London Marathon 2004 with Team Oldie

It’s all down to Jim Otto. I was asked, when I approached a colleague for sponsorship for the marathon, how long had I been training. On reflection, the right answer is 25 years. At the start of 1979 I took up a position with the World Fertility Survey, and Jim had started there a few months before. He was American, and had just returned from a stint doing the data processing for a survey in Rwanda. He was keen to get a WFS team into the Sunday Times Fun Run (in Hyde Park in June) so within a few days he had half the office (and some family members) jogging circuits round Green Park. I was reasonably fit, though I had not done any proper running since university, so joined in with enthusiasm.

Within weeks, several of us felt fit enough to try a 10-mile organised run at Leatherhead. I set off at a good pace, and enjoyed myself for the first five or six miles, but the last three were a real struggle. It’s still (at 7.3 minute miles) the fastest I’ve ever run any distance over five miles, but I learnt an important lesson – if you leg it at the beginning, you’ll loath it at the end. Take your time if you want it to be a fun run!

We had a WFS team in the Fun Run every year, and various colleagues undertook other events. Jim and Trevor Croft ran the first London Marathon in 1981. I ran the Gloucester marathon later that year, then the London one in 1984. By this time my knees were complaining, and I had had various tendon and muscle problems, so I decided that my marathon days were over, and I would stick to shorter events.

WFS disbanded at the end of 1984, and the runners dispersed, but as a family we kept on jogging. Christine and I took part in the Fun Run in other teams, and we occasionally ran in other events, including the Crouch End 10k in both 2001 and 2003. I aim (not always successfully) to run for an hour once or twice a week, so over the years I must have run well in excess of 10,000 kilometres.

When the request for an Oldie team appeared (convened by The Old 'Un, Nick Parker) I was feeling quite fit, with no particular joint problems, and it seemed fitting to try the London again after a 20-year interval. I quickly stepped up my training to five or six hours, and pretty soon found myself laid up with a cold and feeling exhausted. The same thing happened several times later on, generally after particularly long runs, including another nasty cold after the Oldie training weekend at Swanage, and a strained ankle just 10 days before the ‘big day’. The lesson from the marathon preparation this time seems to be that although I can still run for extended periods (albeit rather slower), twenty years on I need to allow more time for recovery after a long run.

Come the day, my ankle had withstood a couple of light jogs, though I had done some walking practice in case that was all I could manage – and had discovered that walking fast uses quite different muscles to those trained-up by jogging. Prepared for the worst, I wore a running jacket and took a bum-bag with a phone, two bananas and an extra t-shirt in case I ended up hobbling half-way round. I was too late to get to the meeting point arranged with the other Oldie team members before the start, and congestion in the phone system prevented me contacting Nick to find out where they were lining up. So I started at the back, slowly, in with the five-hour group.

After a fifteen minute walk to the starting line we set off at a nice steady pace, in only light drizzle. Just ahead of me were the twin ladies in powder-blue fairy dresses who had celebrated their 50th birthday the day before. At this stage it’s quite crowded, and you get carried along at the general pace of the crowd. After a few miles things open out and you can choose your own pace – I reached the 10k mark in just over 65 minutes, which felt like pretty easy going. At some point just before this I had passed the be-turbaned holder of the over-90s world record, not to mention numerous rhinos, which turned up throughout the run.

Past the Cutty Sark, and the rain had all but stopped – I tried to take a few photos, but did not actually stop running, so they came out all distorted. I passed the 11-minute mile pacemakers, who I thought had been going too fast, at 10.5 minute miles! I was feeling good, but remembering the ankle problem, and my advice to everyone else, I resisted the temptation to stretch out. The ankle and an old knee problem were complaining quietly, but were not causing any particular discomfort or affecting my progress. Everywhere along the marathon course there are crowds of supporters and well-wishers, some cheering or shouting encouragement (it helps if you have your name visible somewhere), others handing out sweets, and there were several good bands along this section, rock, jazz, brass and drums. However, the pop and disco music that was blasted out of the speakers of many stands and pubs only caused annoyance.

Around 15k I phoned Christine to let her know about my progress (so that she could time her arrival at base camp). I tried phoning Nick a few more times, but never got further than his answering service.

I completed the second 10k in just under 65 minutes. Running over Tower Bridge (the 20k mark) feels like a major achievement, because it is almost half-way round – you only have as much again to do as you have just done! The Dockland stretch starts with a dual carriageway section, where for about 400 meters you can see runners coming out as you run in. There were lots of them, running fast, and I realised that the winners must already have finished long before – I had been running for over two and a quarter hours, and we started 15 minutes later than them!

A few minutes later the rain came on again quite heavily – time for a banana. I was feeling pleased that I had kept my running jacket on, as lots of people wearing just t-shirts or singlets were looking very cold. Many of these were walking by now, having strained something or just set off too fast. It was rewarding to be passing people all the time, even at my slow pace. Congestion was quite a problem round the narrower sections, with walkers often in clumps, and this was compounded by encroachment of spectators into the roadway.

I passed the 30k mark having taken just over 65 minutes from Tower Bridge, and was pleased that I had been able to keep such an even pace. I had had further slight aches in both ankles, insteps and knees, but these had gone away, leaving just deep tiredness in my legs (particularly thighs). I felt that I was going more slowly, though was in no real discomfort. On the dual carriageway out of dockland there were still people on their way in (after nearly four hours), including the wedding cake.

With about 4 miles to go (just before St Katherine’s Dock) I saw an Oldie shirt in front of me and caught up with Iain Rudgyard. I must have passed other Oldies earlier but did not notice them. Iain was having a bad time, so he did not respond well to the suggestion that a 4:30 finish was possible!

The section from Tower to Parliament felt long, but I was encouraged by thoughts of the finish, and by the wide road with no congestion. I was passed by a few faster runners on this stretch – where did they come from? As I turned into Birdcage Walk I finally took off my jacket, to reveal the Oldie and Age Concern shirts, so that I would get a wave from the Oldie contingent at base camp. For the last section in the Mall I managed to increase my pace (and was surprised that the ache went out of my thighs, at least for 100 meters). My finishing time was 4:34 – I had really tired legs, but did not feel exhausted, rather exhilarated at completing, and really pleased with the time and the manner of the run – about 30 minutes slower than the last time, twenty years earlier. I collected the medal, goodie-bag and belongings, ate the other banana and headed for base camp, just as the rain came on heavily again.

No serious after-effects – by Wednesday I could walk down stairs again – and the fun run organised by Jim Tranter in Shropshire for the following Saturday was a real pleasure.

Would I do it again next year? You bet! Trevor (now working with the UN) has already asked whether I intend to do the New York Marathon.

Andrew Westlake - April 2004

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Last updated on 20 May 2005