London Landmarks Half Marathon, Sunday 24th March
The highs and lows of the LLHM
I’m still looking for the right combination of words to describe the London Landmarks Half Marathon – epic, mind-blowing, utterly exhausting and a total emotional roller coaster – are currently the ones that are going through my head right now, two days on! It was just like nothing I’ve ever experienced before, the sheer number of runners, spectators, water bottles, noise, entertainment and general hype was beyond words.
This run and the fundraising for it begun back in October 2018, only hours after I completed my first half marathon in Leicester. My cousin, Nic, asked me if I wanted to do the London half with her and one thing led to another and I was joined by my club mates and awesome Wreake Warriors, Rachel and Vic. I signed up for a charity place, to run for Prostate Cancer UK after losing my Dad to the cruel disease back in November 2014. I had to raise £350 to get to the start line and having never really asked anyone for money, apart from when I did a sponsored walk at school, I didn’t really know what to expect. I was both humbled and overwhelmed that within two hours of launching my Just Giving Page on Facebook, I had smashed my target and had already hit the £500 mark.
Once we were signed up, we booked our hotel, as close to the start as we could, and got on with training…
Having only done one half marathon before and still feeling like a relatively new, inexperienced runner, this distance is a real challenge for me, and I needed to mentally complete the training as well as physically.
The day before the big day, Rachel, Vic and myself travelled to London from Syston (Leicestershire), we took the usual billion selfies on the platform, train and then again when we arrived, but it all added to the whole sense of occasion for me. It was a big deal, and I wanted to document this with photos! My family and friends were keen to support me both by sponsoring me and by sending me messages of support and good luck.
Unbeknown to us, however, there was a Brexit March planned on the same day, with one million people descending upon London to make their stand against the government and have their say on the current state of the Country. Our planned ‘pop to the start line’ from our hotel was not as straightforward as we thought. We battled through the crowds whilst also trying to visualise just how our next day would be. This was impossible!
We were all pretty hyper and excited and kept letting out screams at random times of the day, just to vocalize how we were feeling. I was nervous and kept getting waves of excitement followed by waves of panic and dread – ‘it’s just a run’ I kept telling myself. ‘One foot in front of the other’!
After a decent spaghetti carbonara, glass of wine and garlic bread (Rachel and Vic both opted for Cheese burger, coke zero and chips – which was awful!) we were back in the hotel, for an early bed! We all gathered in one room for a cup of tea, sweets and a last-minute panic chat and then headed to bed.
Race day was a beautiful, sunny quiet day, the crowds and chaos from the previous day had dispersed and London felt like a totally different city. I’d had a decent night’s sleep and although up early felt calm and ready.
We were all together in the Sunshine wave so our start time was 10.02, we left the hotel at 8.30, headed to back drop and took in the atmosphere. We all felt great.
We stood on the Winner’s Podium and took photos as although the queue was long, we decided it was better to do this now rather than later. I also got myself a LLHM buff before heading to the very well organised bag drop.
After a final nip to the loo, we all headed to the start line – which was a little confusing as the waves that had been clearly stipulated in our email and on our bibs didn’t really matter – everyone was just going to the start line all mixed up. There was no real need to panic as it was calm and the walk to the start was a great chance to chat to the many runners taking part.
Vic was feeling a little overwhelmed at this point – a wave of panic had suddenly hit her, and she’d gone quiet – so both Rachel and I gave her a few words of ‘wisdom’ and the next thing we knew we were off! Our plan was to stick together for the first mile or so until we got into our own running rhythm, which is exactly what we did.
The crowds were huge and the music and entertainment that lined every inch of the route was amazing. My mum, daughter, brother-in-law, Anthony and niece Evie, had all come into London to watch me, their plan was to see me at miles 3,4,6 and 11 – and again, this is exactly what happened. They really did lift my spirits at every point, with their handmade banners and shouts of love for me. It was very emotional, with me running with my dad always on my mind. I’d hear the choirs sing and the bells of St Paul’s ring and would find tears in my eyes. I know he would’ve been immensely proud of me for even wanting to enter such a race as I hadn’t really started to run until he was poorly. I think this is one of the reasons why I do love running so much, because it gives me that time to myself to really think about him and to bring him to the front of my mind.
