Believe in yourself: Cheryl and the Manchester Marathon

 

 

If you had asked me six weeks ago, I would have told you that I wasn’t running the marathon due to an injury but, as the date drew closer and my injury was easing slowly, I thought (with the backing of my physio) let’s give it a go.

 

The day started by getting the tube to the cricket ground at Old Trafford for the bag drop. We then walked around the ground and followed the crowd to the waiting area for our wave to be called forward. The camaraderie with the other participants was great; some nervous, some excited but all in good spirits. I ran with some amazing people who had their own reasons for running.

 

We were soon on the move towards the starting line and, once my wave, Cyan, started running at 11:10am, there was no turning back. The support around the course was brilliant and I definitely benefited from having my name on my shirt (thanks Claire Bear!). The atmosphere out on the course was electric but seeing our supporters from the club and family members gave me the biggest buzz.

The course itself was flattish with just a few bumps but all in all a lovely route with water/gel stations positioned every three miles and plenty of toilet stops for those who needed them  - everything was very well organized. Tracking was available for every runner although many runners were taking selfies, videoing or ringing friends not taking it too seriously but enjoying the experience (I can’t multi-task whilst running).

At around 20 miles I had to start digging deep. For me I have to break the course down into segments and just kept thinking of all the advice I had been given and my focus was just to get to the finish. The cheering crowds pushed me on; they were amazing. At around mile 23 I took my last gel and pushed on, then I could see it - the finishing line ahead – I had done it. I stopped my watch (of course!) and proceeded to get my medal. We had to wait for a minute before crossing into the finishing area due to congestion so I checked my watch to see my time and I couldn’t believe I had achieved what I had set out to do. When I saw  04:33:15, I was ecstatic.

All in all, I enjoyed Manchester, the weather was just right for me - no rain and not too hot - but the icing on the cake was celebrating afterwards with our very own elite runner Mandy and the KUHAC family and supporters. I had worried that my injury would slow me down or that the few weeks of training I had missed would hinder my run but as I was told “trust the programme and believe in yourself”. The only problem now is that  I can’t stop eating - HELP!!!!!