London marathon…nothing I write here will do it justice, what a day, what an experience. I might just have to give up running marathons at this point. I’m not sure any other marathon would be able to beat London.
This race was a long-time bucket list race for me, like it is for a lot of people. After consistently getting the ballot rejection emails over the last few years, 2025 was finally my year to do it. Unfortunately, I can’t say my training went exactly to plan. I was on a high after running Berlin marathon last year and probably a bit over enthusiastic as I ended up overdoing speed work early this year and picking up an injury in January that led to a few weeks off, then there was flu, another break, a lack of consistency over dark winter evenings and right before the race, a lack of discipline in the face of Easter eggs.
So that’s the excuses out of the way, onto the race…while disheartened at training, I decided regardless of fitness, this is likely the only time I will run the London marathon, so my only objective was to get to the end, finish in one piece, with no pressure on time, and that’s what I did. As it turned out, the heat on the day made anything else unsafe anyway.
This race from start to finish is such an amazing experience. It was incredibly well organised, everything seemed easy, from bib collection, to bag drop, with a great atmosphere as we waited to go to the start pens, to the start itself, everything was just straightforward and hassle free. They have three start lines that merge after 3 miles and because the waves are so well done, it never felt too hectic, even when we all merged…very different to my scarily overcrowded experience in Berlin last year.
It ended up being over 20 degrees on the day and there were lots of emails from the organisers about taking precautions and the dangers of over exertion in the heat. I was very happy to heed that advice and despite setting out at a conservative pace right from the start, 10k in I decided to slow a bit more or I might pay the price later. From that point on I stopped to drink water frequently and slowed to accept sweets and high fives from all the children out supporting. I think this strategy also meant I had a very easy marathon recovery and had no trouble navigating the underground steps afterwards thankfully. Back to the race and again, great organisation meant there was lots of water provided in bottles you could take with you and replenish in refill areas between water stations. They also gave out ice along the way and there were regular spots with very welcome cold-water showers to run through.
Words really cannot describe the London support, it’s just unreal, so many witty signs and words of encouragement from spectators and fellow participants…that support really pushed me along despite the heat. I don’t know London particularly well and didn’t recognise a lot of the areas we ran through. It’s a nice course though, not as flat as I was expecting, but no huge inclines either. There were very few quiet areas…turning a corner and seeing Tower Bridge was a highlight, especially as I hadn’t realised I was so close to it and wasn’t expecting it. The last 3 miles were also pretty standout, the support from the sidelines reached new levels there, it seemed like the whole of London was out and celebrating the marathon, turning the whole city into one big marathon party.
Eventually though, the party ended, I crossed the finish line and got my lovely medal – the evidence of my efforts to bring home to show off to my children! I then discovered lots of restaurants and bars around London were offering freebies to runners on production of a London marathon medal and spent a great evening taking full advantage of these promotions. Great race and great weekend in London.
