No one said it would be easy. What they didnt say was how hard it would be either!
22nd April 2007. Judgement day. Five Hazel Footprinters- with varying levels of training under their belts!- line up on the various start lines across London. And without forgetting the ape among the pack- no, not Ben- but Boris the stuffed cuddly toy mascot monkey. A long standing supporter of the trust and brains behind the operation. The 26.2 mile course for The Flora London Marathon 2007 ahead of them.
Scorching arid heat belting down on their finely tuned athletic frames (a note from the editors: this has in no way been fabricated or embellished). This was to be a day of reckoning. Soundtrack of Rocky playing on their ipods. The one legged chicken eyeing up his competition to his left- and Cyberman checking out the competition on his right! The sound of the shotgun, hot air balloons start to take to the skies and Indiana Jones begins to pull his boulder (no innuendo intended!) through the streets of London.
The roads littered with screaming adoring fans. Milestone one… the one mile mark. Relief and fatigue sets in- never having to run that stretch again! Georgies ipod freezes. Morale plummets- contemplating suicide. Ben starts hallucinating that Boris- attached to Bens backside- has lost his head.
Next the Cutty Sark and Greenwich. Mile 7. Things going well, good pace alongside Spongebob Squarepants- tan coming along nicely. Towerbridge mile 13. Georgie tries to run in between Colin Jackson and his interviewee in a desperate bid to make the 6 oclock news! Ben hits the wall. Agony and desperation ensues. To the very nice old man who generously donated his lunch to a bedraggled, sweaty, downtrodden marathon machine that is Ben- thank you. You saved his marathon.
To the Docklands- mile 17. Passes in a blur- not of speed, more from deliriousness. Still no support team that we have been able to spot from the millions of faces lining the streets. Georgies ipod starts to work again.
Mile 22- the nearly there stretch. A mild rise of satisfaction gloating looking back at the fatties still on mile 13! Suddenly acutely aware of specimen status.
Mile 25- familiar faces come into view. We are very grateful to all supporters who managed to get out of their pits and come see us cross the line a mere 7 hours after we had left our beds.
Mile 26- smile for the ****ing cameras! Try not to look exhausted.
Too:quick- Elliot thrashing the rest of the Footprinters- we maintain he cheated and knew a shortcut
4:28 Ben- after wrestling with the wall for a cool 13 miles arrives exhausted but happy to have pipped Boris at the finish line
4:28: 01- Boris fuming having narrowly lost out to Ben and kicks billboards in disgust.
4:45- Jamie happy to have beaten the Granny who had been following him for the last 4 miles.
5:02- Georgie arrives having sprinted up the final 200metres past the one legged man who had beaten her in Edinburgh- so ha!
In total- £3277.28 raised by Footprinters. Worth it?! (ED:- OF COURSE!!!! [from the safety of his cosy office chair!!!] ).
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Image credit: plgomez
