London Marathon 2013
What a day! Despite the Boston Marathon abomination, or because of it, London turned out bigger and better than ever before for the Virgin Marathon 2013 – more runners, more supporters and more money raised.
It was a fabulous day – but we both started out in a nervous mood. And it was not until we both met up at Canary Wharf, as Ed approached mile 18, that we knew it would be a successful day for us too.
This was Ed’s second London marathon – and the second we have worked on together. When Ed, a marathon-novice, agreed to run the 2012 marathon for two children’s charities, he knew he would need specialist advice on how to prepare. One of the charities, Whizz-kidz – marathon veterans themselves with over 500 runners in this year’s race – put Ed in touch with Nick Berners-Price from 4D Fitness in early 2011. It was the beginning of a very successful partnership.
Our main issue for the 2012 marathon was how to get Ed fit to run and to deal with the inevitable injuries that plague marathon training. Any middle-aged marathon novice has to get their body used to the impact and repetitive movement of distance running, whilst still carrying some of the postural issues, tight muscles and stiff joints so commonly caused by modern western lifestyles.
Despite months of careful strength-training before starting to build up his long runs, Ed battled with ankle problems in the months up to the 2012 race. And in-sole adjustments ended up shifting the pressure from ankle to knee. The day itself became a gruelling battle against left ankle pain, and especially right knee inflammation. We used a lot of stretching and a fair bit of ibuprofen to manage the problem, and Ed did well to run through the mid-race pain and make the finish in 5hrs 31.
This year our preparation went much better. Together we have now sorted out many of those common biomechanics issues that a body picks up in its 40’s. The ankle trouble did not flare up. The 21 mile practice run went like a dream, and we were on track for well under 5hrs.
And then Ed was hit by a virus about 10 days before the marathon! By the Monday of marathon week – having battled through a final 10 mile run – he was knocked out completely with full on flu. And it was a stubborn one, still not cleared by the day before marathon day.
We spent the day before the race trying to decide if it was a good idea to run at all, and how best to manage energy and fuelling if we did. In the end, and after a gentle 3 mile trial, we decided to go for it and make decisions on the course, come what may.
Nick first met up with Ed at 9 miles in – and despite feeling a few aches and a bit of a temperature, he was doing well. We’d decided Ed would need a good deal more gels (SIS) and Sports drinks (4D hi-tec blend of… wait for it… apple juice, water and salt -the best fuel you can get!). Ed ran on restocked and in good shape.
We then missed each other at 15 miles, mainly due to a higher speed than either of us expected! Despite years of experience, Nick can vouch for the fact that it is very difficult to link up with a runner in a marathon, even with a pass to get on the course and being in phone contact, in this case with Bev, Ed’s running mate.
But we did manage to meet up at mile 17.5, Ed running and Nick sprinting to catch-up. And by that time things were looking good. Definitely drained now by the virus, and by having done the first 10 too fast – almost unavoidable in a marathon like London thanks to the buzz and crowds – Ed was still going and by no means running empty yet. We ran together for around 4 miles, and Ed had a sports drink with 80mg caffeine in it to give a bit of a boost for the final push to the end.
And it was a pretty good final push – with Ed not just finishing in one piece, but beating his time from last year by 17 mins!
Ed has now raised over £100,000 over 2 marathons for 2 fantastic charities – Whizz-Kidz and Action for Stammering Children! You can sponsor him here: www.justgiving.com/teams/
While making sure Ed got round, 4D Fitness was also supporting the Lullaby Trust’s marathon team again. They had around 50 runners this year, all of whom got round safely, the fastest in 2hr 50! Despite having had a higher dropout rate in the run up to the marathon due to injury, they’ve managed to raise a record £130,000 to fund research, and support parents dealing with the trauma of sudden infant death. You can support them here: https://www.justgiving.com/
So the London Marathon 2013 was a great success for both of us – and for Whizz-Kidz, Action for Stammering Children and The Lullaby Trust. It was a fantastic event, a gargantuan effort by the tens of thousands who ran and cheered, and a fitting tribute to those caught up in the horrors of Boston.
Nick Berners-Price is Managing Director of 4D Fitness UK. Ed Balls is the Shadow Chancellor and Member of Parliament for Morley and Outwood.
