On Sunday, April 24, 2016, I ran the London Marathon on behalf of Autism Speaks.

London was my 6th marathon since I started really running 4.5 years ago and my 4th of the World Marathon Majors.  It was an exceptional experience, one that I will not soon forget.

Read on to discover why London was so special and learn about the marathon course!

Reason’s why the London Marathon meant so much to me:

I loved running on the Team up with Autism Speaks fundraising team. The money I raised with the support from my friends, family, and lululemon Athletica was over $10,800.  This money helped significantly enhance autism services in every community and further groundbreaking autism research around the globe; which is just incredible. We were able to help and support the thousands of people living with autism today and for that, I could not be more grateful.  Living a life in the service of others is a beautiful thing and that’s why I’ve chosen to run on a charity team.  Having worked in the field of Special Education for over 13 years, and worked with children with autism, I have seen first hand how this disability has not only impacted the lives of children (I have watched them struggle to fit it, to learn, to feel accepted), but I have also witnessed  how difficult it can be on families to raise a child with Autism.  The hardships they face helping their child navigate in a world that is not always accepting and accommodating to people with this disability.  Also the difficulty they have communicating with their children, frustration with the lack of emotions their child may have, and the want for a solution to make things better.  So when the opportunity presented itself to run for Autism Speaks, I took it. It’s nice to be able to give back.  I truly believe that acts of kindness and love are what make the world go round.  So when I have the opportunity to help someone, I take it.  

I also enjoyed the London Marathon because it gave me the opportunity to spend time with my mom and sister.  We were able to take a girls trip together for the first time ever.  It was incredible to have them there, seeing them on the course cheering me on, and being able to spend so much quality time together.  It’s special times with family that make life so wonderful.  Sometimes we don’t spend enough time with the people we love, so when we get a chance, relish in it and enjoy it. I am grateful that they were a part of this incredible journey! Love you both so much!! xoxo

Sadly, this was the first marathon that my husband, Dan wasn’t at.  I was bummed that he couldn’t be there, but I knew he was with me in spirit. I always love seeing him along the course, his smile and encouraging words help to keep me moving and help add a little more pep to my step. So even though he wasn’t there, I imagined him in the crowd and it helped push me along. I also took the card he gave me before I left so that I had little piece of him there in London. Dan is one of my biggest supporters and fans. I appreciate him for helping me live out my passions, pursue my dreams, and achieve my goals. For that, I will be forever grateful.  

I am grateful for my body and my ability to run. Being able to run is awesome, therapeutic, meditative, and freeing. So being able to travel, explore a new city, and see the sights while running is just the best!!  Running the London Marathon allowed me to complete another Marathon Major, 4 down & 2 to go (Berlin & Tokyo).  I set a goal for myself last year that I would complete all 6 of the World Marathon Majors and I am quickly on my way. In fact, I will be running the Berlin Marathon in September for Autism Speaks, so stayed tuned 😉

Finally, knowing that I had the support of so many people back home was incredible and helped inspire and motivate me to keep going, especially around mile 20 when I wanted to stop. It’s the words of love and encouragement that I remembered that helped me stay strong and keep fighting to the end!! So thank you for your positive vibes, thoughts, prayers, well wishes, emails, texts, calls, FB messages, etc… because I couldn’t have done it without them.  Thank you!!

London Marathon, 26.2

Before I left, a good friend of mine, put me in contact with a friend she knew who was running the race, Maureen.  Maureen and I talked leading up to the race, making arrangements to meet while in London. I am verygrateful that we did.

Most runners are expected to take the tube (aka subway) to the start, but Maureen arranged transportation for us; we were able to get bused to the start! This made life that morning very easy and stress free.  Marathon morning can be nerve racking, so not having to worry about if I was going to make it to the start on time or at all, was a huge relief!! Plus, it was nice to have someone to spend time with while waiting for the race to begin. Thank you Maureen for organizing and looking after me!!

