Why the London Marathon is my favorite

April 25, 2019 Faux Runner Comments 0 Comment

3 years ago, I gathered at Greenwich village with 40,000 others to make a trip from Greenwich to Buckingham Palace/St. James park and that journey instantaneously became my absolute favorite marathon ever. Yes, I loved the London Marathon even more than the New York City Marathon, which was every bit as wonderful as I’d read it would be.

But London was … just something else. Ever since I dreamed of the possibility of running a marathon, London was at the top of my list. It was THE marathon that I had wanted to run (I don’t quite know why though). And running it 3 years ago was just the perfect experience – including running through all 4 seasons; the perfect England weather.

You can read my race report if you have the inclination to sit down with a cuppa tea and read.

I led mile marker cheers

Running with a GoPro (and an insanely happy smile) brought me a lot of cheers and friends on course. To distract myself over the last 8 miles, I got the people around me to do a cheer every time we crossed a mile marker. Hands up in the air and yell the Mile number. I was surprised on how many people joined in and didn’t try to beat me up for being obnoxious during the last miles!

I was asked out on a date

Twice. During the race. Once by a course marshal early on. And then again by a fellow runner at Mile 23-24 when we crossed paths and encouraged each other on. Another runner who was running next to me almost the entire race said that they’d be my bridesmaid if either of these running romances worked out. The whole interaction was just hilarious and made even more so by the deliriousness of having run for 5+ hours.

Lorelei, a runner for JDRF who I met through Facebook/InkNBurn, said she was proposed to as well.

I was kissed

About 5-7 miles from the finish, spectators were lining up outside pubs on the course and offering beer to runners. One group of people would give either a kiss or a smack on the bottom to any runner who they could get their hands on. I was kissed 🙂

I did by best to outrun a Rhino and a Tiger and the Grim Reaper

Where else, but at London marathon! Save the Rhino is a popular charity and I did my best to not let Abel the Rhino finish ahead of my slow ass pace. And I shared plenty of the initial miles before Paul the Tiger ditched me and ran ahead with his 55lbs tiger.

I was honored to run for those affected by Autism

London marathon is the single largest sporting event in the world that raises the largest amount of money for charity. I learnt that people fundraise even if they get into the marathon through the ballot. I ran for the Organization of Autism Research and was honored to raise $6500+ towards the cause.

My first 10 miles were run in honor of and dedicated to Michael, Ryan, Tate, Brian and Ava. The next 10 miles were dedicated to Rhys, Conner, Zac and Cooper, and William. And last miles were run in honor of and dedicated to Alex, Sean, Andrew and #TeamTagg.