Tim Boswell's London Marathon Blog by tnmboswell

... and I promise this’ll be neither a Jerry Springer-style monologue, nor an Oscars-style blub-fest.

As for the people to thank ... well there are loads.  Firstly, thanks to everyone who’s sponsored me – at the time of writing I’m nearing £650 for Macmillan Cancer Support, having initially hoped for something in the region of £200.  On the subject of fundraising, thanks also to Sarah from Macmillan, without whose challenge to run the Coventry Half I’m sure I wouldn’t now have a full marathon under my belt !  Thanks to my friends and work colleagues for their support, and a special mention to Hannah from our website who’s tirelessly been editing my waffle down to edited highlights (and had put up with more photos of my legs than anyone should have to endure !).  Thank you to my family who travelled down to London to support me on Sunday.  I know it’s not a cheap weekend and I really, really appreciated it.  Thank you to Virgin Money for the place in the Marathon, and to Natasha in the Marathon Press Office for all her help.  I’ve never met the man, nor never will, but I should credit Hal Higdon for his training plan which I slightly modified – you can find all sorts of training plans on his website.  And lastly, thank you to everyone who’s read this blog , commented on it, or simply put up with me worrying about another painful joint over the past three months. 

If anyone stumbles across this over the next few weeks, months or years and wants to know anything more about the training, the day, or anything else, then do please get in touch.  E-mail’s probably best – tim.boswell@bbc.co.uk 

Would I do it all again ?  Well I certainly didn’t come over the line saying ‘never again’.  I’m happy to say I completed the London Marathon, but I know I’ve got a better time in me and I want to know what went wrong at mile 18.  So that’s my way of saying “I’ll be back”.  At some point.  I’m going to just enjoy a bit of a rest before a 10k in Kenilworth in less than two weeks time, the Coventry Half Marathon two weeks after that, and the Two Castles 10k two weeks after that.  Then there’s talk of the Coventry Fun Run.  Better get training again ....

For now, my favourite souvenir from the weekend (alongside the t-shirt  and medal), is a simple postcard that came in the goody bag.  And I think the words on this postcard are the best way to end.

Thanks for reading. 

Tim Boswell

April 2010