Welcome to the Havens Hospices official London Marathon website. This site is totally dedicated to you, our runners.

Here you will find all the necessary training information, top running and fundraising tips, Dates for your Diary and routes that will help you throughout your journey to the Big Day!

Blog with other runners, ask for advice, see what is happening and how the Havens Team is getting on.

Make sure you visit the website regularly, as we will continue to update with news and information as we get it.

Thank you for being part of the Havens Team and enjoy your journey!

Judy

Virgin London Marathon: The Post Mortem

Posted by: Neil Lock on April 27th, 2010

Unsurprisingly for anyone who knows what happened to me on Sunday this post has taken a long time to come and to be honest there was question and doubt as to whether I should write it at all. Sadly there are no photo’s of me crossing the finishing line or with a big grin and a finishers medal and in just a few paragraphs I’m going to say what happened (or what I know of it…).

The day started off as planned, the clothes sorted the night before, breakfast eaten and Laura and I set off for the tube at 7am. Heading into London I got to Greenwich DLR and made the Green Start by 9am. Plenty of time to get prepared and relaxed, we had been allocated a tent to stand in so when the rain came we were sheltered.

At 9:45 the race started and off we went, I deliberately knew to hold back on my pace so this year I made a conservative effort to get my pace in around the 8:35 pace and all of my splits give or take hovered around this marker. Sadly – what I didn’t pay attention to is the Heart Rate…

As with last year – the first half was still tough, something about 13miles of a real marathon is so much tougher than 13miles on a training run…anyway, this is a marathon – it’s supposed to be tough. Onwards I pushed, 14miles – check, 15,16,17 all within reaching point of my ideal pace so all was going fine…this is when things go a little hazy and to marathon story comes to its devastating end for me. At some point around the 18 Mile point I collapsed. I don’t remember much…what I do remember is:

  • struggling to breath a bit, but nothing I would worry about if I wasn’t running a marathon
  • someone talking to me as I seemed to be on the floor sitting (don’t remember getting to the floor)
  • me telling them to carry on – “i would be fine soon”
  • waking up in st johns ambulance tent
  • throwing up
  • finding it difficult to talk
  • throwing up more
  • sweating immensely

After an hour or so, following standing, then sitting back down again twice I eventually got out of the tent – St Johns told me I couldn’t continue so I had the task of working out whether I could make it home…Fortunately an hour or so I made it home but the next drink I took in came back out again.

Four months of training almost to the book and sadly the race was over and to be honest 3 days later I’m still not sure why. I could spend hours analysing my Garmin stats, my heart rate was phenomenally high from the start (170bpm) and by 10miles it was where i would have been on a threshold run (I finally topped the reading at 188bpm). When I was taken in my blood sugar levels were through the roof and my blood pressure was low…

Obviously its a huge dent to my pride and also makes me question what I do and how I move on. I’m sure my readers may think a little less but this time I don’t know what happened – I want to work out what went wrong on this day and how I can progress on. I want to spend the next few months running with friends I have met over the last few months and forgetting about this one day – VLM 2010 wasn’t for me but no doubt there will be another run some time and another race which I will do…

Cheers for reading

Neil

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Congratulations everyone!

Posted by: Team Havens on April 27th, 2010

Well done to EVERYONE who ran the London Marathon for Havens Hospices on Sunday – you have made us very proud and we cannot thank you enough for your hard work and smiling faces, even near the end!

Please post your photos here and tell us how you are feeling! Or you can visit our facebook page (just search for Havens Hospices) and post your own pics – there’s already some up there.

Remember the Celebration BBQ on Friday 28th May. Can you please confirm with me if you can attend?

Take care and see you soon!

