neils

I have always done a bit of running competing in local 10k and and half marathon events usually under trained and ill prepared and often with gaps of years between events. I had always had the marathon as a life goal but knew that I would have to take my training more seriously to achieve it. In 2004 I finally signed up for the Dublin marathon after announcing to friends and colleagues that I was going to do a marathon before I was 40 (Dublin was just over 2 months before the deadline). I suffered from very bad shin splints prior to the race, I saw a physio 2 weeks before who said that if I started the marathon I would probably have to pull out very early on. I got to the start line fully loaded with Voltarol and paracetamol and lots of strapping. I ran slowly but comfortably to about 16 miles when my leg felt like it had seized up. I felt like I ran the last 10 miles without bending my injured leg. When I crossed the finish in 3 hours 50 minutes it was one of the best feelings I had ever experienced. Despite the pain and the fact that it took me nearly a month before I could walk down stairs properly I was already planning my next marathon (Paris in April 2005). I have since ran Frankfurt, London and Prague and plan to run Edinburgh this year. Although I still suffer with injuries when my mileage starts to build I am far better now at recognising the signs and back of far earlier than I did. I would love to achieve a sub 3.15 good for age time but realistically I would be very pleased to achieve sub 3.30 in Edinburgh where my bigger priority is raising as much as I can for Macmillan Cancer Support.