Mark's World of Running

Mark's World of Running

The Beginning

I first started running in 1997 years ago when I felt I was getting unfit and lazy. At first I would only go out after dark because I knew I would struggle and I was embarrassed at the thought of my neighbours seeing how poor my standard of fitness was. My initial running plans were unambitious, just a mile-long jog at a steady pace, which was just as well as I couldn't even manage that! I tried again the following week and didn't do much better. After a while of doing this I eventually managed a mile and then later 2 miles, going out just once a week. It took about a year until I was able to run continuously for 3 miles, it was slow but it was my first milestone achieved. Thereafter I decided to stick at 3 miles but try to improve my speed over this distance.

Harrow Hill Race - 5th September 1999

By 1999, after 2 years of running, I decided it was time to enter a race and if you live in London there is one race that all runners aspire to completing, the London Marathon. I sent off an application even though at the time the furthest I ran at the time was 3 miles, just another 23.2 miles and I would have it licked! In the meantime I slowly increased the distance of my longest runs, and thought I was ready for my first race. I read about the Harrow Hill race in a running magazine, it was 6 miles, which was around the distance I was running at the time, but could I manage it over hills? On 5th September 1999 when I ran the race, I was to find out. Later that day I described the experience as follows in my running diary. "Started fast and went well for the first 3.5 miles. Had to walk up one of the hills which was very steep which broke my running rhythm and overall added around 3 minutes to my time. The weather was very hot and the hills were gruelling but I managed a sprint to the finish and completed the course in 45 minutes 28 seconds." I was delighted to complete my first race and received was was to be my first of many souvenir race finisher's t-shirts.

Great North Run - 10th October 1999
	During Early autumn of 1999 I continued training for the London Marathon, increasing my longest run to 14 miles, however my training was plagued by injury. I developed a persistent pain in my left calf which was to be a feature of my running for some years. Toward the end of September I had to temporarily give up running for a few weeks as it was just too painful to keep on training. Then someone I knew at work knew someone who had to drop out of the Great North Run half marathon a week before the race was due to take place. I was asked if I wanted to run in his place. I first thought was "I've done no training for around a month and I still have an injury" but my second thought was "why not, what have I got to lose" so I committed myself to running the race. The following day I went for a run and managed just 4 painful miles. So it was up to Newcastle that weekend not knowing what to expect.
The race had a spectacular atmosphere with 40,000 runners, a big contrast to my only other race which had about 200 participants. I was nervous at the start and chatted to other runners asking for tips and advice. I proudly wore a t-shirt with "Jamaica" printed on the front given to me by my Aunt Vie when I first visited the Caribbean. I stood apprehensively waiting for the 9.30 start which was to be made by the Newcastle and Sunderland Football managers, Sir Bobby Robson and Peter Reid. The start was very crowded and I could barely get into my stride until around 3 miles into the race when the runners began to thin out. I was greatly encouraged while running by the warmth and encouragement given by the people of Newcastle, cries of "Come on Jamaica" directed at made me feel particularly happy. Later that day I wrote the following in my running diary. "My leg was painful before, during and after the race but was determined to finish without stopping. It was frustrating at first due to slow runners keeping me back. I was limping badly towards the end but delighted to finish in 1 hour 49 minutes which was a very satisfactory time in the circumstances." I decided not to drink too much fluid during the race as I was concerned about toilet stops preventing me from achieving a good finish time. This was a big mistake as I was obviously very dehydrated at the end. I felt dizzy and disorientated as I queued up to collect my finisher's medal. I noticed Sir Bobby Robson at the finish who had stayed on until the end to applaud the runners over the finish line. "Alright Bobby!" I shouted out as I spotted the former England manager. The great man shouted back "well done" then looked at his watch and said, "not a bad time, son," which capped a great day.

My London Marathon application for 1999 was unsuccessful so running the Great North Run was to prove to be a partial substitute. However, the following year I was to get the chance to fulfil my ambition and complete the London Marathon.

Click Here For London Marathon 2000