As has become my norm over the last 4 years, since I ran my last London marathon in 2006, I made my way down to London to support Jane and the rest of the Bella team doing the Marathon.

Arriving at the elite start just before 8 am the atmosphere was already starting to build and after saying a final good luck to Jane I headed to my first vantage point just after 12 miles. Having done this supporters role many times I have come to the decision that I can catch many more Bella runners if I limit myself to two points on the course, first one just before the turn to run over Tower Bridge then on to the Embankment.

Getting the train back from Maze hill to London Bridge I ran down to my first stop and got a great position before it starts to get too busy. I’m there in plenty of time to see the wheelchair leaders and then the first Ladies come through followed shortly by the leading men’s pack less than 20 minutes behind. Lemonchello going well and he gets a good cheer from me. Then comes the first athlete I know Jethro Lennox from Shettleston closely followed by our own Kenny. The crowd had really grown by now and the atmosphere built up – the noise was incredible. Seeing Kenny got my excitement level up and then Bella’s are coming thick and fast, Colin, Russell, Scott, Al, Brian, Rebecca, Alastair, Stewart, Linda and Karlyn, Lucy and Jane all getting the full Oscar projection to encourage them along. I hung around for about 10 minutes after Jane went through with a hope of seeing other Bella’s but I had to go if I was to get the 4.5 miles to my next viewpoint in time to see everyone again. I find it easer to run this rather than try to fight my way through the crowds using the underground.

I arrived at the embankment just before the 24 mile mark, at a point I am sure a few of the regular runners will expect me to be at, just missing the leading ladies group but in plenty of time to see the full list of those I saw at 12 miles. By this stage the runners really need a boost and I do try my best to give them a good shout. I don’t think many miss me though. Colin, Russell, Al, and Linda in particular looked like they were running really well as they came past me, then before I knew it a slightly emotional Jane came up the rise and I got a quick cuddle before she was off for her last two miles.

Off I set running the last two miles to meet up at the finish which is a mass of people trying to hook up with family and friends who have also done the race. Eventually Jane came out of the crowd really pleased with here efforts and proudly displaying her well earned Marathon Medal.

Every year at some stage I get to thinking I should be running this race again, thankfully it doesn’t last too long. I’ll be back watching though.

Saturday 24th April marked my first and very last ultra marathon.

This unique experience started off really well in cool damp conditions. Upto 23 miles it was a breeze, hitting all splits bang on schedule, sitting as 4th Vet, even enjoying the scenery.

Then suddenly somebody switched the lights out. Joe had warned me beforehand to expect some dark moments, but I did not expect the first dark moment to last 30 miles and another 6 hours. My running was reduced to something more akin to shuffling.

If my wife Emma had been at Inversnaid (34 miles) I would have happily chucked it, but without a means to get a message to her, I had to go on.

At Bein Glas farm (41 miles) I was met by the Bella posse. I knew there was no way I could chuck it now, so after my 6th Muller Rice and with my support team in tow, I was off shuffling again, eventually getting to Tyndrum (53 miles) and a heartwarming Bella reception, in just under 10 hours. I was outside my target time, but to be honest, after Rowardenan it stopped being a race and then became a challenge just to complete the distance.

I want to take this opportunity to say thanks:

• for support on the day – Emma, Dougal, Matt, Robert, Joe, Peter (& Daniel), Louise (& Anna), Neil, Danielle & the relay teams
• for my chaperones for the last 12 miles – Craig & Brendan
• for a life-saving massage after the event – Matt
• for company on my long training runs – Emma, Stuart, Dougal, Brendan, Davie, Greig, Peter & Jackie
• for advice from the ultra gurus – Robert, Joe & Stuart

And of course, well done to the relay teams:

1. the ladies (Emma (the other one), Jane, Lynsey & Jackie) successfully defending the trophy
2. the boys (Brendan, Marcos, Dougal & Greig) for beating Bella’s course record but being robbed of the trophy by some mob of interlopers from south of the border on a cross-border pot hunting raid.

