I'm sure that when Pheidippides thought 'Ah, sod it, I'll run. The buses are so unreliable...' he can have had no idea that hundreds of thousands of loonies every year would decide to run 26.2 miles for fun. After all, whichever version of the story you read - the guy died at the end.
I know a few people who have run marathons, and one or two who run them regularly. These people all manage to hold down jobs and relationships and for the most part seem relatively normal. And maybe I'm just jealous - my two miles isn't even a warm-up to a marathoner, it's a stroll to the corner shop for a paper. But you know 26.2 miles is a REALLY LONG WAY. I heard that a friend was hoping to run this year's London Marathon in 3:45, and I found myself saying, 'Wow, that's really fast.' And it is, and will be, but we're not talking minutes and seconds here, people, we're talking HOURS and minutes. Three HOURS of running, and a good chance of chafing and bleeding nipples.
There were lots of marathoners in the parks and streets at the weekend (only a month to go!) and a couple I passed were holding a big bottle of power drink in each hand. You're running a vvvveeeerrrrryyyyyyy long way if you need that much hydration.
You can't just decide to run an official Marathon, you have to prove that you can raise a certain amount of sponsorship money. So not only do you have to train your body not to think that running that kind of distance should end in death, you have to focus on sponsorship for your chosen charity. I tell you, these people are AMAZING. When my big brother ran the London marathon a couple of years ago I met him just after the finish. His face was white with encrusted salt. His knees wouldn't bend so he walked along the street like a robot. He was wrapped in silver foil - and he was too knackered to make much sense - but the elation he felt, the pride, the sheer achievement of it was a remarkable and wonderful thing to witness. And he got to eat two Big Macs.
So I say to all those Marathoners - good luck, and well done.
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London Marathon is a charity which sublets the running of the marathon to London Marathon Ltd, the chief executive of which is paid £250,000 pa.
ReplyDeleteLM Ltd consumes three quarters of its £18Million pa budget from £32 charge for each balloted runner, £300 for gold cards from charities for each balloted runner, and between £1,500-£2,500 for silver card runners, as well as income from sponsorship and massive reduction in fees from local authorities and the police.
Most of the remaining £4.5 Million is kept in the London Marathon bank account, and what grants they do make are predominantly back to London local authorities, though lack of proper public accountability means nobody is quite sure what the money is spent on.
As always, charity begins at home; in the home of the executives who run the charity.