By Pete Mackrell

Last Sunday I was one of the six club members taking part in the London Marathon. An early start awaited five of us who were meeting at 6am on the High Street to travel down on the coach organised by our friends at LFR. Meanwhile the sixth, Joe Hurley, is lucky enough to have friends living within walking distance of the start at Blackheath Common so was still tucked up in bed! Despite the early start, the five of us were in high spirits and following a week of awful weather the day was set to be much calmer and dry. We arrived in London in good time and made our way to our respective start areas to join the traditionally long toilet queues for the first time. After a couple of nervous hours had finally passed it was 9.45am and time to join the 37,000 others in our run around London.

Of the sextet, we were most surprised to see Gary Stratford on the coach considering he couldn’t even jog down the length of his driveway 9 days beforehand due to injury! A period of complete rest and some intense physio sessions meant that not only did he make the start line, he finished in a very respectable time of 3:22:26.

Nick Clay has also struggled with injuries and so was expecting to finish in 'only' 3:30. He started his race sensibly and cruised round to the finish with relative ease, beating his estimate by 13 minutes. Along the way he achieved the rare distinction of a marathon negative split, reaching half way in 1:39:35 and finishing in 3:17:01. Nick has also raised over £700 for the MacMillan Cancer charity which is a great effort (http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/NickClay).

Just ahead of Nick was Rod Lopez, the only London debutant amongst us. Rod has been in great shape this year having already achieved several PBs, and he continued his fine form to set a marathon PB of 3:16:02, bettering his previous best by seven minutes. When Rod ran his first marathon in 2008 he finished in 4:22, which shows what can be achieved with the right aptitude!

The third finisher for the club was Ian Grimshaw, who by now knows exactly how cruel marathons can be. His time of 3:13:28 is probably not what he was hoping for, but it is a time many others would be proud of. He has the consolation of knowing he still has a guaranteed place for next year should he want another attempt.

The second club finisher was the evergreen Joe Hurley, who has done more marathons than anyone can remember. In typical unflappable fashion, he took this one in his stride with the persona of somebody out on a training run. His time of 3:10:05 placed him an impressive 114th within his age category, a great achievement.

Whilst no longer a club member, a special mention goes to Joby Hobbs who ran a very impressive PB of 2:56:03, also managing a negative split. Giving up running for six months to cycle around Britain obviously did him no harm!

And finally, I managed to complete the course in 2:51:26, bettering my London time from last year by 14 minutes. It wasn't quite a PB, but a pleasing run none the less. People often ask me what it's like doing the London Marathon and the best word I can use to describe it is overwhelming. The support and noise are remarkable and you really have to experience it for yourself to fully appreciate it. The route can be hugely inspiring as you snake your way around London and its many iconic landmarks. But remember, everyone suffers in marathons, no matter where you're running and how good you are!

Thank you to those who came along to support us on the day, I apologise for missing most of you when out on the course (or maybe I was just unwilling to admit knowing the motley line-up below!).