London Marathon 2009 - 3:15:18

I'm pleased with my own effort despite being 19 seconds above the sub-3:15 target. Historically I don't do well in warm weather but managed to keep things reasonably steady and enjoyed every minute of it. Kept the hand brake on through the early stages, maintained the pace through the Docklands and got to 20 ready to give it everything. During those last 6 miles two things were going through my head

* "When the time comes, be a CAN"
* "Better to be the overtaker than the overtaken"

By the time I hit 24 miles I was overtaking quite a few. I knew I had to push on to go sub 3:15. It felt like I was cruising along at sub 7 min mile pace but unfortunately it was actually just over 7:30s and when I hit the 385 yards to go sign I knew it was all over. Nevertheless I gave it everything down The Mall just to squeeze every last drop out.

This was my 5th FLM and without doubt the most enjoyable. I took in every minute of it and for the first time really appreciated the noise level of the crowds. I knew the warm weather had the potential to spoil my day so I made sure to keep the early pace steady, wore a hat to protect my head and used pretty much every feed station. Full bottle of Lucozade at 5, 10, 15, 19, 23. Gels at 7, 12, 17, 21. Took a couple of mouthfuls of water at most of the stations, pouring some on my head.

After 5 marathon attempts I finally feel like I've got one sort of right.

3:05 - 3:10 next year.