Results and Pictures

Janice Tweed
accompanied by Angela Rutterford-Adams

with apologies to Bridget Jones

Sat 14^th April 2001
Angela is back from Spain and phones to tell me she has sprained her ankle. I go into total panic, don’t want to run on my own. Selfishly hope she will be OK. Drink too much wine!

Sunday 15^th April 2001
9am run at Windsor, last proper run before D Day. Beautiful morning, Windsor looks fab at the moment with all the spring flowers about to burst. Run for 1 ½ hrs. Contemplating next Sunday, cannot imagine what it is going to be like. Worrying whether I have done enough training, but know that there is nothing I can do about it now. Look back over my training diary and count up the crosses (missed sessions) there are a few, but hopefully not too many. Drink too much wine. Can’t sleep, everything is going through my head, will I finish, how will I feel?  

Monday 16^th April
Teach class 9-10am, really good fun. In the afternoon go for a walk around Windsor park and lake, stop at Savill Gardens for coffee and wicked carrot cake. Trying to increase carbohydrates and think about drinking more water. Drink too much wine instead! No more wine this week, will drink water instead.

Tuesday 17^th April
Finding it really hard to concentrate. Work is piling up on my desk. Everything is now in the ‘after the marathon’ tray. Have started a list of things to take with me on Sunday. Go for a run with Alexander on his bike. Not a good idea. Manage about ½ hr before I give in and take him to the park. Glad I am teaching 2 classes today otherwise I wouldn’t know what to do with myself. Everyone at class is wishing me luck, and more importantly plying me with money for charity. Have to pick Katie up from work at 11pm, so can’t drink wine tonight! Fall asleep and dream about the marathon. It’s always a similar theme, I can’t find the start (must mean something). Keep waking up remembering things to add to my list (must take a note book to bed tomorrow!)

Wednesday 18^th
Marathon exhibition today with Wendy, Barry and Chris. Have to pick up race number, chip and kit bag. It is really exciting. Everything is well organized and runs smoothly. There are loads of exhibits to see and shopping to be done, so we split up and arrange to meet in an hour. Chris and I wander around, coffee first, then bargain shopping with Sweatshop, (New Balance leggings for £9). We pick up a designer binbag and jaffa cakes from Leukemia care stand, then meet up with Wendy, Barry and Amanda. Get back home about 4.30pm, tired but just in time to get ready for class (last one of the week) Drinking lots of water and eating lots of carbs. Have developed a love for hot cross buns!!! Decide that 1 glass of wine won’t hurt. I remember Ginny saying that they had wine in Paris the night before the marathon, and they were OK!!! Go to bed, with note book. Stare at ceiling a lot and make notes in book in the dark (made interesting reading next day!!!!!) 

Thursday 19^th
Class tonight has to be cancelled, so spend whole day phoning round, at least it gives me something to do. Shuffle paper on my desk, move it from one place to another, finally give up! Add more things to my list. Angela calls and tells me her ankle is fine, I am so relieved.  Check the weather forecast, looks OK. Word ‘Imodium’ has started to creep into conversation! Never heard of it before and now I am terrified! Hadn’t thought about it, but now can’t think of anything else! I have never discussed toilet habits and toe nails with so many people before!!!! Have to talk to team coach (Wendy) she calms me down for the hundredth time and I am OK again for about 10 minutes!!! Bake banana cake to take on Sunday.
Bob cooks dinner. I decide that 2 glasses of wine will be OK this evening. Opt for an early night and stare at the ceiling some more. Now I just want to get on with it. I thought that I would enjoy this week, not much running, some well earned rest, but no, I’m fidgeting something awful (and very grumpy apparently) Check my list again. 

Friday 20^th
Go for 4 mile run in Country Park. It is a beautiful morning, with lots of dog walkers around. Not a good run, if 4 miles hurts this much I can’t imagine running 26.2!
Take Alexander to Natural History Museum for the day. Great fun. Ignore the office completely, just shake my head at the state of my desk and pledge to sort it out after the marathon! Sit and watch TV. Images of the marathon make my stomach flip! A glass of wine is bound to help! Go to bed. 

Sat 21^st
Manage to sleep until 4am when Alexander’s Action Man alarm clock goes off! Get up to switch it off and stare at ceiling till 7am when I finally fall asleep, only to be woken at 7.30am by another alarm clock. Give up and go downstairs for cup of tea. Ask Bob if he has any old clothes that I can wear and throw away. He finds me a lovely white shell suit, circa 1982. Yippee! Check list again. Start packing bag. Stomach doing somersaults. Clean windows, front door, outside windowsills. Wash anything that doesn’t move! Wendy and I go to pictures to see ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’. What a hoot, we laugh the whole way through, and all the way home. Walk to pub in hope of fleecing unsuspecting drunks of their hard earned cash. Succeed. Go home to large bowl of pasta and large bottle of water. Help Alexander paint his banner. It reads

Mum,
You can’t play football
You can’t play darts
But you can run!

Go to bed, and set alarm for 5.30am. Sleep off and on until Bob and  Alexander get up at 3.30am to watch boxing! No chance of getting back to sleep.  

