Why London 2026?

2026 had to be a big year; I would be turning 60, my wife Louise and I would be celebrating 40 years of marriage, and we were later to discover that 2026 would be the year we were to become grandparents for the first time. The year needed to be marked by something special!

Running Against My Better Judgement

I haven’t always been a runner (unless you count running after the ice cream van), but prior to moving to Wolsingham in 2011, I had been the coach of a youth football club and had formed an unofficial ‘spin-off’ running club to encourage the players (and some of the parents) to stay fit through running. We started with a running programme given to me by a fireman which was similar to Couch to 5K, slowly allowing us to build up endurance over the course of 10 weeks running around the streets of Basingstoke. At its peak, we had over 20 people regularly running with us.

When we moved to Wolsingham nestled in the North Pennines, we found ourselves in the middle of some beautiful countryside with over 140 miles of public rights of way within the local parish boundaries alone. I started walking a lot more and joined Wolsingham Wayfarers - a local walking charity (for which I would later become Walk Leader and Chairman). I carried on running to keep fit but concentrated mainly on walking. Walking suited me far better. Walking involves scenery, conversation and a halftime picnic break. Running mostly involves panting, sweating, and discomfort.

I don’t really look forward to going out for a run. I don’t leap out of bed every morning dreaming of hill reps or shaving seconds off my 5K. In fact, once I start it, I can’t wait for it to finish, but I do love the feeling you get when you complete it which seems to be just enough to make me want to do it again. So I would run once or twice a week just to keep fit. Then, one evening whilst out running, I tripped on a raised kerbstone and whacked my knee against the concrete. My tracksuit bottoms were ripped, and my knee was bleeding. The pain was like someone was drilling a hole into the side of my knee and although the pain went away after a few weeks, every time I tried running on it, it reappeared. The pain was manageable when I was out walking, so, not wanting to make it worse and prevent me from going out walking, I gave up on the running.

I don't like running - So I ran The London Marathon

The Weardale Flyers

A few years later, Louise heard about a local running group, the Weardale Flyers, who were running Couch to 5K sessions. She wanted to join and asked if I would go along with her. I said I would but was fully expecting to have to give it up when the pain reappeared. Although I did feel a slight ache from time to time, it wasn’t enough to stop me, and I was able to complete the C25K programme.

Rachel, who founded the Weardale Flyers is a fantastic coach. She enthusiastically encourages everyone – no matter what their ability. She is one of those rare people who genuinely believes running is enjoyable and, more impressively, can almost convince other people it is enjoyable too.

Weardale Flyers hold sessions every Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Thursdays used to be a bit like the ‘nursery school’ for new starters through regular C25K programmes with runners eventually graduating to the faster, more challenging Wednesday group, but runners tend to move between both evenings as it suits. Due to other commitments on Wednesday evenings, I mainly run with the Thursday group.

Rachel forces us to start and end our runs from between a pub and a Crêpe van

Another of Rachel’s talents is her ability to convince us all to take part in organised runs. This has led to me taking part in 5K runs, half marathons, and fell runs – all of which Rachel tells me I enjoyed.

When the London Marathon ballot opened in 2025 for the 2026 event, it was a topic of conversation with the Weardale Flyers. Fast approaching 60, I decided it was ‘now or never’ so I entered the ballot. To help me secure a spot, I also looked at the process of applying for a charity space. Fortunately for me, my daughter-in-law’s sister Shannon worked for the fundraising arm of a disability charity which had helped my disabled daughter into work at the start of her working life. Therefore, I applied to Enham Trust for a place in the 2026 London Marathon and was successful – which was brilliant news as I was unsuccessful in the ballot! And what a year to be taking part: 26.2 miles on the 26th April 2026! – when will that happen again?!

Securing a place in London 2026

Training in the cold

Shannon’s fiancé Tom had also secured a charity spot, so we set about our Marathon planning and training programmes together (although we weren’t the best matched running partners – Tom’s legs are12 inches longer than mine, he is 33 years younger than me, and lives 300 miles away) but we set up a WhatsApp group and kept each other informed of our individual progress, and occasionally enjoyed a run out together on family meet ups.

