London Marathon

Photo by David Boyle

Sunday is one of the highlights of the year, a fantastic festival of running. 

It is a day where parts of London transform into an outright celebration, all centred on the amazing dedication and hard work of the tens of thousands of runners taking part.

I love the London Marathon!

The awful news from Boston earlier this week really shook people though.  I think that the tributes planned for this weekend are a very nice touch to a special day.  It will be great to see running in the news for good reasons again.

It is an interesting course.  I have run most sections of it many times, both in my own training, and while preparing others for the race.  There are the highlights that will feature heavily in the TV coverage such as around Greenwich & the Cutty Sark (which is looking amazing now since its renovation), Tower Bridge and the Mall.  I spend quite a lot of time training around Greenwich and Blackheath and think it is one of the most beautiful parts of London.

Some of the other areas on the course tend make their way onto fewer tourists itineraries though, such as Woolwich (former home of a north London football club and still home to the UKs first McDonalds – a real claim to fame there!), Isle of Dogs (not as fun as it sounds and not even an island) and Rotherhithe (home of an interesting sculpture, sadly not featured on the course). 

Although some of these areas are slightly less picturesque than other parts of the race, I wouldn’t imagine most runners will care that much.  I am sure anywhere with a mile marker or a cheering crowd will be great view for them.

I have loved working with charities and getting members of the Momentum team ready for the marathon this year.  It has been a long tough winter, so the 26.2 miles on Sunday should be the easy bit.

So, I would like to wish all the runners this weekend good luck – whether you are a first time runner or a marathon veteran.  I will be out to support and cheer you all on.

Good luck and remember to enjoy it!