The London Marathon Part 2 of 3

22nd April. I woke up at 7am to catch a train to Greenwich Park. Marathon runners get to ride on the tube for free. I was impressed they had such arrangements with the organiser. The organisers worked alongside with the Transport for London (TfL) to make travel a hassle-free arrangement for runners.

The night before, I asked the station master how was I required to prove that I was a runner.

He said, “Just show your tabard. As long as you wear it up prominently on your vest, that’d be fine.”

I said, “You mean I have to be in my running gear? I’d feel strange. I don’t want to be taking the tube in my running shorts and vest. Can I just wave the number at the officer in charge tomorrow?”

He said, “Well, as long as it’s prominent.”

I thanked him and left. I thought, “That was flexible.”

After checking out from the hotel, I went on the tube. There were already runners at the station. When I was on the Central Line, I spotted many runners who were already in their gears. Some were pinning numbers to their vest. I could already feel the energy building up to the race.

I changed train at the Bank station for the Dockland Light Rail (DLR). I was glad I familiarized with the train lines and travel time it took the day before. I was looking for the DLR bound for Lewisham. When the DLR called at the Canary Wharf station, there was a huge crowd who tried to squeeze into the coaches. Runners and supporters alike, the train didn’t fit everyone in. Changing at the Bank station was perhaps, the smartest thing to do. I had a seat the whole journey; not until something happened.

An announcement came.

“This is a service announcement. We are expecting some delays for the train bound for Lewisham. A train ahead of us has broken down at the Mudchute station.”

It only dawned onto everyone that we were the guys affected by this service announcement when it repeated for the second time. People were sighing and complaining about the bad timing for the service breakdown. But nobody could have avoided it. The DLR was the only way to Greenwich Park. **Okay, let me correct this. It's the only "most direct way to Greenwich Park"**

Unaware of the time and that it was ticking, already passed 9am, people were getting restless. The sweltering heat and stagnation did not help assuage passengers’ concerns. I was still calm, or trying to be calm. I downed two Mars bars while waiting for the train to make some progress. Chocolates were a tranquiliser I suppose. We were making snail pace progress, advancing no further than a few metres before it stopped again.

Bad news. I spotted two trains in front of me and they were no movements at their end too. I took the tube map and checked where we were. Okay, next up was the Crossharbour station. Counting down to the stations before Greenwich; four more stations away. Great, that means we were at least 3km away from the park.

I always had this “what if..” thoughts in my mind and this time you would have guessed it was nothing good. I thought, “What if we had to walk from Crossharbour to Greenwich?” It’d be a mad dash!

It was already quarter passed. Mars bars couldn’t help assuage worries. Phone calls and people’s chatters about reaching on time further exacerbated the situation. Anxiety grew and we were still at the track in the middle of nowhere. Then the train moved. It stopped at Crossharbour.

Another announcement came.

“This is a service announcement. We apologise for the delay due to a broken down train at Mudchute. This train will now terminate at this station. Passengers are requested to alight here.”
Oh Nooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

A voice from the PA system followed, “Ladies and gentlemen, we apologise for the inconvenience caused. Please follow the route down at the pedestrian tunnel and it should take approximately 12 minutes to Greenwich Park.”

Oh drat! My worst fear came. We had to walk to Greenwich Park! With so little time left, I had to walk to the park and this didn’t include the time for me to change into my running attire!
How improper to remember my first marathon in London. Oh wait, London Marathon? Could I even make it in the first place? Time check, time check! It was already 9.50am. The race was going to start in 10 minutes and I haven’t changed. I spotted the baggage storage area and dashed to the place. I was holding the kit bag on one hand and another was taking off the layers, hopping and running and changing into my outfit at the same time. Thank God I had them on, so it was only a matter of taking the outer layers off. I felt like a Clark Kent transforming into Superman. I handed my bag to the volunteers and didn’t even think if I had left any essentials for the race.

Damn! It wasn’t a 12-minute walk in the end. It took 25! As soon as I reached the red start line, the starting shot was fired. Good timing. But I didn’t do warm ups, wet my lips, to the toilet or do whatever. I just started the marathon. The thing is I nearly missed the marathon! Just unbelievable!

The start line was a long one. It took 10 minutes to cross the line and activate the chip.
Despite all these anxieties, I did manage to strike a conversation with an American runner, Sarah, who was next to me at the start. She hailed from New Jersey and was also doing her first London Marathon.

She exclaimed, “Gosh I nearly missed the race. Terrible!”

I said, “Hey, me too!”

“Quite a hot day to run huh?”

“Yea, it’s unusually warm today. I guess coming from a tropical country helps to run in this condition.”

“It’s too hot for me. I hope I could make it back.”

“What time are you aiming for?”

“3:20 perhaps?”

“No way! You’re fast.”

“I’m trying to outdo my time in New York. I did better there and won a prize. But I decided to take it easy here. You know, there’s no way I could win here.”

And so I was talking to a professional runner. I was still wondering what her time was in New York since she has won a prize before.

As the race started, the anxiety disappeared. Perhaps I was too pre-occupied with the atmosphere that I have lost touch with the earlier sorry state of things. You would have been in the same position too if you had seen what I saw. The legion of supporters who packed the streets was the order of the day. People were cheering and supporting like nothing I had seen before.

Just when I was focusing on the people and the cheering, there was a “rhinoceros” in front. Not too far from Mr Rhino was Mr Scooby-Doo! Surprises came one after another; then it was Tinkerbelle, Borat, Viking, Darth Vader, a big Lucozade bottle etc running alongside! I just couldn’t help but cheered them along. So, I had from “Run Scooby run!” to “Run Borat run!”. Cheering helped the breathing I suppose. I noticed I had less breathing difficulties when I cheered. Try it next time. Just get a fancy dress category and you would have reasons to cheer. Or maybe politicians work the same too. Sorry, no malice intended. Anyhow fancy dress, marathon and tropical weather don’t seem to paint a rosy picture in my imagination.
I admire the spirit of those who ran in the fancy dress or mascot category. I admire their guts too. As a marathon runner, I am aware of the difficulties in completing a 42km run, what more dressing up as a mascot to run. It is no laughing matter. Laughter is one-way and it only comes from the crowd and supporters. It demands more than stamina and mental strength to put up with accelerated exhaustion, unnecessary pain and aches to the body and not forgetting this year’s unusual sweltering heat. If I had to choose for an exception, I would say Borat. He basically had the advantage over runners with his outfit.

What I would remember fondly of the event was spotting three priests in different locations cheering for runners outside their parishes. One priest even sprinkled holy water and blessed runners! Now, that was really unique. There were also street bands, performers and cheerleaders lined up along the route. Try thinking Elvis (the role that I played in the 2006 Pacesetters Annual Dinner), try thinking Nat King Cole, try thinking Nirvana impersonators who were lined up throughout the route. And then there were school brass brands to add to the variety.

I think the idea of giving opportunities for school talents to perform in the public, regardless of their skills was a fantastic idea. Whoever thought of that should be rewarded. It does not only create a win-win situation but also reforms the quality level of performers by instilling responsibilities of individuals to perform their best. It pushes pupils out of their shells and challenges them to take on these bold moves. Such public exposure would only strengthen their confidence and give them an opportunity to evaluate themselves from outside. Besides it enriches the whole marathon experience too!