I didn't get into the ballot to run this years marathon in London, in fact when my rejection email came through I was actually quite relieved! Which told me that, really, I shouldn't be running the marathon this year! So I still would love to be involved, I belong to one of the best running clubs around and we have been asked if we would manage the 4th mile water station for the marathon! How cool is that! The whole water station is to be totally PWR's with a smattering of cadets from somewhere, I didn't quite catch the name of exactly where they were from! And boy, was I looking forward to doing this!
The day starts of early, very early. Earlier than the runners start not doubt! We all had to meet up at Petts Wood, outside the Daylight Inn at 06:30 am! I had to walk as well, there was no way the Old Boy would be getting up to give me a lift up there! So once I was ready I headed out of the door and started the short walk to the other side of the railway! I met ZippySherry once I got to Southborough lane and we walked the rest of the way together!
We met up with all the other PWR's all really excited and raring to go. Our transport arrived about 10 minutes after we got there.
I can imagine maybe the English football team sat in there, but it was a very lovely coach. I sat next to Hannah who was on my table, and apparantly I was table 5 leader!
When we got there the water station leaders were there already, some tables had been set up both sides of the road with the water dumped on the road in pallets. It was our job to get the water onto the tables, tidy up and get ready! We were given a team brief about what do do, what to look out for and where the loos were! Then it was a hive of activity as each of the teams got to the tables and started loading up the water, out of the packets ready to just grab them and hand them to the runners when they come pass.
Once all that was done, we had a good hour or so before the start of the race, so we headed towards McDonalds for breakfast and coffee! The restaurent was just about 5 minutes walk from where we were, perfect! We some of the leaders left behind to keep an eye on the water the rest set off towards McD's. One McMuffin breakfast meal, and thankfully I didn't go large (not sure if you can go large on breakfast!) Then we made our way back to our water tables and get ready for the race.
I can't tell you what it's like just waiting for the first sign of the runners coming, it's just so exiciting. We still had a wait before they were due to get to us, so we all took photographs of how we looked before the masses arrived.
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| Hannah, Rob, Nicki and me! |
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| Paul, supposidly taken a pic of my team! |
And then the mood changed, we could hear the helicopter above, and Karen said she could see lights as she looked down the road to our left, where the runners would be coming! The adrenaline started to kick in, I could feel the excitment. It was eerily quiet with just a couple of people saying "I can see the bikes", we looked and peered along the road. We, on the right hand side of the road, had a better view for the first sighting as they came around the corner. "They're coming' they're coming" Everyone started to lean over their rails with water bottles in hand. We on the right knew that the first of the athletes, I think at first it was the wheel chairs. They just flew passed us, just so fast. They didn't require water. What I found amazing was just how close they got to each other. Talk about slip streaming! They could virtually have been tandon wheel chairs, I just couldn't see where the devide was!
I think after that it was the para runners, some with blades, others with arms missing. Some of them grabbed water from both sides of the road. It was just amazing to see, and to have such a great view to was just perfect. Then elite men, we knew they wouldn't be coming anywhere near us as they will be staying as close to the blue line as possible! Some of the athletes took water but mostly not. So instead some of us took out cameras instead and started snapping away, while the reast was clapping and cheering! None of the elite men took a water bottle from any of us, apart from one chap who was one of the last of the elites, but there were a few bottles that had been knocked on the floor which we were very consious of, and when there was time we did pick them up. But then.......
Not long after that the masses started to come along. At first it was just nice and steady, as we all held out our hands with water bottles ready for the taking. Some of them didn't stop to drink that just grabbed them on the run, which did mean that some bottles were getting knocked out of our hands and kicked onto the floor. Before long it was just bottle after bottle, Both me and Rob kept the table full of drinks for Nicky, Hannah and our helper cadet to hand out and then we were straight back to the railings to hand out more.
Our table started to run out of packets of water to go under the table ready to replace those on top so I went and raided some of the other tables who had quite a few packets under the table. It was just non stop. We were calling out to people who had their names on there shirts, making eye contact with so they know we are holding their water! It was just manic. Thousands and thousands of people, just kept coming!
