On Sunday 21 April James ran 26.2 miles to complete the London Marathon in 4 hours 11 minutes and 27 seconds, and raised over £5 thousand for his chosen charity, The Children’s Society.
James has run the London marathon once before, in 2001, and before that completed two marathons in Sheffield, but this was his first time back in the world-famous London event for many years.
A cold start
“Extremely cold,” says James, when asked how he felt at the beginning of the race. “It starts at Greenwich Park, and you have to show up two hours in advance.
Although the sun was out, it was very cold and windy.”
James, who runs regularly for fitness, normally averages about 20 miles a week. However, in preparation for the race he was running up to 40 miles a week. “Between the New Year and the race day I ran about 600 miles, not that I was keeping track!” he laughs.
Helping charity
James set up a Just Giving page to raise money for The Children’s Society, which also tracked his training and recorded many encouraging notes from well-wishers. James says he chose The Children’s Society because: “They do fantastic work with young people, particularly children who have had terrible disadvantages. They also do a lot of positive campaigning and lobbying. It is also a charity which my late Mother supported for many years, so the fund raising was also in her memory”
Go James!
James mostly felt “all right” during the race, although he says that whenever he saw someone drop out, he thought “that could be me.” It also surprised him that all along the route people kept shouting “Go James!” He was baffled by how all these people knew who he was, when the penny dropped that the running top he wore for The Children’s Society also had his name emblazoned on it.
“All along the route there are supporters, and there were lots of people shouting my name," he says. “It was sort of bizarre, but lovely to have their support.”
He adds: “It was very good to finish and I was pleased with the time although I was faster before--but that was 20 years ago!”
James has had no ill effects from the race. “I was a bit stiff, but not too bad. Oddly, it’s going down the stairs that hurts the most.”
James says he does not have any plans to run another marathon. “I think that’s probably it, with my old bones,” he says. But then he smiles and admits: “You never know.”
Above: James' finishers' medal is made from recycled Zinc.