Judy

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The Big Event

Posted by: Annette De Florinier on April 26th, 2010

I must admit by the Friday before the race I was filled with anxiety about how things would go on the day. I had no appetite, and this was made worse by the fact that I knew I was supposed to be carb loading, I knew I should get more sleep, but I slept very badly. Despite trying to think positively I mind kept filling with negative thoughts and I was not confident that my longest training run was long enough.
However, on Saturday night I suddenly felt better, I had my pasta and meatballs and slept really well. The 5am start was a bit of a shock to the system, but I had a good breakfast and felt ready.
Arriving at Blackheath was so exciting, seeing the area set up for the race, thousands of people descending on Greenwich Park.
The atmosphere was amazing, people were so friendly, everyone nervously chatting in the toilet queue and waiting to start the race. A heavy downpour of rain got us all soaked before the race started, at 10:05am I finally crossed the start line.
The first 10miles were a blur of crowds and noise, which I had never expected. There were so many people on the streets, and handing out fruit and jelly babies, cheering us on. I didn’t notice I was running at all. Tower Bridge was amazing, I knew my family would be there and I was worried that I would miss them, but amazingly I saw them and was lifted to carry on.
I knew I had never run more than 17 miles, so when I passed 18 miles I was so pleased, but very soon after I had a moment of anxiety, another 8 miles to go! Can I do this? I slowed down as I suddenly became conscious of my legs feeling stiff and my toes were hurting. I took on some fuel and thankfully the moment passed. I slowly got through 19 miles, then 20 miles and I was able to think that I only really had a hour to go, I’ve run 6 miles before lots of times, its not far, I kept telling myself.
21 miles very sore toes, ignore it carry on, my legs were powering through but I don’t know how I was doing it.
23 miles, I saw the Havens supporters and this gave me such a lift, only 3 miles left, I had a chance, I could finish. Also this part of London was much nicer and more recognisable than the rest of the race, before I knew it I was passing a sign saying 600m to go. I don’t know how but I found myself sprinting (well I felt like I was, it was probably a fast jog!) I turned into The Mall, this was something I had dreamed of, running to the finish line, and then across, I had done it! The most amazing feeling ever.
Running a Marathon is not easy, its takes mental as well as physical energy to achieve, it’s one of the hardest things I ever done, but at the same time it’s an experience I will never forget. Would I do it again? Probably!

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Good Luck Everyone!!

Posted by: Team Havens on April 23rd, 2010

Just to wish all our runners the best of luck on Sunday, I am sure that all your hard work and determination will pay off . Don’t forget we will be looking out for you and cheering you on your way, give us a wave!

If friends and family want to join us at our cheering points they are more than welcome. Make sure that you have your name on your vest so the crowd can cheer you on.

 Remember:

  • Don’t change anything that has worked for you while training.
  • Don’t get caught up running at a different pace, stick to your plans
  • Be prepared, have everything ready the night before
  • Relax, soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the day.

If you are catching the coach, don’t be late it will leave at 6.45am sharp! You can park in Little Havens Car Park.

A reminder of our cheering points:

We will have three cheering parties to support you on the day. The first group will be standing on the left hand side as you come over Tower Bridge. This means that we should see you twice, at 12 ½ miles and then as you come back past at about 22 miles (crowds permitting) you will be turning right so remember to look left as you come off the bridge.  We will be armed with bananas, mars bars, jelly babies, muscle spray etc and our big bright pink sail banners will be flying to make it easier to spot us!

The next group will be along the Embankment at about 23 miles, just after Blackfriars Bridge coming out of the underpass  again on the left hand side, you should see banners and balloons and they will also have supplies to help you on your way. Finally we will have a meeting point at the finish. On leaving the secure area you will see a steep flight of steps. At the top of the steps approx 50yds away you will see the Havens blue sail banner where we will have an assembly point. For those of you using the coach this will be on the way to where they will be parked. This will be an ideal place to tell family and friends to meet you. My mobile no on the day will be 07854219727 or you can call Susie on 07854219724

Look forward to hearing all about your experience, don’t forget to send me your photos and I hope to see as many of you  as possible at our Celebration BBQ

 Best wishes

Judy

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The last training run!!

Posted by: Annette De Florinier on April 22nd, 2010

I cannot believe the training is over, did my final 30mins today, a quick 3 miles.
It feels as if the race has come around very quickly, March and April gave just vanished.
Looking at my running watch totals I’ve run over 300 miles since December, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be now to give it my best efforts.
I have a finish time in mind, but realistically if I complete this race I will be happy.
I went to collect my Race number from Excel today, it was good to see some messages by Havens Runners on the message board.

Good luck everyone!!!
See you on Sunday.

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Virgin London Mararthon: Before…

Posted by: Neil Lock on April 20th, 2010

420 miles covered, gallons of energy drinks consumed and several energy gels swallowed all in order to train for the one of the biggest marathons in the world.

