London Marathon 2016 #2 - A real sense of community

18 Mar 2016

Over 35,000 runners will be taking to the streets of London to run the Virgin Money London Marathon on 24 April 2016, and Cutty Sark has allocated places to five amazing runners who will be raising money to help preserve the ship. Follow them on our blog.

By Alex Moyse

Running the London Marathon has been an aspiration of mine for as long as I can remember, so when the opportunity came up through work I jumped at the chance. Training for a good cause has been a lot of pressure but also hugely rewarding. This way it’s not all about the running. 

Fundraising has been great fun and a good way to re-connect with friends old and new. I’ve received online donations from people I went to primary school with, the volunteers I co-ordinate at the ship and course mates from university. With each donation comes an opportunity to catch up with people and find out what they’ve been getting up to since we last spoke.

I’ve also really enjoyed baking cakes for my work colleagues (hint: a good chocolate raspberry brownie can get you a long way) and raising money at evening events at the ship, like our Burns Night Ceilidh. I’ve been blown away by the generosity of strangers; there really is a tangible desire among our visitors to preserve Cutty Sark for future generations, which is heart-warming.

It’s amazing how many past marathon runners have come out of the woodwork, all eager to show their support and offer advice. It seems the London Marathon creates a real sense of community, but then with all the hard work involved it’s hardly surprising. I’ve found training to be such a rewarding experience, particularly my long runs on weekends when I get to fall in love with London again and again. Public transport is so readily available in London that it’s easy to forget how close together things are. Here’s my guide to a North East London half marathon route:

Begin at Highbury and Islington with their chic high streets and Instagram worthy cafes, then move north into Finsbury where things get a little more down to earth - the park here is one of my favourites. Up to Wood Green now where the high street is bustling on a Saturday morning with crowds looking for bargains (elbows out here!). From there it’s a steep climb up to Ally Pally, but well worth it for the stunning views over the city. Go fantasy house shopping in Muswell Hill before the steep descent down from Highgate to Archway. Pass the hospital on your right heading east and soon you’ll find yourself in Tufnell Park where you’ll find some excellent independent cafes, bakeries, fishmongers, butchers and florists. Continue down through Kentish Town, all organic food stores and acupuncture, until you hit the canal. Crane your neck to see the new skyscrapers being built at Kings Cross (rumour has it that Google are moving in soon…) and finally collapse on the grass steps at Central St Martins. That, my friends, is a morning well spent.

But with all the sites and endorphins come aches and pains. For such a simple sport I’ve found running to be surprisingly expensive if you want to avoid injury. To take on such long distances you’re going to need some super lightweight, springy shoes, a foam roller to massage tight muscles, tape to relieve pressure on your tendons, TubiGrip to compress strains and ice packs to reduce the swelling. For prolonged injuries you might even need a physio appointment. But then if it was easy, everyone would be doing it.

So here we are with just five weeks before race day. I’ve got a lot of ground to cover before then, but, avoiding injuries, I know it will be worth the effort.

Support Alex via JustGiving, or find out more about all of our marathon runners here.