A report From Nibbo About His London Marathon Experience

Just wanted to say a huge thank you to Nibbo who recently went through a lot of pain and suffering to complete the London Marathon.  Nibbo raised an amazing amount in aid of the Foundation and Herefordshire Carers Support for which we are extremely grateful.  Cheers Nibbo, you are a real star.  Here is Nibbo's report from his Facebook Page:

Despite the odds I managed to complete my 3rd London Marathon yesterday. By completing it I’ve received over £2300 sponsorship for the Adam Stansfield Foundation and Herefordshire Carers Support so far and there’s more rolling in, so £2500+... is a real possibility. You can still donate at www.nibbo.co.uk

Unfortunately though due to a number of recent events, my training stats of 1400 miles run since last June and countless gym sessions meant nothing as firstly I was struck down with the flu 7 weeks ago, I tore both my calf muscles in the Rhayader 20 mile road race 5 weeks ago and its been a race against time with physiotherapy and rehab to be fit. Only last Wednesday did the physio believe I could run on it and I did not try jogging in advance in case I knew I couldn’t do it. Last week was eventful as I went down with a serious throat infection which prevented me from going to work and a course of antibiotics. So lining up at the start yesterday I had a feeling it was going to be a struggle. I’ve never felt so underwhelmed at the start in over the 200+ races I’ve done before. Come the 2 mile point I discarded with the Tupsley Whites wig I was wearing, I wasn’t in the mood for frivolity and I knew it would be a rough ride. The crowd were uplifting, but they can’t inject glycogen into your muscles. Mr Tickle overtook me at the 10 mile point along with 3 Batmen, and the girl doing the hula hoop & the Morris man were with me for the whole race. How many people in the race are called Steve, it must be 100’s, or I must be very well known, it was becoming tiresome to hear ‘Come on Steve’. I struggled all the way and after coming over Tower Bridge at the half marathon point unsurprisingly my right calf buckled. I checked my time and I was already over 15 minutes outside of my target time at the halfway point. The last 13 miles were a mixture of walking, jogging and pulling up with cramp, an ignominious way to complete one of the worlds best sporting events. A brief respite was at 24 miles when I saw my wife and son which resulted in an emotional outburst of frustration, it felt like Derek Redmond breaking down in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. I scowled my way to the finish and despised the last 200 metres to the line, I’m not even going to attempt a trot, so there, take that.

So, a personal worst by 1 hour and 40 minutes but the victory for me was in the completion of the race. A bittersweet experience, and if I get in via the ballot next year, the London Marathon and I have some unfinished business to attend to.

Again, thanks to all that sponsored me, I’d like to say it was a pleasure ;-)