FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - 2016 Fight Against Cancer - Paris and London Marathons
Old Apr 5, 2016, 2:49 am
  #15  
rwoman
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Join Date: Feb 2010
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Unhappy Update: The Aftermath of Paris - Not Always What We Expect

Hello all,

Running is one thing; supporting the fight against cancer is one of the reasons I do so. Pleased to share I'm almost to £1,100 with £1,092.54 raised! THANK YOU all for your support!!

So...the Paris Marathon was this past Sunday. I'd given myself a bit of a taper going into Sunday. As usual, my sister flew over to chase me around the course.

At the expo, my DL status helped with me getting my number more quickly...who knew Sky Priority benefits would apply??


I was up early, had breakfast, and then made my way to the train to get to the start:


It was a gorgeous morning on the Champs Elysee...


We set off a few minutes late for our wave, but I felt pretty good despite a fair amount of walking the day before.

Just past 2 miles - my sister with our travel mascots (Floyd the Flamingo and his cousin Steve; Shaun the Sheep):


It was really warm and my pacing was pretty good. I did force myself to slow a bit due to the temps (70F+ is bad when you've trained in the winter). However, I was on track to be under the 6h time limit and kept plugging along.

Then the wheels slowly fell off after the officials told us to get onto the sidewalk about mile 10 because the course was closing; I knew this might happen later in the race but I was by far on track to finish in under 6h. The constant stop/start with traffic over the next miles was tough on my back. Worse, they were taking down the aid stations completely.

I made it to my sister at the 14 mile mark or so. Given the temperature and lack of aid, as well as London looming in 19 days, I made the decision to stop. I think it is one of the more difficult decisions I've made. I'm not one to give up; it's just not in my nature. I'm still a little peeved at myself but I think hindsight (and London on the 24th) will suggest I made the right decision.

To those who follow and support me, thank you. My apologies for not delivering in Paris.
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