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Archive for 12/02/2010
Oxfam. London. Marathon.
12/02/2010 by dave.
1st or 24147th, the London Marathon has always been swathed in a unique air of prestige.
Chances are you’re reading this from the luxury of a chair; or the option of one at least. Here we sit, I write as you read; the “ding” emblematic of evening net-natter pizza looming ominously. All those thousands special enough to compete in the Marathon have weeks and months of training and meal-planning to look forward too. Normal life becomes a strict regime of cereal box mantras. In a matter of weeks your heart has become a combine harvester, you’ve managed to witness every sunrise and sunset and your social life has run for the hills. Cardio, physio, card-board box. On top of all that it’s a total ball-ache to even get a place!
Or so the story goes..
Despite the statistics Gordon Brown has managed to excavate from his private mirror-universe, I’d say that a strong majority of us manage to walk the suggested “30 minutes a day”. There’s been a certain decline in general health since the days before Playstations started battering us with indignant attention seeking, but we’re not there yet! (I won’t say the ‘O’ word, but really…)
The real kicker for me is that the London Marathon is actually feasible for anyone. This chap (↑) is Buster Martin. In 2008 he completed the Marathon in 9 hours and 59 minutes. When you consider the average time is around 4 ½ hours it doesn’t seem so impressive, until you catch a glimpse of his lifestyle. He drinks regularly, smokes even more so, and believe it or not, he was 101 years-of-age when he crossed that finish line.
There are no real excuses when it comes down to it because it’s duty-free. You can sign up with ease, the training and eating schedules are up to you, (although the web is chock-a-block with helpful websites to get you off the ground), and when push comes to shove you can drop it in any bar, on any CV.
Where better than London, the founding city of modern-day marathon rules, to prove yourself (to yourself?), make a charitable donation or just to carve the ultimate one-liner.
(THE London Marathon!!)
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