Ed Reed

Well done to Ed Reed who completed the London Marathon in 3 hours 25 minuets. Ed ran the marathon in aid of The Joanna Brown Trust and so far has raised over £2,500. Please find below Ed's account of the day...

LONDON MARATHON 2011

The problem is that running a marathon is no walk in the park. It’s easy to forget that by race day there’s probably more than 500 miles in the legs, all of which have been trudged during the dark, miserable Winter months. Add in a self imposed alcohol ban (ok, I had the odd drink at Hannah and Gary’s wedding….) and the last few months haven’t been the easiest. But running in memory of Jo and in aid of such a good cause meant that not finishing was never really an option.

The day itself was a little on the warm side…Emmanuel Mutai may have found himself right at home in setting a course record, but the Kenyan heat that London experienced on April 17^th wasn’t ideal for the rest of us. There is a section where you run up one side of the road whilst others are running down the other; on one side you’re at mile 13, on the other you’re at mile 22. In one direction I saw Mutai fly by, in the other……well fair play to all of those in Scooby Doo outfits or carrying surf boards, I have no idea how they managed to get round.

I just stuck to the advice I’d be given and took on water whenever I was offered it. As others seemed to slow, walk, and in a frightening number of cases pass-out, I was able to keep running right to the end. 3 hours 25 minutes and 7 seconds was my official time, 3280^th - not bad for a man of advancing years!

Thank you to everyone who sponsored me and who sent words of encouragement. Particular thanks to those who were there on the day, those who suffered my grumpiness during training, and anyone who had to witness the amount I was eating in the run-up to the day.

Would I do it again??……well apparently marathon runners are like a fine wine, getting better with age…sadly no one has told my knees!!     

You can still sponsor Ed on Just Giving by clicking the link below...