. That's me in the red T-shirt.We ourselves 3 goals for the run :1. Enjoy the occasion2. No stopping3. Finish under 4:30:00We achieved all 3 and got home in 4:14!Thanks to all the forumites for hints, tips and support, and to the RWpacers at Sutton Park

 that have done it told me. Yes, I did not use new socks, I did watch Chariots of Fire, I did use lots of Vaseline... and all the other tips I was given have been remembered and applied.  Here is briefly what I recall of the day.  It went like a shot; 4 hrs felt

Time not givenIt was my first marathon, aged 40 plus, and I only started running 2 years ago. I trained so hard and nearly gave up once or twice as I trained on my own and I began to hate Sundays for the long run. But I persevered and the main thing

wink or a grin or even (how cruel) a tip of the pint glass! High-fiving the kids was fun and helped to keep me smiling even when it hurt.The heat was draining and the extra water required weighed me down (any excuse!), but the weather brought the crowds

Time: 4:48Best moment - finding my running partner amongst the thousands of other runners at the start.  I was on the loo as the gun went off and never thought I would ever find her!!Worst moment - losing my running partner 40 seconds before we

were running closely behind the behind of a man wearing some sort of loin cloth. I quickly moved on in case people got the wrong idea about me! The crowds were great and cheered us on all the way around. A tip is to write your name on the front of your

that the start was at Blackfriars not Blackheath caused some difficulties in rendez-vous with the rest of the family!Best moment: finally seeing my family at Mile 18 - a great boost at that stage of the run.The RW e-mails have been really good and have helped

the training when it all felt good only to end up regretting it later. This I did first time around and ended up not being aloud to run for six weeks before the event.Pep, 4:55 --This was my first marathon - what a FANTASTIC day. Everything went as planned

was running 13-minute miles, then sulked behind the tall buildings.What would I do differently: more training in my giant wings as my shoulders are killing my while my legs just ache.Best memory: the money I’ve raised for a super charity, and the moment when

4:00 TO 5:00 (Page 3) Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15Mark1, 4:20My first marathon, well chuffed that I finished still running, best experience was the crowd support without a doubt.Worst experience was getting past pedestrians