I downloaded the official London Marathon Beginner’s Training Plan – a 16-week programme which starts with a 30-minute walk on day 1 of week 1, and peaks with a 3½ hour run at the end of week 13, before a 3-week taper to the 26.2-mile London Marathon at the end of week 16. Each week required two shorter runs, and one longer run. By shifting the days slightly, I was able to include my Thursday Weardale Flyers session as one of the weekly short runs. Although the official start date for the 16-week programme was January 5th 2026, I decided to start the training plan in October, just to see how I got on with it, and to get used to the discipline of having to go out 3 times a week in the dark, cold, and wet weather. It was tough, but I persevered and managed to stick to it for 8 weeks before stopping for Christmas. I started the training plan again from the very beginning on January 5th, 16 weeks before the London Marathon on April 26th.

Wolsingham is situated alongside the River Wear in the foot of the North Pennines so finding a flat route similar to the London Marathon route is not easy. The only way to avoid hills is by turning left from outside my house, running along the main street until the pavement runs out at the west end of the village, turning round and running back in the opposite direction back past my house until the pavement runs out at the east end of the village, then running back home. Doing this once clocks up just over 2 miles.

Fortunately, the London Marathon Beginner’s Training Plan doesn’t focus on distance; the main objective is to build endurance meaning each run is based on running for a set time, not distance. So, the first run was 40 minutes in length which was based on a 10-minute brisk walk, followed by a 20-minute easy run, followed by another 10-minute brisk walk. The actual distance you cover is entirely down to you and your natural pace, but the message was: focus on building your stamina and your pace will look after itself. That said, it was still as dull as dishwater running backwards and forwards along Wolsingham High Street, so after a while, I decided to use the road up to Tunstall reservoir to make the training more interesting. Tunstall reservoir is 3½ miles from my front door, via a small C road, and passes through picturesque countryside. However, the road has no pavement and undulates gradually uphill with an elevation gain of 440ft – but it had to be better than running backwards and forwards along the High Street! I did a lot of my ‘shorter’ training running uphill towards the reservoir, turning around after half the allocated time, and running back again. However, this route was still too short for the longer runs so I needed to find a longer, (preferably flatter) route.

A friend who had completed the Manchester Marathon told me he had done a lot of his training on a walkway constructed along a disused railway line. The Lanchester Valley Railway Path is a 12-mile stretch of a traffic free trail which goes out and beyond Durham so for my longer weekend runs I drove the 9 miles to Lanchester and ran along the track, turning around at the half time point. By the time I reached the week 13 peak, I was able to run the full 3½ hours without stopping, and able to cover 18 miles along this track.

During one of the Weardale Flyers sessions, Rachel taught us to try ‘running like a robot’! (If you tend to twist your upper body when you run, you are using a lot of energy for no real forward movement. Keeping your arms to the side and at right angles conserves that energy for use in your legs). It took a bit of getting used to but after a couple of weeks I was ‘running like a robot’ without having to think about it – and as a result, I found I was able to run at my faster pace for longer on my longer runs.

During my training, data on my Garmin watch was showing me a predicted Marathon time of 5hrs 35mins. By the end, it was showing 4hrs 55mins. In each of the London Marathon start waves, there is a number of pacemakers with flags showing their intended finish time so I decided I would start with the 5½ hour pacemaker with the intention of speeding up towards the end if I felt I still had enough energy left.

Kit, Gels, and Other Expensive Mistakes

Running Shoes: I knew I would need a new pair of running shoes so turned to my running coach (Google) and searched for ‘The best running shoes for first-time marathon runners’ then, after reading the reviews, I searched for the best price for the recommended pair. I’ve never liked running shoes with massive white ‘bouncy castle’ soles but fortunately for me, the recommended pair also came with massive blue ‘bouncy castle’ soles. When they arrived, I went out for a run and felt like I was leaping along like a gazelle but about 3 weeks before the Marathon, I felt like they had lost a lot of their comfort. So I turned to my running coach again and searched for ‘The most comfortable running shoes for running a Marathon’. I ended up buying a pair with a massive white sole the size of a cot mattress, but I didn’t care what they looked like when I put them on and bounced off down the road like Trebor’s Mr. Soft.

