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News and gossip
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Rob Shaw’s ‘Marathon 2010 Experience’ raises funds for Parkinson’s UK
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KEMS violinist Robert Shaw successfully completed the London Marathon on 25th
May 2010. He reports on his experience
At the start of this year I faced up to a double challenge – first to raise the required funds for Parkinson’s UK and second to build up my running to be fit enough for the marathon. The first challenge turned out to be more straightforward due to the
overwhelming kindness and generosity of so many people: by the time the event
came I had managed to surpass the required amount by several hundred pounds. A
big thank you to everyone who sponsored me.
The second challenge was hard work, particularly at the start of the year with
the hostile weather conditions, although I was fortunate to be able to train at
lunchtimes, in the countryside just outside where I work.
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The weekend of the marathon opened up a third challenge – how to organise a family of four travelling to London, arranging meet-up points
etc on one of the busiest days in London - which involved military planning and
precision
– thanks Sue! – the experience would not have been anything like as much fun on my own. On
Sunday, I got up early and made my way over to the start - the facilities and
organisation were amazing.
There was a long snake of people at the start and you needed to position
yourself according to predicted time to finish
– the chip meant that the delay to reach the start point after the gun went did
not count in your race time. Now the fun started
– I relaxed thinking about all those hours I had put into training and set off at
a reasonable pace. Along the way there were all kinds of different musical
entertainment
– jazz bands, rock music, drums, even bag-pipes, and also amusing fancy dress to
spot, including a newly married couple in full wedding dress and morning suit.
The support was continuous from the start, and gradually gained in size and
volume as the race proceeded. The weather was kind to us
– overcast most of the time – and there were plenty of points where bottles of water were handed out – also run-through showers to cool down. Many spectators held boxes of sweets,
like jelly babies, and everyone was incredibly supportive. I managed to make 15
miles without too much problem, then my legs started to get heavier
– the last section after 20 miles I found extremely hard and by 23 miles I was
struggling to go much faster than walking pace, but I did keep running
… just … with a finishing time of 4 hours and 5 minutes.
Afterwards, we all headed over to the reception put on by the Parkinson’s UK charity – there we also met up with my Dad, brother and his family. I found the day quite
exhausting and dehydrating but a fantastic experience and an event I will
remember for a very long time
… but maybe I’ll just watch next year!
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