Sunday 22^nd April 2001 FLORA LONDON MARATHON
Alarm goes off. No problem getting up this morning. Feel remarkably calm. This is what we have been waiting for, this is it!
Get showered. Pin race number on Windle Valley vest. Check bag (again) Vaseline most parts of body and slide into kit. By now my throat has closed up and I am having trouble swallowing toast. Manage one slice then head off to pick up Chris. Starting to feel sick and shaky. Get to station in time for coach. Wendy checks that we all have water and tissues and we are off. Everyone is chatting excitedly on coach. I realize that I have forgotten my stopwatch. (there’s a first)  We arrive at Greenwich common. Quick team photo, then goodbye and good luck from Wendy, and Angela, Chris and myself are alone! We head for the loo first, then dump kit on storage lorries and then back to the loo again! All too soon we are lined up for the start. 

THE RACE
 I can’t believe how many people are in front and behind us. It is awesome! There are people in fancy dress, old, young, fat, slim, tall, short, every group is represented. Everyone is wishing each other luck. We all hug and cry, then the gun goes and we wait to start moving.
We cross the line after 8.40mins and finally start to jog. Already there are lines of guys peeing against the walls. Spectators are out in their gardens in force, some drinking tea, some already on wine and beer!. There’s lots of banter going on and we are all smiling.

Angela and I run with Chris for a while, but she wants to drop back so we run on. Mile markers seem to come up quickly, but the pace is slow. It is impossible to get past people, so we decide to forget the time and relax a bit. We are running near four musketeers and hear lots of shouts of ‘all for one and one for all’ we’ve got to drop them! Overtake a rhino.
We drink lots of water and fill up on Liquid Power. Soon thinking about stopping for the loo. Have to queue, but its got to be done! Start running again. Overtake the rhino again! Loads of people are running with mobile phones, arranging spots to see loved ones etc., the ringing is deafening. Someone shouts out ‘mines a pizza’ and everyone is laughing . It is very loud in general, the sounds of feet and the cheering spectators. They call out to everyone and really encourage you along. There are always bright sparks with witty comments. Someone says that it’s now a triathlon. Tower Bridge is up and we have to swim across, and everyone is laughing again. Running round Cutty Sark is amazing, we’ve seen it on TV so many times. Try to take it in and remember to smile for TV cameras!!!

We are soon in double figures and counting down the miles. Nearly lose Angela at a water station, we both start to panic, we have pledged to finish together!

Coming onto tower Bridge is amazing and I start to cry. The sun is shining and the crowds are brilliant. I feel really emotional. I spot Angela’s husband and we shout and wave. Onto the dual carriageway between 12 and 13 miles and the fast runners are on the other side of the road, between 22 and 23 miles. We look out for Wendy. All of a sudden I hear my name and there she is. We wave and cheer excitedly. I check my watch and realize that Wendy is on target, we are so pleased for her. We are looking forward to being on the other side of the road! We see the halfway marker and know that our time will be irrelevant.

See a friend at 14 miles. It is so great to see a friendly face. It’s hard running round the Isle of Dogs, it seems to go on for ever. We stop for the loo again. Overtake the rhino again! Angela asks me how I am feeling. I reply ‘oh my god’ as it seems to sum it up! A guy running next to me tells us we will be OK, and that we will make it. Bless him.

There are street parties going on at the sides of the roads, barbeques, discos, drinks, everyone really enters into the spirit. All the pubs are open, with discos and DJs cheering us all along. Some of the big office blocks are open too, and you can smell food, alcohol and coffee. You definitely need a strong stomach!

18 miles and we’re running on determination only. I feel strange, and know that I dare not stop. My legs are on automatic, there are NO messages going to or from my brain! It feels really hard, but the thought of seeing supporters on the embankment spurs us on.

Don’t see a mile marker for a while and then suddenly we are at 21 miles. Boy, that’s a welcome sight! I know that we will soon be along the embankment, but we have the cobbles to contend with first! The Tower looks fantastic in the sunshine. You can hear the sound of feet on the carpet, and feel the uneven surface underneath. My feet are hurting, but then so is everything else!. We know we are both in pain because we are not talking! We go under a tunnel and hear that Steve Redgrave is in front of us. He is a giant of a man, with enormous feet! It feels good to move past him. Out of the tunnel and the noise is incredible. We know that we will see loved ones soon! The runners scan the crowd and the crowd scan the runners. I see a lady from class, 1 feel lifted. Then I spot my family. It makes me cry, and we cheer at each other. What a feeling! We can see the London Eye and Big Ben and know that we are nearly there. The sun is shining and London looks wonderful. The crowds are even louder in the Mall. We see 800m to go marker and start to cry again. When we turn the corner and see the finish line I can’t breathe, I feel so emotional.

Angela and I hold hands, and punch the air as we cross the line. 4hrs 51mins

The staff are wonderful and congratulate everyone, they excitedly put a medal around your neck. Then you get your photo taken, get a space blanket, goody bag, pick up your kit and try to walk! 

It was a fantastic experience and we did enjoy it, but we both agree that we will NEVER do it again!
The T-shirt is right, marathon runners have one less thing to do in life.
A runner was wearing a T-shirt that said
‘Pain is temporary, Pride is forever’
Power to marathon runners, we are all heroes.

23^rd April 2001