Headphones: I need to listen to music when I’m out running. When I’m with a group I’m fine but when I’m out on my own, little voices in my head try to convince me to turn around and go home so listening to music shuts them up. Problem is, I’ve got funny shaped ears, and the ‘bud’ type headphones fall out, so I tried a few relatively cheap pairs of over the ear/bone conductor headphones before investing in some decent ones.

Water Bottles: It’s hard to run like a robot and hold a bottle in your hands, so I spent a small fortune on running vests, and running belts, and different types of water bottles until I found a combination I could use comfortably. I ended up with a waist belt with a water bottle pocket, zipped pocket for my car keys, and a zipped pouch for energy gels. I also bought running shorts with a pocket sewn into the liner for my mobile phone.

Energy Gels: A friend who completes ultra marathons advised me to use my training to get used to the energy gels they throw at you during a Marathon – small sachets containing carbohydrates which give you a boost of energy and fuel your muscles. I tried lots of different types, different flavours, and different prices, but found I liked the cheap ones from Home Bargains the best!

Fundraising Panic

Enham Trust, the charity I was running for, had set a fundraising target of £1,800 on the understanding that if you didn’t reach the target, you would be expected to make up the shortfall yourself. At the beginning, when I started training and fundraising, fundraising was by far the most difficult bit. I started by asking close friends, immediate family and work colleagues, and even though they were all very generous and I was able to quickly reach £800, there was a realisation that there was still a long way to go otherwise I had to stump up a thousand quid!

I am fortunate that I have a large family (I have 4 brothers and 4 sisters), I am part of a walking group with over 1800 followers, I am part of a great running group, and I work for a company with a good social values team. Therefore, I was able to call on this network and they came through for me. Through the Wolsingham Wayfarers walking group, I arranged a 13-mile free guided walk with a request that anyone taking part would simply share my JustGiving fundraising page amongst their family and friends. This event proved popular and raised a total of £343 (+€1).

The Wolsingham Wayfarers Charity Walk to the Elephant Trees (which one gave me the €1?)

Our local newspaper The Weardale Gazette did a feature on me and my connection with Enham Trust, and a lady in the village knitted me a sheep for a ‘Name the Sheep’ competition which raised £100 over Easter. When I was just £250 short of my target, a consultancy company I use through work asked me how much I needed to reach my target, a few hours later a £250 donation got me to my target. Due to the amazing generosity of everyone, I reached the £1,800 target before the end of February allowing me to concentrate on the training. By the time I started the Marathon, my total had passed £2,800.

Medical Conditions and Injuries

Although my legs were running well during training, my nose was running much better. As soon as I started running, my nose would stream so I had to carry reams of tissues. I looked it up and it turns out it is a recognised medical condition called EIR: Exercise-Induced Rhinitis. I had to use a nasal spray and learn to breathe through my mouth more. It was made worse by the cold weather but gradually improved as the weather improved.

During my birthday month of March, I was invited for a health checkup at my local GP Surgery. All the tests were fine apart from my blood pressure which was a little high. I turned to my medical advisor (Google) and asked, “Is it safe to run a marathon with high blood pressure?” and the results came back saying “Yes, being more active is encouraged if you have high blood pressure”. I tested at home but the results remained just on the wrong side of ‘Normal’ so I arranged a telephone appointment with my GP a week after completing the marathon. During the call, the GP said, “Now you are 60, you need to try to be more active”, I said “I just ran the bloody London Marathon at the weekend – is that not active enough?!” – she laughed.

