(Long backstory cut short; I was going to run the 2020 Tokyo Marathon  before it was cancelled due to the Covid-19 outbreak. I set up an unofficial event on Facebook for those who wanted to still run with me and make the training and fundraising worthwhile.)

1^st March 2020. Race day.

200 people clicked ‘interested’ on the Facebook event, 80 people had clicked ‘going’… 8 people turned up.

Nonetheless, it was a small but great group of people that included runners from Norway, France, America, Belgium, Hong Kong and England. The weather was in our favour as we assembled on the steps of Kiba Park at 9:30. The plan: run 12 and a bit laps around this scenic park, totalling 42.195 kilometres. Easy.

We lined up on the imaginary chosen start line, set our strava’s and off we went. The first lap or so we ran as a group, ensuring everyone knew the route and getting into a rhythm. It was quite a fast pace to start with, partly due to the excitement of what we were doing, plus the other runners seemed far more experienced.

The route slowly became ingrained into our minds; two large parks, joined by a long, arching bridge with a beautiful view of Tokyo Skytree. Dosed up on painkillers and donning my beloved knee strap, I was aiming for a sub 4 hour marathon (with the actual goal of sub 3:45). I dreamed of running sub 3:30 but I felt this would be tough without the adrenaline of an official international event.

“Run the first third with your head (be smart), run the second third with your legs (be strong), run the last third with your heart (be inspired).”

This was a quote I read a few days ago and got me through the run. I had split the marathon up in my mind, as four 10 kilometre runs. Which meant those thirds didn’t quite add up, but the quote really did help me a lot.

As the kilometres increased, so did the size of the arching bridge. The first couple of laps allowed me to take in the view and feel a bit of breeze in the sun. Lap by lap, the view lowered towards the tiled floor and the breeze became an unwanted companion. Our group had split apart but me and Kirsten from Norway kept a similar pace in the peloton, motivating each other with the help of her Norwegian friends! The race leader was an anonymous Asian man who was immune to the heat; dressed in full tracksuit, sunglasses, beanie and gloves!

I passed 21 kilometres at 1 hour 45 (the second fastest half marathon I’ve ran). Only another half marathon to go. The cheery Norwegians, Mirthe and Alexis provided much needed support in the form of water, energy drinks and friendly faces. I hadn’t eaten breakfast this morning and relied heavily on some energy gels I had bought a few days ago. Every now and then, Patrick from Belgium would appear and run alongside me. Being far more experienced than me, he would appear and disappear but provided a good running companion.

The last 10k: running with my heart. I would like to say I felt inspired and found the ‘runners high’. In reality, my hamstrings felt like they were falling apart, my calves were tight, and my knee felt like it had shattered into pieces with only the support holding it together.

I knew I would be under the 4-hour mark. I calculated I could run sub 3:45. What I really wanted was to be as close to 3 hours 30 as physically possible, without permanently damaging my body. One foot in front of the other, that’s all running is. There isn’t much skill in a marathon, just grit, determination and practice, mostly.

After running 42.195km, I crossed the imaginary finishing line with the final time of 3 hours 36 minutes and 15 seconds! Was it the dream ending? Not really. I had forgotten the exact distance of a marathon and had to make sure to run enough, totalling 42.32km. The imaginary finishing line also wasn’t near any of the remaining supporters. I walked the rest of the lap and with the few supporters in sight, I ran the last few metres to get the finishing photo that everyone dreams of.

My first marathon: 3 hours 36 minutes and 15 seconds. £475 raised for Samaritans Charity UK.