due to the old ones rubbing against an ankle injury. During the week leading up to the event, get woken up at 4 in the morning by your 3-year-old daughter who has been sleeping perfectly through the night for several months. On Wednesday, get a phone

more than I had the first time and train better. But more than anything I learnt to enjoy the day and soak up the unique atmosphere. I didnt know running a marathon could be such an emotional experience.Jonathan Joseph, 4:24 --A marvellous day

and then left him in my wake.Snowy389, 3:56What a fantastic day! Beautiful weather, superb crowds.This was my second marathon. I did it once for the experience in 1999, but trained harder and followed so much RW advice this time. You can't imagine how much

, Canary Wharf, The Start.Low points....the cobbles, no crowd support, no talk amongst the runners because we were so shattered by that point...... I followed the RW subscribers-only sub 4:30 training schedule which I thought was excellent - I didn't miss

obvious T-shirt with my nickname on the back, carried a Scottish flag and planned it I managed to meet Donna W and Woony at the red/blue joining point.I was well on course for my target time until a knee injury that had plagued me in training came back

keep me from regaining it all. Anyway, I got a golden bond charity place through The Wooden Spoon Society and decided to raise as much money as possible as well, and tell as many people as possible, so that I couldn't possibly back out when the training

the way around.  Finished in 4.48.58 and was ecstatic!!Training success - Due to following the week by week RW schedule almost to the letter using the 11/min mile pace as my guide.  Had never included speed training before nor hill work and am convinced

Time: 2:51This was only my second marathon; I ran Belfast last year in 3:11, but did not really do the full training. This year I followed the sub 3hr schedule and felt really confident that I could break 3hrs. I ran 2:51, so can I say a big thank

:45) - the crowds and the training shaved off 22mins from my previous marathon. Key to success? The sleep deprivation must have paid off!Index of all quotesNext quote

think would be to try to have a training partner for next time as it helps to have someone to spur you on. The key to my success, and it was a success as I did it in 3:52:29 a full 18 minutes faster than last time, is that when things get tough keep