This post maybe better suited following the run but I think the huge amount of training that I have done is easily lost in the glory (or not!) of the big day itself. Therefore, after 16 weeks of training unlike anything I have ever done before, and yes I did run the marathon last year, I am going to share my ups and downs since January 1 2010.

I was fortunate to get a place in this years marathon around September time, for the months leading up to the new year I knew I ought to go out for a run but I didn’t. Luckily, I still hadn’t lost fitness and on an initial ‘tester’ run I managed a half marathon distance, it was tough but a good footing for the months to come. At the beginning of the year I had an email from Runners World stating 16 weeks to go, so I decided this year I would take a schedule and stick to it…for 16 weeks!

Ever the optimist I opted for the sub 3:45 thinking that if it were too fast or hard for me as long as I didn’t drop lower than the sub 4:00 pace I would achieve my goal. I purchased a diary which I filled with the full schedule. Those who knew me mocked this paper based mechanism but for some things technology just doesn’t work. This diary has been in my bag for almost every commute and has been my reference point for 111 days…

January: Miles logged on Garmin – 54.27 (not including treadmill runs)

Snow, what more can I say. First week into the plan I was already having to hit the gym treadmills for more than I would have liked. I managed to get in as many runs as I could given the conditions. I then headed to Andorra for a week of skiing. I had pre-contacted the hotel to check for a treadmill which they had, sadly it didn’t really work! Week 3 = very few runs. Not the best start in hindsight!

Week four had the first ‘race’ – a sub 47 10km, I ran this speed before in the summer so thought it would be possible – clearly I was mistaken! It was slow, tough and a little demoralising. 31 Jan marked my initial doubts of a sub 3:45 training schedule.

February: Miles logged on Garmin – 117.67

From this point I don’t really think I could afford to make excuses, I knuckled down to the schedule, fitting in runs before work, during lunch, after work juggling to find a happy balance. I managed to get in one run with the havens lot 16Miles at a good pace. On 28 Feb, my birthday, I was to run the first race of the calendar…

Race 1: Roding Valley Half Marathon

Race report: Wet and hilly.Highlights – Gaps in the hedge to avoid the puddle, avoiding busses and vans going through the big puddles on the course that was not closed to traffic and achieving a PB of 1 hour 48 minutes.  All this following a late night of Birthday celebrations!!

March: Miles logged on Garmin – 157.10

The first week of March saw my first real long distance of the training.  19 miles covered on the saturday and everything went well.

Race 2 – Newham 10km

Race report – Perfect running conditions.  Foolishly I had entered a local 10km race with a friend from Uni that fell the day after my long run.  Ignoring what was sensible I went out too quickly, but managed to keep to the pace and achieve my 2nd PB in a week.

Race 3 – Silverstone Half Marathon

Race Report – 3rd race in 3 weeks!  This was to be my final race in my training before the big day.  My target was 1:45 to keep me on target with the time i wanted to run the full marathon.  Conditions were once again spot on and the course, baring the final windy mile, was perfect.  Once again i broke a PB (only set 2 weeks previously) and came in with a time of 1:41.  This knocked 7 minutes off of my previous time and a whole 20 minutes off my half marathon time of 2009.  I’ll be the first to admit it was not an easy run, but non the less it was very rewarding.

The week after saw me attempt my long 20 miler.  I had arranged to meet a friend, Oliver, in Greenwich to run the last few miles with.  I’m glad i did because I felt at one point i could just turn around and come home.  20 miles in the bag and a free Physio session from one of Laura’s Uni friends who was visiting for the weekend.

Week 12 was probably one of my most eventful weeks in the space of 4 days i had the chance to run with Andy Vernon, a British mid-distance runner with hopes of competing in the 2012 Olympics, at an event run by Adidas Mi Coach and I met Liz Yelling and her Yelling Performance team at a Virgin Marathon Event.  Both very inspirational people who gave me some good advice about my running.

April: Miles logged on Garmin – 91.32

And then April appeared.  With only one long run under my belt because of events the week before i needed to get out and get some more miles done.  The only problem was a twinge in my Knee that had been nagging for a week or so.  On Good Friday I went out for a tentative run to see how it went, with Laura in the car if I needed someone to come and get me.  Luckily I was OK and managed another 20 miles.

