Marathon no 5 – It all ends in Paris

What a perfect city to finish my 5-marathon challenge in. David and I lined up on the Champs Elysees on a stunning Sunday morning in Paris. The whole street was closed off and almost 60,000 runners jostled together to stay warm as the sun crept up over the Arc de Triomphe. You would think with so many people doing the race it would be mayhem, but it definitely wasn’t. The start was staggered according to estimated finishing times, so the crowd was distributed nicely along this iconic road. There was a festive atmosphere in the air as music blared through the loud speakers and exercise instructors on high podiums demonstrated some simple routines to warm us up. Even the ever present need for a last minute toilet stop had been catered for with port-a-loos in abundance (an essential item at a race start as the runners out there will understand). No matter how many times you go before you leave home, you always need to go again (and again) just before the start. I have tried not drinking anything before a run to alleviate the problem, but no, I still had to go!

I had to pinch myself to believe I was actually here and that this was the last run of my challenge. Already thoughts of “what happens after this one” had started crowding into my head. I determinedly pushed those whisperings aside and focused instead on enjoying here and now and making sure I didn’t forget anything about this special day. Each group started 15mins apart and after 30mins of nervous waiting it was finally out turn to get running.

The course wove its way past all the wonderful landmarks in Paris. In my wildest dreams I never imagined I would be running past the Louvre or through the charming streets of the Marais district! There is a definite benefit to running in such a beautiful city, for the first 20kms I was so distracted with the sights around me that I didn’t have time to worry about my aching legs. We ran across Paris to the Bois de Vincennes, a beautiful woodland park, and then back to the city center and along the banks of the Sienne. The majestic Eiffel tower in the distance was a welcome sight at this point, as I knew there was only about 12kms to the finish once we had passed it. The roads were lined with crowds shouting encouragement, bands were playing, children were giving high five’s and a few people with hose’s were squirting the runners to cool us down. The wonderful atmosphere that had been generated at the start of the run continued for the 42kms of the course. A few times when I felt weary the energetic cheering from the crowd spurred me on. In smaller marathons you end up running by yourself for a lot of the race, but not in Paris. From start to finish other runners surrounded us. This was great for me as when I thought about slowing down, or doing a sneaky walk, I looked at the determined faces around me and knew that I had to keep going. The last few kilometres of the race were through the Bois de Boulogne, the former hunting ground for the King of France and now a wonderful green space for the people of Paris.

When I finally crossed the finish line so many emotions assailed me. I was relieved to be able to sit down and rest my aching feet. I felt very excited that there were massages available in our post race tent (bonus). I felt happy that I would now be able to enjoy a glass of champagne to celebrate and I felt ecstatic that David had talked me out of doing 50 marathons in the year. There was a sense of pride that I had accomplished what I had set out to do and I felt a renewed confidence in what my mind and body was capable of. I will also admit to feeling a tinge of sadness that my challenge was completed.

I had started thinking about a goal for my 50th birthday not long after I turned 49 (I have actually told people I’m already 50 as I have been thinking about it for so long!). It took a while to get the logistics for all the runs sorted out but once everything was in place it was then a matter of putting together a program to get me physically prepared to reach my goal. As with all the best-laid plans things can go awry and you need to regroup and come up with an alternative option. Being told I had a partial hamstring tear and tendonitis in November was certainly a huge set back and made me stop and rethink the viability of what I was doing. However with advice from Health professionals, I decided to continue. When I did my first marathon in January I had only completed one 12km training run in the six weeks leading up to the race. I had no idea how I would go but I promised my physio that I would take it easy and would pull out if the hamstring gave me too much grief. Mentally I was feeling vulnerable and getting through that first event was a huge confidence booster for me.

The journey wasn’t always easy, but at no point was I prepared to give up. Even when I thought I couldn’t keep running in the second race (I’m still scarred from having to run 55kms instead of 50kms), the knowledge that I had a goal to achieve got me to the finish line.

I want to stress that I am no different from any of you out there reading this. You are all capable of setting a goal, no matter how big, and with careful preparation, achieving it. That’s the power of goal setting. For the past twelve months I have had a focus, a reason to train and keep fit. This got me out on the trails when the last thing I felt like doing was running and it made me go to Pilates and yoga to make sure I kept my body strong and supple.

What I have learnt from this journey is that the seemingly impossible is possible. On the 9th of April in Paris I proved this to myself. The great part is that once you achieve a goal, you then set the bar higher for the next one…Perhaps I am ready to run 50 marathons in a year!!!

I also need to say a big thank you to my amazing husband. He is my constant companion and biggest fan. He encourages me to reach for the stars.

The question now is….what’s next?