London Marathon update: 9 days to go by Nicole Zorn

9 days to go!

Never one to turn down an opportunity to run one of the most iconic marathons in the world, I was so excited to be drawn out that hat in December.

But, then I remembered that I didn’t really enjoy my first London back in 2023 and the panic set in. I am not a fan of crowds and to be honest I was completely overwhelmed by the whole experience, but it was completed in a respectable sub 5 hours after coming back from the dreaded wall (fueling needs a whole post of its own).

As someone who enjoys the training more than the event itself, I know it’s going to take some deep breaths and serious self talks to get to that start line after battling with the tube and fellow runners and settle into a rhythm. I keep the promise of a beer in my minds eye! 

But knowing I’ve done it once before (and the distance twice), I know what to expect - so as much as anyone can enjoy running a marathon, I’m going to give it a try and this time just get to that finish line with a smile on my face. I’m gonna high-five those kids and eat as much of the on course snacks that I can (I’m sure there were some Krispy Kreme’s there somewhere, might give the beer a miss until the end though…I think I’d probably stop and go into the pub with the spectators!)

I know many of you will have seen my progress as a Runwell athlete … and I am so thankful that I’m able to tackle each race and be a little better than I was before. I still say it’s beginners luck (as I only started running in 2021) but I like the structure of a plan and following the process - trust in it, have discipline when the motivation runs out and be consistent. Oh and strength train…as a lady the wrong side of 40, this is a must!

Anyway, I’ll let you know how it goes! The body is tired now, I’m grouchy (more than usual), I’m in the midst of taper and I don’t need to worry about carb loading as I started about 2 months ago! 

Good luck to everyone running next Sunday - pain is temporary, glory is forever!

For now…

London calling! Let’s do this #dbs