Marathon Inspiration

Three weeks today I hope to be in a bar in Wimbledon celebrating a successful London Marathon with my fellow club runners (and hopefully enjoying a well deserved, large glass of red!).  This morning I ran a final 2 hour long run, next week my longest run will be 90 minutes and the Sunday before D-Day I plan to just run for 90 minutes - with my usual easy paced and threshold sessions all slotted in during the week.

To immerse myself in all things London Marathon I decided to pop along to the newly opened London Marathon store a few days ago and feel even more inspired to be part of such an iconic race.  The store, which is part of the Sweatshop chain, founded by Chris Brasher, the co-founder of the London Marathon certainly has great running credentials, in fact I have since discovered that Mo Farah was a sales assistant many moons ago in the Teddington branch of Sweatshop.

I met with Jason, the store manager and he showed me around, starting with the display of bib numbers at the entrance to the store together with a screen showing marathon footage - it really starts bringing it all home, the challenge I am about to take on.  They also have the infamous Rhino on display as well as the helmet worn by the brave soul who wore a full deep-sea diver kit. The "lucky" person who gets to wear the Rhino suit only finds out if they can actually run in it on the day of the marathon - I mean, how do you train for that challenge?

There is a counter which is constantly changing, totalling up how much is being raised for charities through marathon fundraising.  The Virgin London marathon is the single biggest charity fundraising event in the UK.  I am running for the hospice which supports my daughter, ShootingStar-Chase, and I know they depend very heavily on the fundraising that is achieved by their marathon runners each year.  This year they will have a team of 70 runners, look out for them on the route.

I loved the wall displaying examples of every London marathon medal since the race first began in 1981, my dad ran in a couple of the early London marathons and despite running in many other events over the years London was always his favourite.  Jason told me that since the shop opened people have been coming in and reminiscing about their own London Marathon experience and sharing their stories

The shop is not just a shrine to the marathon however, it's a running shop first and foremost and all the staff are runners.  They have also recently started a running club in the shop and when I was there the finishing touches were being made to the "Boiler Room" in the basement with lockers and changing facilities for runners.

I also had a chance to try out the new gait analysis area and try some shoes out while running on a treadmill.  It's all part of the service offered in the store and is a great chance to try out shoes and that are best for your running style.

Jason and the team are passionate about running, they clearly live, eat and breathe running, in the same way that the rest of us who are bitten by the bug do!  We chatted about this season's kit, drooled over the latest shoe designs and discussed favourite gel flavours.

When you come to London and visit the expo to pick up your race pack, why not make a little detour via Bishopsgate and visit the London marathon store.  When you do, look up to the ceiling, there's a 3d Model of the Marathon route, with all it's twists and turns , the infamous docklands loop, tower bridge, the start at Greenwich....less than three weeks now, and I will be pounding those streets for real, I can't wait!