P.S. Huge respect to the guys in the club who have completed and are obviously good at ultras

Perfect conditions for the marathon at 7am this morning. We started next to the Rod Laver Tennis Arena (home to the Australian Open) and headed up and into the city centre before heading south along St Kilda Road. We then turned into Albert Park to complete a circuit of the Melbourne Grand Prix Course. I had set off with the 3hr 30min pace runners but from here found myself gaining on the 3hr 20min bus as we headed north along the bayside. Sally was perfectly placed to give me my second gel and we headed out to the furthest point of the course. I then started to pull away from the 3hr 20min mob, a mistake as I would later learn. Round about the 30km mark we merged with the slower participants in the half marathon. We then spent the next 10/15 mins weaving through them. The two groups briefly seperated as the marathoners headed up the only ‘hill’ on the course alongside the Tan (think Melbourne’s equivalent of Glasgow’s Bellahouston Park, London’s Hyde Park, New York’s Central Park or Tokyo’s Imperial Palace). At this point I was struggling and was swiftly passed by the 3hr 20m guys. But from here it was less than 4km to the finish at the MCG where we had to enter the stadium and complete a lap on the hallowed turf. According to my watch I managed to duck just under 3hr 21mins, much quicker than I had ever imagined and almost 35mins knocked off my previous PB. With such perfect weather conditions I would definitely recommend this marathon to anyone.

Alan

The Boston marathon was on Monday 20 April, with the build-up kicking off in earnest the previous Friday with our wedding.

Conscious of the endurance benefits of alcohol me and the best man squeezed in a couple of sneakies at a windowless pub in Garscube Road to calm our nerves prior to the ceremony. Susie claims not to have troubled the champagne beforehand but even I know that it beggars belief that she married me sober.

After the ceremony – and some obligatory stretching shots outside the ski centre – the carb-loading continued inside the House for an Art Lover with both grape and barley energy drinks.

As the night wore on there was time for a final pre-marathon session: 1 x tango (warm up); 3 x Strip the Willow (tempo) @ 2 pints recovery; Gay Gordons / Dashing White Sergeant / St. Bernard’s waltz (continuous loop); Auld Lang Syne (cool down). 

Experienced marathoners will appreciate that this is all textbook stuff.

Shamelessly hawking our newly-wed status at check-in the following day earned us an upgrade to club class and a passport to the BA executive lounge at Heathrow. There we were surrounded by a dizzying array of complimentary fine foods and drink. Susie retained her dignity whilst I treated it as an against-the-clock all you can eat/drink buffet. Once on the flight the hospitality continued in the same vein. By mid-Atlantic I felt like a goose being fattened for foie gras.

Having registered at the expo on the Sunday – and given our livers a well-earned rest – it was up at around 5am on race day to wolf down some contraband porridge and head off to the start. The Boston marathon is a point to point race and so fleets of yellow school buses left central Boston from 6am to get all 26,000 runners out to the town of Hopkinton in time for the 10am start. The organisation was superb. The only downside was that once at Hopkinton there was the grim prospect of hanging around for a couple of hours in a field that doubles as the high school sports ground. It was a bit like T in the Park but without the neds.

New England can be pretty cold at that time of year. You could tell the Boston veterans: they were the ones with thermals, bivvy bags and tents. Susie wasn’t too badly off with her bella hoodie and a couple of tops. I’d taken one look at the early morning blue sky from our hotel room window and figured that a vintage men’s health 10k T-shirt would be more than enough. Whilst I sought refuge in a portaloo Susie managed to cadge a few spare bin liners that proved just about enough to stave off hypothermia.

The race itself was unforgettable. It’s a tough up and down course that leaves your quads feeling pretty beat up. Still with more than half a million spectators lining every inch of the course – from the packed pavements of Hopkinton to the screaming girls of Wellesly college at mile 14 to the grandstands of the finish straight – there’s just no way that your not going to keep going. The club colours went down well too with enthusiastic shouts of “Go Bella-Houston! Go Texas!”

Ever the romantic, Susie and I ran it together…. and ever the competitor I dipped her on the line by a second. From just married to married just in 3 hours 39 minutes. Fantastic!