The running was hard, and I’ve never ran with so many people before, this did help me, but at times I got quite frustrated being elbowed and shoved and nearly tripped over – all by accident I might add – but still distracting when trying to get into the zone.
I’m not sure how many of the actual landmarks I took in, I do remember looking up at the Cheese Grater, The London Eye, The Houses of Parliament and seeing The Tower of London. The route was very twisty, with several hair pin bends where you ran back along the road you’ve just run on – something that I’m not keen on. I saw Mary Poppins, twice and several Harry Potters, with Beefeaters and Gladiators providing further entertainment but it was the runners that I tried to focus on. A lady was running for her ‘Angel’ of a son called Louis, who was born premature and lived only a few days. Running for Tommy’s this was all printed on the back of her t-shirt and I couldn’t help but reach out to her and say well done as we chatted briefly down Tower Hill.
Another guy, also running for Prostate Cancer UK patted me on the back when he saw that I was running in memory of my dad and said ‘he would be proud – well done’!
I tried not to look at my watch too much, as I find that it’s not always helpful for me, however, with so many clocks along the route telling me the time, this was just not possible.
My goal for this run was to finish in under 2 hours 30 minutes – I’d seen there were pacers in my wave so wanted to keep an eye on them. But it was only in the final mile that I caught sight of the 2.30 pacer – my heart sank and after a few swear words decided I needed to catch him, to ensure I could finish inside my time. For my last mile I really had to up the pace, but it was tough with so many people in my way – there were some walkers who were just our for the atmosphere and I really had to try hard not to push them over and out of my way!!
I was really hurting at this point and had caught the pacer up and then I saw my mum again, who shouted, ‘well done Kathy’ and Anthony who shouted ‘you’ve got three minutes to do 100 meters’. I stepped on the gas and sprinted to the finish line which I could see now in all its yellow and pink glory. I’d done it, I’d finished in 2 hours 26 minutes and I stopped dead just over the finish line.
Oh my goodness the relief at this point was just immense and I burst out crying (again!), to then be handed my medal by a Pearly King from London’s Past. I was properly dazed and confused and just went with the flow of people, desperate for water and not the Lucozade being handed out. I grabbed some water and kept walking, collecting my Yellow Finisher sweatband and Nut Protein bar.
I headed to the bag drop and phoned my husband on route, who’d stayed behind in Syston with our three-year-old little girl. He was delighted to hear my voice and congratulated me. We’d all arranged to meet up after we’d finished at the Royal Artillery Monument near the bag drop, so I was thrilled when I saw my mum, Ruby, Anthony and Evie waiting there for me. My cousin was there too as was Rachel, Vic and Corinna, also a (speedy) Wreakie. I was so pleased to see them, but was utterly exhausted – that final mile had really done me in.
Although delighted to finish I kept looking around at all the other runners who looked so spritely, I just felt so exhausted and the thought of getting myself back to Syston was too much for me. After saying goodbye to my family, Rachel, Vic and I headed back through the crowds to our hotel, to collect our bags and catch the train home. It was a huge effort to think about walking and catch the tube, but thanks to Vic and Rachel bossing me about and pointing me in the right direction, we made it.
I finally felt a bit better once I’d eaten a chicken sandwich, packet of crisps and chocolate brownie and knew I was on the train home back to my family. The organisation of the race, with the chip timings, photography, videos and app that went along with it were all brilliant and I’m glad I have all these to keep as mementos from the day. My friendship however with Rachel and Vic and the memories and laughs we shared together will be the things that I will treasure most.
Will I be doing it again next year? I’m not sure. Will I be doing another half marathon, again I’m not sure – but will I keep running with my best pals, most definitely! See you both at the Hub shortly or at track night! x
Katherine Lang
