finally comes and it’s a You’re In smiley Floella I will be totally terrified. I have long wanted to do the London marathon, long before I ran myself even back to the times where I would watch saying I could do that before popping out for a student grant funded fag and pint. The thing is if I get rejected this time then I know it’s me (just like winning the lottery!) for 2010 and then I’m actually going to have to do it.

You see I love everything about the marathon. I love the crowds, the anticipation, the expo, the fact that QPR always have a home game the day before, the crush on the tube, the getting up early and feeling sick – but that’s always been as an enthusiastic supporter. I even tried to feel a little guilty the time I leapt up and off the tube, having just realised we were heading the wrong way out of West Kensington, leaving Em, with 26.2 miles in her legs, stranded on the seat like a puppy left in the back of a car. I love everything about it but the thought of actually doing it terrifies me – so why do I feel so compelled?

I suppose, like for so many, the marathon is the ultimate challenge. Can I drag my slightly chubby body around those 26 miles, more importantly can my mind cope with dragging my slightly chubby body around 26 miles? How bad will the chaffing be – and believe me I chafe bad! Will Em get her own back and leave me heading for Ealing when I really wanted Earls Court? Will this be the year that QPR get back in the Premiership – oops sorry really slipped into fantasy land there! I’ve never even run more than 13.1 miles before – what if my body doesn’t work beyond the half marathon distance?! Will I hit the wall? Will I get in before the guy in the diving suit? Will I ever walk again afterwards?

So how did we get on to this subject, oh yes runners profiles you see my current favourite race is the Santa Cruz Half Marathon which I did last year. Favourite because as we hit the coast road along the Pacific Ocean a whale rolled over in the bay (you don’t get that in the Bristol or Bath half – although I believe I paid enough for a performing whale in the Bath 2009 fee so here’s hoping) and simply because I’ll probably never get to do it again. However what I really want is a new favourite race and distance, again I may only do it the once, I may even hate it but I can’t wait to say Wait for me Floella - I’m In!