TCS NEW YORK CITY MARATHON 2014KM 2nd NOVEMBER

Andy had set off the NYC 2 weeks before Marathon day, he was making the most of an opportunity to see specialist practice out in the USA before finishing his residency next year. As I drove him to the airport we were somewhat stunned that this time had finally arrived, after having had it planned for so long the build up had been huge, and now the time was almost here it felt surreal. It was tough spending 2 weeks apart, the longest time we have spent apart in 10 years! More importantly though our last 2 weeks of training was to be alone having run together at every stage this year. We had undertaken our longest runs thankfully, but we misjudged just how much we relied on getting each other through the tough, and boring training runs! Running with someone definitely keeps you going in those longer distances!  

Andy’s arrival in NYC wasn’t straight forward after finding out that the apartment he had booked via a reputable company didn’t exist and being stranded in New York with his cases wasn’t ideal after the hideously long journey and dramatic time difference. After several phone calls to me at what was 3 am, and many to the company he was soon in a nice apartment and could finally get settled. The following day, neither of us having had much sleep we both ran 13 miles. I found it incredibly tough doing the same boring route on my own, but Andy had a new route that included central park!

We continued to taper down until the last Sunday when we intended to run 8-10 miles. Andy managed his with ease, I however got to the 10K point and felt an excruciating pain in my knee. I stopped to walk hoping it would wear off only to find it continued to get worse. The knee swelled and in vet terms I was incredibly lame... a tearful phone call to mum ensued who drove to collect me. Whilst waiting for her to arrive I also made a tearful phone call to a Physio to get me in the following day around work for treatment. However after arriving home, despite ice, elevation and rest the swelling continued to get worse and so we made the visit to an NHS walk-in clinic. The doctor and nurse were brilliant, I made it clear I would be running this marathon no matter what despite disapproving faces they then advised me against imaging if that were the case – as it may just diagnose something that would prevent me from running, and initially with 5 days to go the treatment wouldn’t change. They prescribed me strong anti-inflammatories, rest, ice, elevation and to just try on the promise that if it hurt during the marathon I stop.

The swelling reduced over the week but it was still causing a limp. Mum and I joined Andy in NYC on Friday 31^st October the flight had stiffened up my knee, and the swelling was still present. Andy was somewhat disappointed that I wasn’t actually exaggerating the injury and now he became worried about me taking part especially as I also hadn’t run for a week!

 

The day arrived and my knee for the first time didn’t hurt! Adrenalin is the best analgesia! I took some pre run pain killers as we got ready at 5.20am and then it became all about the race and the marathon. We boarded our bus with feelings all over the place, one minute we were terrified the next just super excited. We ate our packets of porridge on the way trying to time our eating before our start time and desperate to get there and meet Helen Gemmell, one of my best friends, who had travelled with her parents to complete this final event with us. Helen has run 2 marathons before and knew was to expect, her advice in the lead up to and on the day was invaluable and we both felt so lucky she was by our side. However a marathon is a huge distance, whether you have been daft enough to do it before or not, each time the enormity of the challenge cannot be underestimated and waiting in our start pens we all faced this reality.

 

The weather was horrendous! The windy conditions were the worst for many years, it meant the wheelchair race had to be rerouted from crossing the 2 mile long bridge at the start. We stood and huddled trying to shelter but after 3 hours of waiting our toes were totally numb. The only saving grace was that it wasn’t raining or else I think I would have needed medical attention before even starting! Finally we trundled to the start too cold to even consider taking off the clothes we were supposed to be dumping and instead elected to start the race in jumpers, hats and gloves! Thank goodness we did because running over that first bridge was an experience! We could barely run straight the wind was so strong and looking for that all important 1^st mile marker that never came – we found out later it had blown into the waters below!

Below are 2 professional photos from TCS marathon facebook page...

 

Thankfully once off the bridge, although still windy, the sun came out and after 3 miles we could feel our toes again. We could now get settled into a rhythm and start to enjoy the run a little more. The crowds were truly overwhelming. We were cheered by name nearly all of the way around, we laughed at the funny signs, were touched by the supportive signs and entertained by the endless music and cheering. As we ran through Brooklyn the multicultural heart of the city it was truly uplifting. Everyone coming together for the same cause and supporting each other whatever their reasons. At 17 miles we met our own cheerleaders my mum, Carol, and Helen’s parents Pat & Ian Gemmell. We stopped briefly to hug and have a photo and then continued on. We were feeling (and looking apparently) very good! However after 18 miles we started to feel the pain... New York is a punishing course with hills and steep bridges and we started to grit our teeth a little more... As we made our 3 mile hilly approach to central park and the known finish area, each mile seemed to be getting longer and longer! We were greeted again by our parents in the crowd who found us looking a whole lot worse than when they had last seen us! We were now in the last 2 miles and everything was absolutely hurting... we weren’t sure whether our legs would hold but we knew we could keep going now and that we would finish come what may. Before the race we had thought that if it gets really tough we could just walk for a few paces... however this wasn’t realistic after 20 miles because every time you stopped everything seized up and it was a whole lot harder to get started again. So it was better to just keep trundling on!

 

 

As we approached the finish I was ready to drop but the atmosphere was amazing and having stepped over that famous finish line we were in tears! We had finished our contribution to Madness 4 Mike in the most incredible way possible and were still alive to tell the tale! People around us who had run several marathons were all exclaiming it was the hardest race they had done and knowing this escalated our pride even further. The medals were astonishingly beautiful and we couldn’t have been prouder of ourselves. With all the adversity we had all faced this year with injuries and training around work, and for the reasons we were doing the challenge, we had overcome it all and finished our first marathon in a time of 4:37. When taking into account the need to stop and remove clothes, have a toilet stop on the way, and running 20 miles of the course into headwinds, this would have brought us closer to our target of 4hr 30. This was a loose target time we set when we were totally fit too, so considering my knee injury and the weather conditions we weren’t really expecting to get close to it when the day arrived so we were absolutely thrilled.

The above 2 are professional shots shared by TCS Marathon facebook page.

I couldn’t have been more overwhelmed with the online support we received, the donations were pouring in and messages of support and lots of people following us via the app too! It was an incredible yet overwhelming feeling, and I had to come away from social media for a few hours that night as it was making me too emotional!

I know what got me through this day was the support from friends and family at home, 2 incredible people by my side and one amazing dad in my heart. More thanks will be given at the end of the year and the close of the challenge but for now, for this event, thank you all so so much!

 

These photos were shared by fellow runners on the TCS Marathon facebook page...

 

We celebrated the following day and the recovery was painful but nothing could bring us down from the high we were on! It was worth every sore, pain, ache and effort in memory of an amazing man, and for 2 worthy charities St Ann’s Hospice & Hospice UK (prev Help The Hospices).