So Close

Forrest completed the Leeds Marathon in a time of 2.58.38. He's done this from being very definitely not a runner five years ago. He'd have found the very thought of this laughable. I'm immensely proud of him for this journey he's undertaken, coming to love running in the same way that I've always done. It's a wonderful thing to be able to share, even if it's now only a case of standing at the roadside to hand him gels and electrolytes. I waited at the 10 mile point and he came through precisely on his schedule. I met him again at 20 miles, still on schedule and looking good. But then he started cramping on the downhill run into Headingley, exactly when he was planning to push on. It meant that he missed his ideal targets of 2.53 (for Boston) and 2.55 (for London) but to do the time he did on a very hilly course tells him that there's a lot more to come. 

If truth be told - and he will deny it, of course - Forrest really only had one target in mind today and that was to beat my best marathon time of 2.58.28, achieved all of 38 years ago. He was so close. Just 10 seconds. I suspect he will beat it by 10 minutes some day. I always thought that I had a sub 2.50 in me but then I got seduced by various ultra-marathons before running on the road no longer liked me. He's also a lot more scientific about it than I ever was. And he has super-shoes too!

The support in Headingley for all the runners was amazing, as it was in Otley, where the rest of the family were watching. It was a fantastic shared experience for everyone involved. Forrest was pretty broken at the end. By the time I cycled home, I felt pretty broken too, clocking up well over 100 lumpy miles on the bike this weekend.