Once at the start, there were plenty of porta johns and places to rest in the athlete’s village. They offered runners water, coffee, and tea. I did not see any food so I was happy that I packed bananas and PB sandwiches to take with me. One thing that I did see was many runners smoking before the race.  Electronic cigarettes are huge in London, I was shocked!! I kept wondering how people could smoke & run and where did they place their cigarettes during the race?!?!?! This was a little strange. I’ve never seen this in the states!!

While at the athletes village, Maureen and I happily chatted for about 2 hours before the race began. Maureen really helped calm my nervous and helped make the time fly by. About 10 minutes prior to the start they asked us to go to our corrals. Each runner was assigned a wave number within the corral. These numbers were supposed to be based on estimated finish time. Unfortunately, once the race started every wave walked up to the start and just began. I wished they had a delay between each wave start, maybe we wouldn’t have felt like a can of sardines.

London was VERY crowded.  They had approximately 60,000 people register for the race, but only about 40,000 ran, thank god! In my corral alone there were 37,800 people. So as you can imagine, it was crowded. I thought the NYC marathon was crowded, but London was way worse. The marathon route was pretty. It started in a beautiful garden and went through the the streets of London, over Tower Bridge (which was my favorite part of the course), and ended near Buckingham Palace.   The architecture of the buildings are incredible and the history is so cool.  Plus, the cheering fans on the streets was like nothing I have ever experienced.  I think there may have been more people there than in any other marathon I have run in (Yes, more than Boston and NYC!! I couldn’t believe it.).  The spectators were great, inspiring, and motivating.

However, while the scenery was lovely and the fans so great, it was one of the most challenging courses I have ever run. For starters, because so many people started all at once, it was hard to move. No matter where you went, there were people in your way. I was unable to maintain the pace I was aiming for (8:45). Then when you merged with the other corral, around mile 4, the amount of people near you obviously increased.  So now, the already incredibly narrow streets became even smaller and there was no place to really move. Turns and water stations were the most challenging because you often came to a complete stop and were forced to walk.

Additionally in areas, many of the spectators stood in the street because there wasn’t enough room on the sidewalks. This made it difficult to run on the edges of the streets. Running towards the middle of the road was out of the question too, there were too many islands you had to jump on and over, it was uncomfortable.  There was a ton of bottle necking. So with nowhere to go, you were forced to just stay in the pack and go with the flow of runners ahead of you.

I had gone into the marathon in hopes of getting a PR. I was aiming for a 3:50.  However, the crowds of people and the stop and go along the course made that goal unachieveable. Every time I felt like I was getting into a groove, I had to stop.  This wasted a ton of energy!  It was pretty packed the entire race.  I thought after the halfway point it’d start to thin out, but it didn’t until mile 20. By then, I was spent. I didn’t have a whole lot left in my legs so I did my best to maintain a 9:15 pace and push through, in an effort to finish strong.  It was discouraging to see my PR time slowly drift away. That’s when I started to remember the real purpose I was there, for my charity and the thousands of people I was able to help. I also thought about my friends and family cheering me on from home. This helped me push through, I knew my PR didn’t matter. There will always be another race.

Another challenge of the race was the water bottles. They had water stations approximately every mile and instead of handing out paper cups they handed runners bottles of water.  On the plus side, it was easy to squirt the water into your mouth, you could decide the perfect amount of water you wanted, and you could carry it with you if you needed too.  A con though was the garbage it created. A majority of the water bottles ended up in the street and you had to maneuver your way around them, adding another obstacle along the race route. You also had to be mindful of people throwing their bottles, I got hit twice.  I hope those bottles get recycled, all I kept thinking about was the waste.

Overall, I think that the Marathon Majors while awesome and exciting are not real PR races for people like myself, or the average runner.  I think they are just too crowded. So these races shouldn’t be about getting a PR, but rather about being able to enjoy the experience and take in the sights and scenery of a new place.  So if you’re interested in traveling to a new country, exploring a new city, and immersing yourself in the culture, than go for it. But if you’re looking to PR then consider a smaller marathon closer to home.

All In all, I finished the race in 4:01:14. This was not my best or my worst time, but I do feel that it was good considering the circumstances.  Running the London Marathon was probably a once in a lifetime experience so I am certainly grateful I did it.  

Happy Running!