In some ways, it still hasn’t sunk in that I am running the London Marathon tomorrow. A typical taper for me is filled with mercurial mood swings which include ferocious outbursts of temper and insecurity; honestly I don’t think I’ve been nearly as bad as I have for past races (Husband, you reserve the right to differ). I am grateful for that, as it has allowed me to enjoy these final days before the race–as of this writing, I will have been off work for an entire week! Since I’ve been here in London, I have been playing a little game: as I’m out & about, I try and pick out who’s running the marathon on Sunday. I’m probably mostly wrong but I know I’ve made a few correct guesses. For example, the two lean, weatherbeaten American men in rad, aerodynamic sport sunglasses in the middle of St. James Park, wearing running shoes and technical jackets? Marathoners! And how about the lanky Brit whose friend was mimicking him by saying, as she offered him some Whoppers, “If it’s not complex carbs, I don’t want it!” Oh yes, a marathoner.
Imagine the Finish Line looming up ahead.
Yesterday, I ended my afternoon wander by walking the short distance from my hotel to the finish line of the London Marathon, thinking it would be set up already (like it would be for New York). As it turns out, the finish line here is on a major thoroughfare, so they hadn’t erected the archway yet (in New York the finish line is in Central Park so they can get it up early). Nevertheless, I felt a surge of excitement as I recognized the sight lines I’ve seen before, while watching the London Marathon live on UniversalSports.com. I regarded the turn past Buckingham Palace, and the final chute to the finish line, and I blinked away tears as I told myself that these streets would be mine in less than 48 hours. While I was skulking about Buckingham Palace, I watched the guard stomp back and forth for a few laps. Poor thing, he was skinny as a rail (shocker, all that marching) and I can only imagine he’s bored to tears. Honestly, Buckingham Palace Guard must be one of the most boring jobs on the planet.
The final turn towards the finish. Buckingham Palace wld be on left.
When I looked up from my laptop, this was what I saw.
Today I am sitting in a lawn chair in St. James Park, composing this blog post on my laptop while enjoying the warm sun and refreshing breeze. There are heaps of Londoners out lounging with me, having little picnics of snacks from Tescos, napping cuddled with their beloved, or chatting in friendly circles. I am contented, and I cannot remember the last time I felt content during a marathon taper. It’s remarkable, so I’m going to go with it. I’m not going to fret that I’ve no jitters, or that I’ve no anxiety. I know what I’ve come here to do. My training will either bear out or it won’t. Either way, I will have run the London Marathon, fulfilling a dream I’ve held for three years. It’s not often I get to fulfill a dream (I think the last dream I fulfilled was studying abroad in Italy when I was a junior in college!), since I tend to fantasize more than dream. Have no doubt, there’s no possible way I will have a bad race tomorrow.
There are a few differences I’ve noticed between the way London approaches the marathon, and the way New York does. I came over here expecting a city in the throes of marathon madness—you’ve all seen it in New York City. The subway stations taken over with massive poster campaigns, the competing American elites plastered all over with inspiring, tough love slogans. The lamp post banners, the Poland Spring Marathon Kick-off race, the appearances by elite athletes in running shops and after sponsored group runs around the city. Mary Wittenberg’s exhortations to the city of New York to come out and cheer. But I haven’t seen any of that here. Sure, runners flood the expo, and I’ve seen signs warning folks of road closures—always with the tag line “Sorry if this causes you an inconvenience.”
As my friend TS explained it to me, there isn’t the same level of awareness and interest here about professional runners as there is in New York City; there isn’t a Mary Wittenberg personality that pushes the message to the public. This was surprising to me as I assumed that Europeans were more knowledgeable about track & field/running in general; at least based on all the amazing track meets they host all spring & summer, and on the way their announcers are much better at calling races than ours are. TS also suggested that the London Marathon isn’t as historic as New York or Boston, so it’s more about not inconveniencing (there’s that word again) the city—thus the apologies about road closures, extortions not to wee in the yards along the course, and roads getting split (half for traffic, half for runners) rather than just simply closed all the way.
Other smaller differences: there seems to be far fewer international runners in the London Marathon. My sense so far (I’ll have a better idea tomorrow when I’m on the course, naturally) is that the London Marathon doesn’t court international (regular) runners the way New York City does. When I cheer in New York I feel like there are just as many Germans and French on the course as New Yorkers. This could be due to the fact that there are so many UK charities that have athletes running on their behalf that it follows that most of the runners would be British. 
Oh and also, a small difference but quite an annoying one: the London Marathon website SUCKS in comparison to ours. Basic information is either buried or simply not on the site. Months ago I wanted a downloadable course map—just a course map in a PDF I could print out. Guess what? It doesn’t exist! It still doesn’t! I had to print out the spectator guide to get the entire course map. Also, their email updates are sent too frequently and are full of redundant information, primarily ad messages from sponsors and links to online “tools” that are useless to me (no I don’t want to blog on your shitty platform thankyouverymuch). How about a page with the bios of the elite runners? How about a list of events happening surrounding the marathon? How about actual, decent athlete tracking through your marathon website, not through some hidden link on the Adidas site? How about you stop asking me if I want to buy a ticket to your stupid pasta party? Oops I may have ranted. Sorry about that.
Despite the incompetent marathon website, despite Betty, despite clouds of volcanic ash, I have made it here, to London, to run my dream race. From where I sit in St. James Park, I can see and hear the lorries (ooh nativespeak!) setting up the finish line and finishers’ area. There are already blocks of port-a-johns lined up along The Mall, too. London is doing its part to lay the final bricks along the road to my destiny. Okay maybe that’s a little dramatic but MARK MY WORDS! April 25, 2010 is going to be a day I’ll remember with pride and joy, forever.
Pigtails Flying 
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