Written by Babs Pinheiro
So, this is it… We’re officially in the last week of the London Marathon training block and we’ve checked into Taper Town! I guess my taper started soon after Lisbon and I was unaware that I’d booked a long stay.
The end of this training block has been far from ideal since the Achilles tendinopathy hasn’t gone away. It’s been quite the rollercoaster, with good days and not so good days and the race on Sunday is going to be completely different to what it could have been in different circumstances.
Instead of letting the injury consume my every thought, I’ve made peace with the situation and I’m going to make the most of the whole experience. I have no idea if I’ll ever be able to win a place for this iconic marathon again so I won’t let the injury overshadow the fact that come 10:07-10:11 on Sunday 27th April 2025, I will be joining 50 thousand other runners (Phil being one of them, of course), filling the streets of London, running past iconic locations like Cutty Sark, Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and especially, the Ealing Eagles Mile 23 cheer squad.
When people ask me what I’ll be aiming for on Sunday, my first answer is: to be able to finish the race (one way or another) and remember. Remember seeing my friends along the course, remember seeing all the iconic buildings I’ve mentioned, remember the party that are the crowds of people along the course, remember the experience of getting to Mile 23 and hearing the loud noise that a soar of Eagles make when one of their own gets to them.
And, very importantly, I want to remember seeing my aunt Carla, who’ll be travelling from Luxembourg to support her crazy niece. She’s like a second mother to me since I lost mine just over 12 years ago. My aunt was there, in Edinburgh, when I did my first half marathon in 2019, and she was probably checking websites to book flights and hotel for this coming weekend on the night of our Xmas party in December. I think she booked her flights within minutes of my call to tell her that I had won a place in the club ballot. She’s used to running being part of my life and she even lends me her car when I visit so that I can go to Germany on a Saturday morning for parkrun – plus, she lets me book our holidays to include parkrun (if there’s one in the country of our destination).
This is our most recent photo together so, when you see her on Sunday at Mile 23, say hi and please look after her – she does have a designated bodyguard/guide (no pressure, Nick) but, she’s my favourite (and only aunt) on my mum’s side! I’m counting on you guys to make sure she has a great M23 experience.
I was in Luxembourg for a few days and visited one of my cousins-in-law, who’s a physio, and she sorted me out with some k-tape, which I’d never used before. I’m allergic to most adhesive (my skin reacts to the glue in most kinds) so I’ve always been against trying k-tape. But I talked it through with her and we did a “patch test” on my arm. Normally, the reaction starts very quickly so I was surprised when there was no itchiness or redness at all. I kept checking, comparing the temperature on both arms and nothing. I also kept sending updates to my cousin in law and, after 5 hours, we concluded that my skin could handle the tape. I did keep it on till Sunday morning to see if my skin would stay reaction free for a longer period (you can keep the k-tape up to 5 or 6 days) and then, on Easter Sunday, as a "family activity", she showed me how to put it on so I can tape my foot before I head to the marathon. I wore the tape for a few days and my skin did react but nothing noticeable or painful so, I’ll be one of those people, “held” together by tape! Tape and positive thoughts!
But before Sunday, there was the visit to the Expo! I had already decided that I’d go on the first evening to avoid crowds and have the time and space to do multiple laps of the place. When Nick ran London in 2023, we visited the Expo together also on a Wednesday with me acting as his photographer and bag carrier so it went without saying that we’d be sharing the experience together as our roles reversed. The feeling of getting your first ever race number for London is amazing, excitement fills your head and you just want for Sunday to come so that you can join the crowds. We listened to one of the talks on the big stage after visiting the national Mind stand. They were so happy to hear that I was raising funds for one of the local Mind locations and I’ll be looking out for them along the course.
So, “all” I have left to do is sleep, maybe a jog to loosen up the legs, eat a bit of carbs and… wake up on Sunday and run the LONDON MARATHON!
See you at M23, Eagles!