Running my first marathon

As I write this, my first marathon is in fourteen days time (on Apr 28th, 2024).

It is in Boston. No, not that one, but this one in England. I’m nowhere good enough to qualify for the famous Boston marathon. Having failed to get a place in the London marathon (which for most people is through a ballot), I looked for the flattest one in England and Boston, Lincolnshire was the answer.

Why am I doing this? I guess mostly for a sense of personal achievement. But also as an evolution of my running career. I started running late in life, at the age of 58, about two and a half years ago. I followed a couch to 5k app which worked well for me. I found that much to my surprise, I really enjoyed running. I then joined a local club, which is one of the best things I’ve done. I followed the club’s ten-week beginners course. By the end, I was able to run 10km and had met loads of wonderful and supportive people.

During the beginners course I was introduced to parkrun - something I’d never heard about. This was another revelation, large groups of people at locations all around the world gather on a Saturday morning for a friendly 5km run.