Because of my knee and other commitments I only managed to get to 20 miles, not the 22 that my schedule suggested.  The next week saw me entering the taper stage, so I organised an 18 miler that took in the Olympic Park.  I had previously run this route, but i enjoy heading over there to see how it is progressing.  Oliver joined me again for a few miles to help me keep my pace up.

Week 15 was the week for my final ‘long’ run.  9 miles was scheduled so I kept it quite local.  Also fitted in a run with my collegues who are also running the marathon.

Which brings me to this week – a couple of very light runs and carb loading in preparation for tomorrow!

Even though this is a mamouth post I have failed to mention most of the weekday runs which also featured as a massive part of my training – in particular meeting up with Neil Dobson on a couple of weeks which helped push my speed up to the next level with a few threshold sessions, a huge help!

Total Miles Covered: 420.36
Total Time Taken: 62:38:10 h:m:s
Calories Burnt: 49,646 C

Thank you for reading my blog and no doubt on Monday or Tuesday I will give an update of the big day.

Ta

Neil

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W16 D1 – Interval session

Posted by: Neil Lock on April 20th, 2010

Today I was listed as doing a relatively short interval session. I opted to hit the dreadmill to control the intervals so during lunch I headed to the gym. 8×400m with 200m recovery was all that was listed today and after 20 or so my run was complete. Stayed on the treadmill till 5km was completed then I treated myself to 10mins in the sauna.

4m jog listed for tomorrow. Will try get that done in the morning or if not during lunch again. Also off to the expo to get my number – it’s almost time!!

Till then.

N

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Oh no! Disaster!

Posted by: Neil Dobson on April 20th, 2010

I think the Icelandic volcanoes are doing their best to beat me!
I travelled out to Jersey last week and got back on the evening before all the airports shut – phew what a relief!

So with the tonsilitis from a couple of weeks ago now safely overcome (with only a little disruption  to training) and all my travelling completed until after the big day, I am all set to go with just a few training runs left, right?

No, wrong!

As Keith & Ian will know from our final 12 mile easy run on Saturday, I was feeling ill with a bad chest from around Friday and it gradually got worse over the weekend (maybe it’s all that ash in the air!!). With no sleep and lots of very painful coughing, I was getting very concerned about the marathon so decided to take Monday off work & head to the doctors – turns out I have bronchitis! Am now on antibiotics for a week and advised to rest & stay warm.

I don’t know yet what this means for me in terms of Sunday. I am still hopeful that the penicillin will have kicked in enough by then for me to be able to take part – even if I am unlikley to achieve my goal.

At least I have all the hard training in the bag now. Missing a few light runs this week is not going to be the end of the world.

Finally, I would like to wish you all the very best of luck for Sunday. Remember – do not be over-ambitious at the start. It is better to start slowly and save your energy for the last 6 miles. Try to take the worry out of the day & get yourself organised well in advance.

If anyone has any last minute questions about the race / preparation etc. please feel free to ask. I may not be a fantastic runner but I have taken part a few times now and am happy to relay some useful hints & tips.

See you Sunday I hope!

Best wishes
Neil D

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Training Day 55

Posted by: Annette De Florinier on April 19th, 2010

30min SR
Cool and sunny, ran a steady 3miles this morning, keeping the pace up.
Nearly there!

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W15 D3 – Final long(ish) run

Posted by: Neil Lock on April 19th, 2010

Following recommendations from a few people I shortened my final run to the local ‘classic’ route. The schedule listed 12 miles which most people thought was mentally far and in fairness in that run it’s too late to improve fitness or ability and there is a greater risk of becoming injured and increasing recovery time.

I set out on Saturday am with the camelbak and one spare gel to see me through the run. It was a sunny morning but still early enough to be a little chilly. The run went perfectly, no real issues and stuck to the pace recommended in the schedule. I added the extra 2 mile segment onto the journey resulting in a 9 mile run.

That’s it now for runs over an hour until the big one! Busy week ahead, expo, final massage as well as other bits and bobs. 15 weeks of fairly structured training. Over the next week I hope to write a blog highlighting all I have achieved including the races and hundreds of miles covered.


See mile splits

Until next time.

N

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