Across the last few weeks of the training plan, I developed a pain in my left calf muscle. This was probably due to not doing enough strengthening exercises. My personal trainer (Google) gave me a few strengthening exercises for Marathon runners and I tried to do them a couple of times each week but if I was struggling for time, these exercises were the first thing I dropped. I’d been to see a sports physio and had been given some exercises for the muscle pain, but it didn’t seem to be making much difference, so for the final week of training, I put an ice pack on my leg and sat with it elevated instead of going out running.

Marathon Weekend

We travelled down to Reading on the Friday before the London Marathon. My son Andy and his wife Chloe live just outside Reading, so we arrived there on the Friday afternoon complete with a suitcase full of rice, pasta, bread, bananas, bagels, and gels. Advice received from an ultra-marathon runner was to eat normally in the weeks before the marathon, then 48hrs before the race, load your body with carbs as energy for the race. This means eating vast amounts of exactly the types of food you have been purposely avoiding for the last 16 weeks in an attempt to shed excess weight. The recommendation is to

My name on ‘The Running Wall’ at The Excel Centre

Mr Em and Mr M outside the Running Show

After the Running Show, Shannon had arranged for all the Enham Trust runners to meet up in a nearby bar, so we spent a lovely sunny afternoon alongside the Royal Victoria Dock meeting the full team over food and drinks.

Team Enham

consume 8g of carbohydrates for every kg of body weight. For me that was 656g of carbs on Friday and the same again on Saturday. 656g of carbs is the same as eating 14 cups of rice – so it was a challenge!

We arranged to attend the Running Show on the day before the Marathon. The Running Show was held at the Excel Centre in London and was where we picked up our race number and official T-shirt. There was a big expo with lots of running gear suppliers, but I’d been told ‘Nothing New on Marathon Day’ so resisted the temptation to try new socks, gels, drinks etc. but did help myself to as many freebies as I could.

“Race” Day

On the day of the Marathon, my son Andy dropped me and Tom off early morning at Reading Train Station where already several people were stood on the platform in vests and shorts and bouncy shoes ready for the day ahead. As we stopped at each station along the way, more and more runners boarded the train. We got on the tube and by the time we got off, the roads were packed with runners, so we followed the crowds to the start area in Greenwich Park. There were 3 start zones with all runners merging at the 3-mile mark. Tom had a different start zone and earlier start time to me, so we wished each other good luck and made our way to our respective start zones.

Because Tom’s start time was much earlier than mine, I arrived at my start zone about 3  hours before my start time. I did some warmup exercises, listened to the DJ interviewing runners, soaked up the atmosphere, went for a wee, rubbed Voltarol gel into my calf, and repeated this for 3 hours. Everything we didn’t want to carry around the course had to be placed in a clear plastic holdall and placed on the back of a numbered truck for collection at the finish line. Eventually my wave number was called, and I made my way to the start pen with around 200 other runners. After the previous wave were set away, we made our way to the start line, and we were given a rousing speech by someone who didn't have to run it, then the “5-4-3-2-1-Go…” and we were off. I saw the 5½ hour pacemaker so started off with him firmly in my sights, crossing the start line at 11:25:01.

The opening stretch of the route was packed with spectators shouting encouragement. I thought this was probably because it was just after the start line, but it wasn’t, the number of spectators and the level of encouragement just grew and grew as the race went on. Because my name was printed on my shirt, right from the start I was greeted with “C’mon Andrew, you’ve got this!”. Everyone was cheering on the runners, and all the kids were calling out to high five you. I had one woman shout “Go Andrew – you’re doing it for the greys” (I put my cap back on after that one). It was very emotional and not what I was expecting. The level of support from the spectators brought a lump to my throat, and I was thinking “if I’m like this now with complete strangers, what am I going to be like when I see my family?!”

I knew I needed to start slowly and pace myself throughout the race, but the 5½ hour pace seemed incredibly slow. During my long training runs, my pace was averaging around 10½ minutes per mile, so I decided to forget my original plan and aim for 11 minutes per mile, so I left the pacemaker behind. If my pace dropped below 10 min/mile, I slowed down, if it went over 12 min/mile, I speeded up.

