Cramp.
Up to the half way point everything was going really well. I was slightly behind schedule but nothing that I couldn't make up in the second half. Then about 13.5 miles I felt my right calf hint at cramp, so I slowed a little just to try and make sure that it didn't develop into anything more than a hint. But after a few more hints it finally went at about 15 miles where I had to stop and stretch it. But every time I started again it cramped again after two or three paces. It soon became clear that this wasn't going away any time soon, and it was a case of either pack it in or walk most of the way to the finish - which was still 11 miles away!
With over £2000 of sponsorship resting on me finishing there was only one option. And taking it easy at least meant being more able to take in the atmosphere. High-fiving quite a few children. And walking along at the edge of the route meant that lots of people in the crowd shout your name! (But 'Come on Keith, you're looking strong' and 'you're nearly there' really doesn't help that much when everything you've trained for has gone totally out of the window.)
After a few miles of walking it was just a case of a slow run until one of my legs or even feet cramped again. Some miles it was run 0.2 miles and walk the rest. Other miles I managed to jog for most of the mile. Here are my mile splits.
Really frustrating as I have not had any trouble with cramp in any of my training and I've run at that pace for further than 15 miles. The most likely reason is that it was hot - a lot hotter than any of my training - especially training at 5am. I think that the marathon was probably the first time this year that I've worn short sleeve this year.
At least with on-line tracking those who were waiting for me at the finish line knew that something had gone wrong, but that I was still running and would get there eventually.
But, however frustrated and disappointed I was, we still raised over £2000 for the work of Christian Aid - which was always more important than me getting a PB. It just didn't feel like that yesterday. And today I have been able to go up and down stairs - something that took the best part of 3-4 days last time.
So, another marathon in the future? I wouldn't rule it out.
