London Marathon

Marathon Training

Well after pounding the streets of Lanarkshire and covering literally hundreds of miles throughout my marathon training.......the Big London Marathon Day is finally here. Yes, on Sunday, 25th April 2010 I run my final 26.2 miles around the City of London. At this moment in time I feel elated with excitement and I am raring to go. I have been tapering off for the last 2 weeks and packing in the carbs at every opportunity.....yummy pasta, pasta and well more pasta!! I can honestly say I am geared up to go and feel positive about completing the tough challenge ahead.


New York

I completed my first marathon in New York City in November 2007 and that wonderful memory will last me a lifetime.......I often draw on this amazing experience when I need to encourage and motivate myself to take inspired action. Quite funnily enough, I did say at the end of the New York Marathon that “I would never run a marathon again”.... and if I ever dared to say that, then that person had the permission to shoot me!! Not literally off course but just so it emphasised the sheer pain I felt on my way to achieving that goal...the last 4 miles are a real killer!!

But off course last year on 26th April 2009 I received a phone call from a friend telling me to watch the London Marathon on TV, I did and well it changed my life again!! I was completely inspired and it brought back all those “champion” feelings of achieving my first marathon. Yes, the road is extremely tough but only when you have felt the pain can you really appreciate the true glory.

So I was hooked again....taking action immediately and committing myself to this challenge. You can watch this in real time video from my video blogs recorded live on 26th and 27th April last year........I first committed then remained disciplined and determined to achieve this goal.

The Challenges

Well they are never far away when you are training for a marathon and putting your body through the extremes of the training. First there is the weather, well in Scotland the phrase “4 seasons in one day” was definitely made for us Scots!!

First there was the torrential rain, then the freezing ice, then the month or so of snow blizzards followed by hail stones but more like falling golf balls, not to mention the hurricane force winds and oh yes topped off with a little sunshine.

Secondly there was the time factor, training 6/7 days for about 6 months really eats into your daily schedule and not to mention my ‘social life’... it just ain’t worth it, running with a hangover!!

Thirdly there were the early mornings, oh how I struggled to get up at 5am to do some early running before the start of a busy day........and off course if I didn’t there was the late nights, running sometimes at 11pm at night!!

The Wins

This is by far the best part. I am well on my way to raising hundreds of pounds for Alzheimer Scotland; I am feeling great, focused, energetic and positive........my whole general wellbeing is excellent. I am working in alignment with my values and loving the journey. I have the most amazing support from my family and friends.........some who I have inspired to take up a similar challenge in the future.

So by someone else taking action and phoning me last year........it snowballed into all of this. You see just one small step like that phone call from my friend, turned into the most amazing of things........go and create the opportunities and make the positivity happen!!

If you wish to support my fundraising for Alzheimer Scotland you can do so by accessing the link below:

http://www.virginmoneygiving.com/ClaireMurray-GinaHagan

Thank you for your valued support.

Claire Murray