It’s great to see so many of the best wheelchair athletes back in London for the first time since the amazing Paralympic games last year. This marathon is hopefully the start of something great for me and I can begin to challenge for that win on the road, after being so successful on the track over the past few years.
I have changed my seating position since the 2012 Paralympic Games, so I can be more competitive on the road. I feel, at last, that I will be able to roll well enough to stay with the pack down the hills and not be always playing catch up on the climbs. This field is the best marathon field I have been involved in, so it’s a great challenge and a good test to see where I’m at.
Come race day, it’s all serious; after an early night I’m up early to start the caffeine and energy drink intake. London is a later start, so we meet in the lobby at 6.30am - much better than the 4am departure at the LA Marathon. The bus ride to the race is always a quiet trip. Once at the athlete tent, everyone goes about their own business and preparation, slowly more and more athletes warm up. I felt great during this period and grew in confidence that I could achieve my goals for the race. The main goals were: firstly to stay with the pack down and up the hill at 5km, as I thought this was the only spot I might get dropped by the lead pack; secondly to go under 1hr 35min, which is the world championship qualifying time; and thirdly, and most importantly, no matter what result I ended with, I wanted to come away happy with my race. As the athletes gathered at the start, tensions grew. While sitting waiting on the start not much is said, just the good luck to athletes next to you.
As the gun went the heart rate spikes as we sprint off the line, quickly forming a huge lead pack. I managed to get in and relax as much as possible, while also being carefully not to get caught up in a crash or crash into an obstacle on the road. As the race progressed we went through a number of attacks, which I felt comfortable throughout. Then we hit the downhill, where the lighter guys and those who don’t roll that well usually get dropped, but I tucked into the most aerodynamic position I could and just tried to stay on the wheel of the athlete in front. To my surprise I got to the bottom in the middle of the pack, which meant I could rest a little on the climb, which is one of my strong areas.
For the next 10kms the race went fast, and at each marker I saw just how fast we were going, as we all use a garmin speedo set up with all the data you need to follow during a race. I remained fresh while athletes started to drop from the pack, the crazy moment of the race - which has been given lots of TV air time - came at the 15km mark. As the lead pack of 15 wheelchair athletes started to pass the elite female runners, we were traveling up the left side of the road, while they were on the right. At the moment we crossed, one of the runners decided she would turn left, go through her pack and through the middle of ours, which caused chaos with chairs going so fast. She collided with two chairs who crashed into the drinks stands, the rest of the female pack got spooked and scattered all over the road causing lots of trouble for us to try and avoid.
The pack split with those affected and those who had already passed by the runners. I managed to avoid all runners, but by then there was now a gap to the leaders. After regrouping, I lead the chase pack back to the lead with the help from legendary wheelchair athlete, Heinz Frei from Switzerland.
Once we regrouped I never fully felt fresh again. I stayed with the lead pack until cramp and fatigue set in at the 28km mark. I pushed the rest of the race alone, trying desperately to go under my required qualifying time for world championships in July. As I got closer to the finish line, I started calculating what my finish time might be - as with every kilometre I was getting closer to not going under the 1hr 35min mark.
The battle for the win continued ahead of me, while I pushed the last 14km alone. The remaining athletes stayed together for the sprint finish with 8 athletes coming around the corner together and GB Paralympic hero, David Weir, leading the sprint before Aussie champ, Kurt Fearnley, put on an amazing turn of speed to burst from the pack and claim the win by a front wheel from Marcel Hug of Switzerland.
It’s such a hard race and to hurt for so long is tough, but to come around that last corner and to see the timing board read 1hr 35min is very tough. I finished in 1hr 35min 44sec - missing the cut off time by 44 seconds over the whole distance of a marathon.
So, the first battle of the year in this Double Ashes year goes to Australia; but there’s many more battles to come in this great sporting rivalry between our two countries, and I hope after all is done that the Aussies will prevail.
After the race it’s time to hurt, but to also try and enjoy the moment of what I had just achieved. A 9th place and my 1st Top 10 in a major marathon, and having done so well again in London in front of so many friends along the course is a great feeling. Then it’s off for a recovery ice bath up to the neck (no need to add ice to the chilly London tap water) then settle down for a nice long night’s sleep before heading home.
I will be in Australia for a week before my next international trip, this time to South Korea for the Seoul Marathon - just hope I recover in time and feel fresh come race time in two weeks.
Well, till then, keep searching the world for the dream.
