Virtual 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon

 

I've been wanting to run the London Marathon ever since the day I completed my maiden full marathon back in the KLSCM 2016 (click here for race report). For the past four years, I applied through ballot entry to enter the London Marathon but have been unsuccessful in all my applications including the London Marathon 2020 which was supposed to be held in April.

And then the world was hit by the Covid pandemic. Since March 2020, most of the major marathons were either postponed or cancelled or moved to virtual run.  London Marathon 2020 was postponed to October and for the first time in history, it was a closed event - for the elite runners only and with no supporters. For the other runners, the London Marathon switched to a virtual race, bringing one of the world's biggest marathons to the general runners who secured their place this year, not only those in the UK but across the world (in total a record 45,000 people from 109 countries across the world signed up for the Virtual London Marathon 2020). 

In late August, a friend informed me that the virtual London Marathon was still open for registration and without a second thought I clicked on the link and registered to participate in this historic event. It felt like I was given a second chance to be a part of the London Marathon - although under different circumstances, it would still be meaningful for me to run my third Abbott's Marathon Major (Berlin 2018 report, Tokyo 2019 report).  After  successfully completing  the payment, it was official that I have now secured my place in the 40th London Marathon.  Instead of going to London for the marathon though, the race was coming to me in Malaysia. It feels like I am in the middle of a surreal dream! And if I ran the London Marathon on 4 October, I would have completed one marathon a year since 2016. 

My race kit arrived a week before race day

So the next few weeks were crucial in getting myself race ready. I was prepared to go for long runs and log the required miles for my training. However, things took an unexpected turn when I was hit with a medical emergency two weeks into my training. On Sep 13, I went to the emergency department with severe abdominal pain and was diagnosed with acute appendicitis. I underwent emergency operation for removal of my appendix, followed by hospital stay and rest at home for two weeks. My training plan was derailed to say the least, but the question that lingered in my mind during my recovery was "can I still run London Marathon?"  

Despite many well-meaning family and friends' advice to skip this race.. I wasn't prepared to give up on my dream of running the London Marathon. As I gradually recovered from the surgery, I was determined to run on 4 October my way. Even if I can not finish the race, I will not DNS. I will not go down without a fight. DNS versus DNF.. I will be able hold my head high if it's the latter..  

So I came to a decision just a day before race day that I would run with my running friend, Kak Liza on Sunday evening 5:30 pm. It's Kak Liza's first full marathon and I wanted to run with her, support her, and to reassure her that age is not a issue when it comes running one's first full marathon.  I told her about my situation that I was still recovering from surgery, and that I decided to run on that day because I wanted to show her that if you are passionate about running, you will not look for an excuse to give up - that we all have our own challenges in our running journey but we should take things in our stride and not let them blow us off course.. 

The route was set by Kak Liza. We would run from Precinct 4 to verdant Taman Wawasan and back, passing some of the iconic buildings in the administrative capital, Putrajaya.  I started my run first, going slow and steady, not pushing myself too much too soon.  Around 13km later, Kak Liza joined me after performing her evening prayers at the Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin mosque nearby. Her son was with her, making sure that she had all the hydration and re-fuelling supplies needed for her run. There were bananas, cereal bars, energy gels, isotonic drinks and water all packed for us in Kak Liza's SUV. 

A bond between runners 

Shades and headband 

I'm wearing the British 10k London Run 2016

Kak Liza and her running gear

I ran alongside Kak Liza for around 3km, chatting with her along the way about the reason we were doing the run. For her, it's an opportunity to challenge herself to run FM that does not have a COT. I told her about my four unsuccessful attempts with the ballot entry, that the London Marathon holds a special place in my heart and I have always believed that I would run it someday. Being able to share my story with Kak Liza made me realise even more the reason for me doing this run, on a Sunday evening when most people were staying at home in such difficult times...

I broke away from Kak Liza around 10pm, picked up my pace and continued with my run.. . I was feeling good, the incision wounds in my abdomen were holding up nicely and I felt that I could run a few more miles..... and another few more miles..The official app, with in-audio guide provided not only cheers at every mile but also inspiring stories and anecdotes to lift my spirits up and spur me on, as I began to struggle around mile 14. 

I called Azwan, my running buddy who supported me in my marathon debut in 2016. He lives in Putrajaya, and when he heard that I was about to "hit the wall", he did not hesitate to come over to give me support and drinking water (I was experiencing symptoms of dehydration).  I took a much-needed break, rehydrated and refuelled at the open-air food truck hotspot in Precinct 2, thanks to Azwan for his suggestion. 

Azwan came to support me

Legs needed a break from all the pounding

We broke the remaining distance up into chunks of 3 miles... 17, 20. 23. With Azwan pacing me, I was able to find my groove back. By the time we finished mile 23, Azwan said he had to go, and wished me good luck for the remaining distance...

I bumped into Kak Liza again at mile 24. Surprised to see me still running, she gave me a loud cheer.. I could tell she was truly glad to see me still pounding the pavement on Persiaran Perdana minutes to midnight.. I later found out that she even mentioned me when she passed other runners, telling them that I was her friend, about to complete the race in spite of my circumstances ...

In the final mile, I kept running, putting one foot in front of the other, reminding myself of the reason I was doing this race - my family, supporters, my running buddies, and also the people who believe in me such as Kak Liza. At 95% of the race distance, my goal was to finish the race. Just that. Nothing more, nothing less! I needed to stay calm on course and not risk any injury ...

And so I continued my run, slow and steady, all the way till I covered all 26.2 miles, one minute past the stroke of midnight - the peace and quiet of Putrajaya broken by the sound of cheering "crowds" followed by the reassuring voice of Martin Yelling telling me that I am "amazing for finishing this year's London Marathon" and that I was now part of history."

It was a unique experience for me running in the 40th London Marathon, in a virtual run. While we the runners across the globe were not gathered together in reality, we were indeed united as a community. I'm incredibly honoured to be part of London Marathon Class of 2020.. 

Proud to run as a Malaysian participant, the "gold medal" is a Costa Coffee choc  

The App was easy to use and was also a perfect aid for the run