Doing London in Lockdown
One of our newer members, Andrew, ran the Virtual London Marathon last weekend. Here’s a heartfelt piece from him about his experience:
“Having completed two GNR’s I thought I would enter the ballot for the London Marathon, thinking I would never get a place, but how wrong I was. And after restarting training twice I finally completed the “virtual” marathon on Sunday. I wasn’t expecting it to be as emotional as it was, but with the support of my partner meeting me along the route with drinks and encouragement, friends supporting me on their way to a shift, and copious numbers of people stopping to clap, cheer and toot their horns it really got to me. Those people will not know how much that helped.
I had only really managed 21 miles previous to Sunday, and those last 5 miles are an absolute killer. This is where I needed all my mental and physical strength. I had a friend run the final 4 miles with me which was a big help. To my surprise, at the finish line (at my house) my mum and dad were there. My mum was the inspiration for the run: I was raising money for Guide Dogs for the Blind, as she is on the waiting list for a dog, having gradually lost her sight and being registered blind for the last 3 years. A mixture of physical exhaustion and the welling-up of emotions meant I burst into floods of tears at the end!”
Andrew has been running with Newcastle Frontrunners for less than a year but has already made a big impact with his enthusiasm, determination and progress. He’s made lots of friends and even expressed interest in becoming a trained run leader. If you are interested in running with the north-east’s only LGBT-focussed running club drop us a line. If you’d like to sponsor Andrew and help raise money for Guide Dogs for the Blind please click here.
