By Fi Towell 

 

Three months prior to race date a knee injury that made two miles impossibly painful considerably threatened my chances of making the start line in Nice. But 2 things (or rather two superhero people) helped make it happen:

• Several wonderfully appropriate Sports Therapy sessions (plug for Carmel at the Sports Therapy Room in Leighton Buzzard)
• A blank training schedule, lovingly prepared by the middle Mr Inchley, which hung on the back of the kitchen door as a constant reminder that a few missed weeks at the start and no tapering still made it possible to go the distance in the time available.

Not only did I make the start line, but I finished my first ever marathon too. And I have the tee-shirt and black toenail to prove it!

 

Dressed as Batgirl complete with cape and with bats in my hair, on my fingers and drawn on my face and with my fellow superhero chums, Superwoman, Wonderwoman and Catwoman we flew, spun, winged and rocketed our way down to breakfast at 5am with the Ethiopian and Kenyan Elite team who we shared our budget IBIS Hotel with. A few Hi-Fives and several photo calls later we charmed our way onto their bus to the start line. Lukas Kanda wanted his photo taken with the crazy Scottish ladies before he warmed up for his first marathon (much to his coach’s annoyance):

 

He only went on to win in a marvellous time of 2:08. That’s what running ten miles to school every day can do to you! I thought about him and his mates putting their feet up as I passed the halfway mark…

 

I was last to cross the start line due to a 4th toilet stop!?! but I think I got the loudest cheer of all to set me off to a brill start with the first chants of ‘Ou est Le Bat Mobile’ and ‘Allez allez Batgirl’.

 

Having never run a marathon before in anything other than fancy dress I can thoroughly recommend it if you’ve left your support squad at home and your fellow superheroes set off at 7 and a half minute-miling, it was awesome! And I particularly liked it all in French. I’m sure it doesn’t have quite the same motivational ‘ring’ to it all in English.

 

The Riviera was a beautiful route. The sun shone and the breeze was beautiful leading to perfect ambient running conditions. There were stretches of no people which were actually rather peaceful and exhilarating listening to the crashing of the waves and it made the cheers from the little cafes in the villages en-route all the more welcoming.

 

Water stations were plentiful as were fueling stops and their contents. Little drummer bands were dotted along the route and a Radio station at the only bit that doubled back gave 2k’s worth of entertainment.  The last 5k approaching and rolling into Cannes was just uplifting. Having set myself a target to NOT WALK any of it I could hear Tom May in my head yelling at me in the last X-Country ‘you’re stronger than they are’ as I jogged past bucket-loads of walkers at this point giving me another bit of a boost. No way was I walking at 38k, I was all but home!

 

The French know how to enjoy food and there was plenty of it at the finish line. The baggage collection was slick and the first aid throughout seemed spot on (As a first time marathoner I did find all of that rather disturbing to watch – I had no idea so many people would need it!)

 

4:24 was a respectable time given that my longest run in preparation was 14 miles and I was happy with that … for a first marathon it wasn’t bad, and yes, there will be a second, but it better be nearer the 4 hour mark…

 

And d’you know what Stu, at that pace I could’ve kept going when I hit that red carpet…

 

Batgirl