I completed the London Marathon 2013 in 3hours 34minutes 19seconds, beating my previous year's time (of 3hrs 38mins 58secs) by nearly five minutes.
I'm exceptionally pleased with this result for two reasons - 1) I had done a lot more intensive training than last year and 2) I wasn't even sure if I would finish in a faster time than last year, despite the extra training, so I am glad to see that it had not gone to waste. Not that I would have been particularly bothered if I had been slower than last year. As I've said from the beginning, the fundraising means more to me than anything else.
In fact, I was on course to finish around 3hrs 30mins. However, I let things slip a little around 23 miles in, but to finish only four minutes after that is still an incredible achievement all the same. My other family taking part also finished the marathon, including my uncle Mark and my cousin Darren who got cramp in both his legs around 9 miles in, but bravely soldiered on through the remaining two-thirds of the race. It is hard enough to run a marathon as it is, but to do most of the race after picking up an injury and carrying on to the very end without giving up takes a hell of a lot of guts. I am very proud of his determination.
The organisers and participants took part in a 30-second silence before the beginning of the race, in memory of the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing last week. It was a very moving and respectful 30 seconds, followed by loud applause. It was absolutely the right thing to do, and many of the runners, like me, also wore black ribbons as a mark of respect.
I got off to a good start as I was much closer to the front of the crowds than I had been the previous two years, meaning I did not spend so much of the first few miles trying to wind my way around slower runners in front of me. Despite the only landmark in the first 11 miles or so being the Cutty Sark and therefore there not being any sights to see, I was able to keep myself motivated.
Running along Tower Bridge was a wonderful experience again, and the sight of so many people cheering me on is one I won't forget in a hurry. At the 13-mile mark, my cousin Matt was there to greet me, with his colleagues from the Alzheimer's Society who were all cheering on the runners for that charity.
I kept up the pace but after around 18 miles, I was beginning to flag a bit. A short walk and a drink of water and Lucozade were enough to put a spring back in my step and I carried on again. I saw some more family at mile 23, near the Monument. At this time I had slowed down and started walking again as fatigue set in. Their shouts of encouragement spurred me on. I counted down from 5 in my head and zipped off, yelling "AAAAARRRRGHH!"
My brother and my Dad were at mile 25 to cheer me on, and they saw me, although I did not see them properly, expecting them to be standing on the other side of the road. Another cousin of mine, Claire, was also at mile 25, and it was great to see so many family and friends turn out to support me (though to be fair, they were mostly out there supporting other people as well).
As with last year and in 2011, the Embankment and Birdcage Walk just went on and on and on, with seemingly no end in sight. That last mile or so down Birdcage Walk was like mental torture. I ran past a sign saying "800m to go!" After running what I thought must surely have been at least half that distance, if not the whole lot, I approached another sign saying "600m to go!" Things continued in this fashion when I got to a sign saying "200m to go!" as I turned into the Mall for my sprint finish. By this point, I did not have much energy left so it wasn't so much a sprint finish, more like a "relatively fast-paced jog" finish but I at least had enough energy left to overtake a few people down the final stretch.
I crossed the finish line, and who was there to greet me? None other than Richard Branson, founder and chairman of Virgin, who are the sponsors of the London Marathon. He very kindly shook my hand but I was too exhausted to even say anything, let alone thank him. What a nice man though.
I could barely walk down to Horse Guards Parade to collect my kit bag and had to sit down for a while, but eventually I summoned up the strength to get up and go. I went to the institute where the charity Whizz-Kidz were hosting their post-marathon reception, and there I got some food and a massage. I was hoping for a hot, blonde, Swedish masseuse (as in my mind, this is what all people who practise massages look like) but instead it was a 15-stone bearded man called Peter from Birmingham. Oh well, can't win 'em all.
I was initially worried that the heat would affect my performance, as most of my training had taken place in the coldest winter I have known for years, but fortunately the temperature on Sunday did not turn out to be too hot. In fact, it was quite frosty first thing that morning, and though it did get very hot later on, it was just about bearable, and I did have to slow down and walk a few times, but this was more due to tiredness than any adverse weather. I'm happy and I've raised nearly £2000 for a really deserving cause - the charity Whizz-Kidz, which provides disabled children with wheelchairs and other mobility equipment that is not readily available on the NHS.
https://www.justgiving.com/martinpampel/
So that's three marathons done in three years. Marathon number four next year?
To paraphrase the rower Steve Redgrave's apparent retirement after winning his fourth Olympic gold medal at the Atlanta games in 1996, "I give permission to anybody who catches me in a boat again to shoot me," I say "I give permission to anybody to shoot me if I enter another London Marathon."
Of course, we all know that Redgrave changed his mind and went on to win a fifth gold medal after competing at the next Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000. So who knows?
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