Stuart Walker, Osteopath

So, after all the training and preparation, all the worry and chatter, the big day finally arrived. What an experience!  Complete sensory overload with the thousands of runners and spectators, the noise, the colours and…of course, all the running.

Fortunately my body held up, a testament to my colleagues at the clinic and all their treatment, help and advice.  I managed to get round in a little over 4 hours which I was pretty happy with, albeit not quite as fast as Mo Farah! I also ran the whole way, stopping not really being an option; I think that if I’d stopped then I’d never have got going again.  And, lastly, I managed to reach my sponsorship target the day before the Marathon … so, a big thank you to all who contributed.

Final thoughts:

• All in all an amazing experience – definitely worth the hours of training through the cold Winter months.
• The training is essential – if you’re thinking of doing a marathon you can’t skip the training!
• The value of regular stretching can’t be stressed enough.
• Get regular treatments as a preventative measure and if you get an injury see a professional sooner rather than later.
• Now the pain has subsided perhaps I’ll do another one, despite my previous comments about this being my first and last marathon!

A little video clip from 24 miles with thanks to my friend Matt:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSx7zxTIGDQ&feature=youtu.be

Thanks and happy running…!!!

Stuart