Why Run a London Marathon?
That is the question I am asking myself as I pound the streets of London at 5am ahead of a busy day.
My journey to date in life has been quite straight forward. Married with two kids and a labrador. Worked in the City of London for a number of banks. Tried to change the world but failed so settled for something less.
In the interim, my weight increased, my stress levels went up and life became more complicated.
Is this really any different from anybody else?
My moment of truth happened one afternoon in my GP’s surgery. The lovely Dr. Mansfield pointed out that I weighed 105 kg. (massive for somebody who is 5ft 5 inches in height). My blood pressure was 220 / 140 (Lewis Hamilton would be proud of the cornering speed of my blood cells). She showed me some interesting charts that statistically predicted that I had a one in five chance of having a stroke or terminal heart attack within the next five years.
Point made.
The last three years has seen me lose 25kg in weight. Recently put 5kg on but food will always represent a battle. My blood pressure is now a normal 130 / 80 (unless Chelsea does something silly). The tablets have been ditched.
All of sudden I am alive.
To prove this to myself I made a decision last Summer that I would attempt to run the London Marathon on April 22nd 2012.
Easy decision. It has subsequently become clear that this is probably one of the most difficult thing I have ever chosen to do. The training to date has involved 86 training runs on 3 continents in temperatures ranging from -10 degrees to 30 degrees totalling 462 miles.
Just 74 miles plus 26.2 marathon miles to the finishing line.
Who am I doing all this for? To be honest me. But it would be a shame to waste this opportunity on just little old me. I am also doing this to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.
If you would like to show your appreciation of the human spirit in a tangible way please donate by clicking on DONATE TO GREAT ORMOND STREET HOSPITAL