My Start Wave

Although the London Marathon is a race, my intention was always to just complete it, regardless of how long it took me. Don’t get me wrong, if I had found myself on the heels of Sabastian Sawe and his mates, I’d have given it a go – but considering that race ended whilst I was still rubbing Voltarol gel onto my legs, I never got the chance to push them.

Running down Victoria Embankment opposite the London Eye

The official 26.2-mile route is marked on the road by a blue dashed line. Sticking to the blue line gets you to the finish line via the shortest possible route but whilst it might be the shortest route, it certainly isn’t the quickest as there are so many runners on the road, some running, some walking, so you have to leave the blue line and weave in and out of them. By the end of the marathon, I'd run 26.7 miles due to the meandering.

I had downloaded an app which allowed 26 of your friends and family to record a message and the app would play the message back at every mile mark. I liked the idea of breaking the race down into mile segments and this sounded like a great way to stay focussed on the next mile. In reality, the noise from the crowds was just too loud to hear anything through my earphones, coupled with the fact that the messages were out of synch by about half a mile, so I took my earphones off after the 3rd mile and just enjoyed the sounds around me.

The entertainment around the route was amazing. There were gospel choirs outside churches, brass bands, bagpipers, drummers, DJs, rock bands, and countless homes playing music out of their windows. Families were sat at the side of the road having barbecue picnics, and people were handing out flumps, jelly babies and bananas. It was a hot sunny day so every mile or so there was a fire hose showering half of the road with water, so I took every opportunity to run through a wall of freezing cold water. Some of the water stations were handing out cups of ice so I emptied them into my cap and put it on my head.

Around the route there were thousands of spectators with handmade banners offering words of encouragement. Some I remember:

“Run if you think Spurs are Sh*t”

“Speed up, Daddy Pig is beating you”

“Speed up, Harry Styles is behind you”

“Hurry up – you’ve still got a very long way to go”

“You’re on your own – ChatGPT can’t help you now”

“Pain is temporary, Strava is permanent”

“Just pick a nice arse and follow it” (I was very conscious of people staring at my behind for the rest of the race after seeing that one!).

I’d taken my phone with me with the intention of taking some photos, and to film myself crossing the Finish line. I also wanted to know where to look out for my family. Unfortunately, after taking photos before the start, and a few of the attractions along the route, I managed to put my phone in my pocket whilst it was set to record a video, so I ended up with some bizarre slow-motion footage of random upside-down runners through the mesh of my shorts – and a flat battery.

Trying to find the blue line

My wife Louise, daughter Daisy, Son Andrew, Daughter-in-Law Chloe, Chloe’s friend Beth, and Daisy’s friend Becky had formed a formidable Resuscitation Crew, and were planned to be at 2 or 3 places along the route. My son had attached a Bradford City flag to a long pole to help me spot them. This was a good idea – there weren’t too many other Bradford City flags along the route.

I saw them at the 8-mile stage and gave them all a high five as I ran past. I almost missed them at the 11-mile stage as they struggled to get through the crowds, and then I saw them again at the 22-mile stage and gave them all a high five again. I really appreciated my cheering party and looked forward to seeing them along the route. It really gave me something to focus on and it was a real buzz to see them with their “Proud of You” and “Guinness at the Finish” signs. I also appreciated how difficult it was for them (I mean, they didn’t have to run a marathon but…) London was heaving, 60,000 runners + spectators + the general London public and 26 ,iles of closed roads meant Tube Stations had queues just to get into them, and all the pavements were rammed. Logistically they had to work out where I was likely to be at any given time, and get there before I did. Add to this the fact that Chloe was 4 months pregnant, I can appreciate what a challenge it was for them (but like I said, it wasn’t as if they had to run a marathon!). I’m sure Daisy will agree – it was a great way to celebrate her 22nd birthday!

