Running the London Marathon (April 2005)
Article by Chris Edmonds, 1st Duan
Tunbridge Wells
June 2005
Last September a friend asked me to run the London Marathon with him. It had been something I had wanted to do a couple of years ago; and despite having since lost the inclination I decided to send the form in and start running round the local lake.
Chris Edmonds, 1st Duan, after completing the London MarathonAt first it was relatively easy to find time each week to run a few miles, especially as the organisers don't communicate who has been successful until December; leaving plenty of time to worry before the main event in April. I also reasoned that a little extra CV work would only help my preparations for the 1st Duan exam I was training for.
Then the letter came telling me I had been successful through the ballot; and was runner 4890.
Now the training really had to start! After deciding to raise money for autism I spoke with the NAS and sent off for my sponsorship forms and bright yellow vest with Thomas The Tank Engine on it.
My friend had managed to get his own charity gold bond place but unfortunately pulled out with illness, giving me his satellite tracking wrist watch to measure my distances. From speaking to others and gathering advice, bananas and Glucose C powder went on the shopping list and I started working toward half marathon distance and beyond.
I have absolutely no doubt that my Tang Sou Dao training gave me solid general fitness to build on as well as the mental discipline I needed not only to train for the race on my own - but also to run through the wall each time I hit it. Whenever I stopped feeling my legs and had to dig deep, my thoughts would wander to the Duan exam I had now taken. In particular, the horse stance, concentrating on taking deep breathes and relaxing while fielding questions from Grandmaster Loke about the subtleties of the stance. After replaying this (and other memories from Tang Sou Dao) through my mind I would realise I had travelled another mile or so and the pain was subsiding. These 'distraction' memories of having previously overcome physical and mental challenges provided great comfort and strength, spurring me on with renewed determination and energy.
The big day arrived and I lined up with 30,000 other adventurers. It was an incredible experience. The day was very hot and the dehydration struck early. After 20 miles I stopped for a leg massage with St John's staff who advised me that I'd be fine to ignore the pins and needles in my wrists and carry on. It took me a total of six hours and a dose of mild sun stroke but I finished! My Tang Sou Dao attendance suffered during April as I only trained four times and it took a couple of weeks to get back to my old routines and regain a full leg stretch. People had said I'd get the running bug and want to keep going - but this hasn't happened. Although glad to have had the experience, I had missed the Wu Kwan and I'm now back in class happily working on Luo Han three thankful for the self belief, strength and commitment that I know Tang Sou Dao gives me.
Thank you for all your kind donations.
Tang Sou!
Chris Edmonds 1st Duan
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