After an hour or so the crowds had thinned out some, we could really see and cheer an individual from the beginning to the end of our water station. We saw our own PWR's run pass us, PhysioMiketheMod was running too. He had to come to the back of our side of the water station as he was having issues with his 'costume'. It was a polystyrene scooter with a 'modete' on the back! "Don't ask me too much about her" as he told one interviewer about it, "But she does blow up!" Well we shall say no more about 'Miss Sporty Spice!' A game girl obviously! He wrote at great report on his own experience of running London, you can read it HERE .I also saw Liz, a fellow PWR and also a blogger too! She's on my watch list, and I think she is one of my followers on here too, so just go and have a read of her report to. Such an inspiration. She ran it without any training! None! But in her blog she does say that she doesn't advise to to that. You can read her blog HERE. She thought she may have snuck (is that a word!?) through un-noticed. The person who did sneek through, and quite frankly I can't imagine how we missed him, was Kev Two Balls! He was doing the whole 26.2 miles dribbling two basket balls! You can read his story Here. So quite a bit of reading for you all! But I am sure you will be inspired by all three stories!
So, where was I? Oh yes, I spotted Liz and called out to her, she gave me a big smile! Thre masses were becoming less mass and more crowd as the time went on. I decided to just look towards where the runners were heading and all I could see was a sea of water bottles! I just wondered if these would be recyled, reused. It seemed such a waste of resource! But I couldn't think of that, I did however, think of what we had to do before we leave! But that will have to wait! I turned my thoughts back to the job in hand.
My arms were aching, my face was aching from smiling and laughing so much, my voice was just about hanging in there. I didn't know if it will last for the rest of the day! A few clumps of runners now, we can really cheer them on! We can call their names out as loud as we can to encourage them to keep going. Ok so it's only mile four, but some have waited at least 20 minutes to get passed the first timeing mat at the beginning. Some take 40 minutes or more to run for 4 miles. These are the athletes that will need encouraging all the way along!
The cars and the sweep up lorries came along. The car with the 'This course is now open for traffic'. That's a scary site when you are running! I know! It went passed us and there were still runners behind that. For then next 10 minutes or so individual runners kept coming. I saw a friend of mine. She was on the blue line, so over to the left. I called out her name, she couldn't hear me "Marian, Marian!" I shouted. She still couldn't here me. She was totally in the zone, all by herself! "Go on, go and run to her my team members said. So I abandoned my post and ran after her, just to encourge her, just to say that we were there cheering her along, even though those darn cars and lorries had gone by!
I ran back to my post and we watched as still more runners came by already looking exhausted. I wondered if the would make it and prayed that they would get to the end to get their medal. A marathon isn't just 26.2 miles, it's the 3 miles you did the week before, it's the 20 miles you did before that, and yet another 5 a few days before that. It's all the miles that you put in training, the cross training, maybe swimming, or the gym or cycling. That is what you medal at the end of your marathon is all about! The fact that you did it, hundreds of miles to get that medal, and yes they deserve it! Well, ok, so technically Liz didn't put in the training, this year, but she had done previously, but then she had her injury which kept her from doing the marathon then! But she still completed it!
When there was no one else coming through our station we all stood back and looked at our tables. There was still loads of water left. There were packets that were not opened, and there were thousands of bottles spread across the road! And now for that bit I mentioned earlier! The clearn up! Nope, not for us, we just had to clear our tables, our plastic wrapping and paper. Put down the tables and leave our bit of the street clear for the sweepers, er, sweepers with brooms and trucks this time, to come along and pick up all the bottles.
There were lorries coming along squirting liquid on the blue line and clearing that away from the roads. Soon this area will be given back to the locals, there can have their street and roads back, as good as new!
And now for the even more fun part of the day. Supporting them all again as we go and place our selves at Cannon Street to cheer as many of them all over again! A fantastic day, such a great atmosphere, and such a priviledge to be able to do this for all those running marathons! I do feel like the most fortunate Old 'ex couch potato' Girl in the world, and I give thanks to my God that I am able to run with such a great running club!
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