My Resuscitation Crew

The Wall and The Mall

I managed to keep running for the whole marathon, there were some places where I was forced to drop down to a very slow pace and almost stop, for example to grab a bottle of water from a crowded water table, or around tightly congested corners but otherwise I kept going. It wasn’t until the 24-mile stage where I ‘hit a wall’ and was really struggling. On most occasions that would be enough for me to slow down and walk for a bit, but as I was just 2 miles away from actually running the entire London Marathon, I told myself to keep going.

Passing Big Ben within smelling distance of the finish line

The finish line on the London Marathon is positioned part way up The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace. In my head, I knew once I ran past Buckingham Palace, I just needed to turn, and the finish line would be in front of me. So I turned the corner, got my phone out, put it back as the battery was flat, and ran towards what I thought was the finish line. It wasn’t the finish line, it was an advertising ‘bridge’ over the course, so I still had further to run. Another structure came into view – great, the finish line? – No, it was another advertising structure. Eventually a 3rd structure came into view with digital timer on it, so I ran towards that with my arms in the air and crossed the finish line at 16:32:59, 5 hours, 7 minutes and 59 seconds after crossing the start line. (Taking into account all the weaving in and out and the congested areas, my Garmin watch recorded my first 26.2 miles at 4 hours 56 minutes so technically speaking... that is my personal best Marathon time!)

And rest...

After The Finish

It felt great to have completed the marathon and be surrounded by hundreds of happy finishers. I collected my medal, went for a wee, then met up with family and friends at Horse Guards Parade where we took plenty of photos and I ate plenty of sugary sweets and drank lots of water.

Andy, Me, Daisy, Tracey, Louise, Tom (a different one) Chloe, Shannon, Beth

I proudly wore my medal on the journey back to Reading and there was still lots of support from the public with people coming up and congratulating me on completing the marathon. Public transport was free of charge – you just had to show them your medal! Once I got back, I assessed the damage: a sore bleeding nipple, a blister down the side of my big toe, and a toenail that looked like it might fall off at any time (it didn’t)! Miraculously, the pain in my calf never bothered me once during the race, and hasn’t bothered me since! Once showered and changed, we all headed out for a curry (without rice) and a meet up with Tom and his family – and a chance for a Guinness in our ‘I’ve earned this one’ glasses. Tom finished his first Marathon in a very impressive 4hrs 36mins.

Talking of Guinness, I received an email the day after the marathon from the Guinness World Records congratulating me on setting a new World Record! Of the 59,830 runners who took part in the 2026 London Marathon, 59,226 finished – breaking the record for the largest number of finishers in a marathon.

When I got a quiet moment, I listened to the messages which I couldn’t hear on the app. All the messages were great and it was a real shame I couldn’t hear them during the race.

I still don’t enjoy running very much, and I still spend every run wondering why I’m doing it. But the London Marathon was one of the greatest things I’ve ever done, and although I said it would definitely be my first and last, I did consider entering the ballot for 2027. Unfortunately (?), by the time I got around to it, I’d missed the deadline by 2 days!

Me and Tom meet up after the race

Top Tips

My top tips for anyone thinking of running a marathon:

- Don’t ever believe you can’t do it, it’s just putting one foot in front of the other – how fast you do that is up to you.

- Don’t let your age put you off. I had just turned 60 but I still had almost 30 years on Harry Newton, the oldest person to finish the race.

- Follow the Training Plan – it’s a great way to build endurance and give you confidence to complete the marathon.

- Forget about the time, just set a target to finish – even if you finish last, you’re still in front of the billions who didn’t run it.

- Make sure you have your name on your shirt – the support from the spectators will keep you going and shortens the miles considerably.

- Don’t skip the carbs – your body really does need that stored energy. I reckon if I’d have finished that last bowl of rice I wouldn’t have hit that wall at 24 miles!

- ‘Nothing new on marathon day’ is good advice – use your training weeks to find the best gear and stick with it.

- Remember: only 0.15% of the World’s population ever runs a Marathon

- And of course, if all else fails, pick a nice arse and follow it!

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