[marvin4242]

I saw a story where the most problematic ones, extinction rebellion, has struck a deal with organizers to NOT disrupt anything as they view the event as net positive. So that is a good sign.

[Biscuit]

Definitely a positive event...

Me and my running partner have managed to raise £10k between us to benefit disadvantaged kids and for kids and their families who are enduring childhood cancer.... and there are thousands of people running for charity....

Plus what more eco friendly way of getting around is there than on your own 2 feet (or one foot, or wheelchair for that matter).

I support the eco cause but I hope Sunday isn't spoiled by protests.... go and protest outside the Shell oil building on the South bank please!

[Nas]

Me and my running partner have managed to raise £10k between us to benefit disadvantaged kids and for kids and their families who are enduring childhood cancer....

This is phenomenal, Biscuit.

[Watcher]

Great job fundraising Biscuit. I would say the protestors have encamped at Trafalgar Square and the Parliament for the past two days. Yesterday I saw the cavalry along St. James Park in red robes and gold helmets.

Someone said this was the King's Guard. Later on I saw the changing of the horse guard at the Household Cavalry Museum.

This morning we had a 2 mile run ,roundtrip, to Buckingham Palace for a group photo and then we boarded an old school double decker red route master and they drove us to the Excel Center for our bib pickup.

There was a nice little history tour along the route as we passed through old Roman London. The repurposed docks look very nice. They dropped us off at Borough Market for lunch which was incredibly crowded on a Saturday.

We passed by Sweeney Todd's old barbershop haunts.

The trip back felt long as many roads were already closed and the vehicle traffic was slow. I just have a carb loading dinner at the hotel tonight left on my schedule.

The weather has cooperated the past two days even though rain had been forecasted. I've taken it easy because my legs are still recovering from Castle Dover on Tuesday. I have one quad left that still needs to stop being sore.

Initially it was both quads, both calves, and shins. It's supposed to rain tomorrow but I'm holding out hope the weather will change. I really don't want to wear rain gear because it's impossible to stay dry anyway and a running jacket will just trap body heat.

[Biscuit]

Watcher,

How did you get on?

It was pretty brutal starting in the rain!  I've never run more than 18 odd miles and didn't realise also how brutal the last 5 miles or so would be!
I finished though and was greeted by a huge group of our friends (including kids and W) and we had a couple of beers at the finish line.... what an amzing day out. I loved it.

[Watcher]

Congratulations Biscuit.

We were stopped on board the train for awhile because of congestion on the tracks. So when I arrived at Blackheath it was already raining and I had to get to my start quickly. Maybe 20 minutes of standing around in the rain in total for me.

I went into my lorry with one on each side of me and I thought we were preparing for D-day with the open green grass and gray clouds. The lorry started moving and the grass eventually turned into pavement and you were sucked into the marathon like a vacuum. The starting line was just there and you had to go, lol.

The volunteers standing at each speed bump in that opening stretch were funny. "Turn back, only pain lies ahead", "don't do it" amongst other warnings.

The English sang "Sweet Caroline" to perfection but those people may have been drinking since they were outside of a bar. I remember hearing The Killers "Mr. Brightside", this Spanish song "Bombelero" which I knew, and the YMCA.

There were a few Caribbean bands and I remember one band with those large drums that I also saw in Berlin. There were people running in costume which is always amazing. I saw a man running in ladies undergarments around mile 25. Someone was dressed as an eagle and kept flapping his wings.

I think they announced 47,000 runners. I thought the course was crowded. I never had a chance to break free and find space of my own. I spent a lot of the run moving sideways and it was a bit narrow at times.

This course had a lot of turns. I wouldn't say hilly however there are definitely many inclines. Berlin is flat. This course is not equally as flat. The crowds were great and the highlight for me was turning onto Tower Bridge.

I think it rained for the most part with a few breaks. My clothes were drenched and I don't believe it was from sweat. I would have to say those were the best running conditions for a marathon. I didn't even come close to overheating.

I took my gels at miles 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24. They handed out water bottles made from recycled plastic and I thought that was great. I probably used 4 bottles while running. I wore this running belt for the first time where I was able to keep my gels and candy that I brought from the hotel.

Having the bottle allowed one to carry the water with them and drink it at their leisure which I thought was great. Meanwhile the bottle size was perfect for carrying.

I crossed at 4:21:00 so that is my new best marathon time. It took about an hour to exit the park as my hotel was south of Buckingham Palace and I needed to cross a bridge that was put up over the race route.

All the majors are the same way at the end with the exiting being a long endeavor. I took a hot shower as hypothermia was hitting me as soon as I took off the wet clothes. It was a wonderful marathon. So now I am off to York.

[Biscuit]

Amazing amazing time Watcher!!
Fantastic.
It really is quite the event, so many people lining the street and sound systems playing booming music. Drag acts singing songs, loads of people in pubs screaming words of encouragement… could smell weed through certain parts of London too…. It really is a whistle stop tour through all the cultures and diversity which makes this city great!
I saw people dressed as Rhinos, a garlic dip () a granny.
I wore one of those camel packs with my water and gels in and it really bashed my ribs about… I’m going to buy a belt for future runs.

I’m glad you got your PB. Enjoy York, it’s a wonderful city! I’m going tonYorkshire next week for some nice country air and a party at a pub that serves amazing ale and amazing Thai food.

Biscuit x

[Treasur]

Congratulations, Watcher 

[Watcher]

Thank you Biscuit and Treasur.

It was very windy in York when I arrived yesterday so I was thinking how wind would have made the marathon miserable and we dodged that one. People online were talking about the puddles. I remember a huge crater filled with water and the race came to a complete stop as everyone passed it single file.

I started this morning on the city walls walk. It's an actual walking path so many people were on it. These 2 ladies pointed out this red fox laying below and we watched as her four cubs emerged from the high grass. Many of the gates/towers are now coffee and tea shops so I stopped at one around the midway point.

The walls are mostly medieval and there are a few spots were the Roman sections are pointed out. I remember the tour guide in London saying the Romans were known for using red brick and whatever stone they could find. Medieval stones are more blocky.

One can see where the medieval walls were built right on top of the Roman ones just by design.

There's a lot to see. York Minster is massive. Even St. Mary's Abbey ruins are massive. Destroyed by a fire in the 1200's and the ruins are incredible.

The York Castle Museum, Yorkshire Museum, King's Manor, where Charles I and Henry VIII stayed, and countless other churches and architectural good looking buildings await.

It was a little cold for me however when the temps are right this must be the spot to stroll. I did walk 18 miles today so it's not like the temperature dissuaded me much.

So far I highly recommend visiting the White Cliffs of Dover, Caerphilly Castle and the city walls of York.

I did see the Guy Fawkes Inn. He was from York. He is famous for plotting to blow up the Parliament back in the day. Anyway they caught him and they attempted to Hang, Draw and Quarter him however he made sure he broke his neck quickly.

I had a history professor tell me once this is where we borrowed the idea of celebrating with fireworks since the English celebrate Guy Fawkes Day with fireworks. That's the only reason why I remember Guy Fawkes. He's the inspiration for fireworks, lol.

The other day there was this bar near the Tower of London. It was called the Hung, Drawn, and Quartered. So our tour guide was very animated. She said the guilty party would be hung but just to the point of death.

Then they would be disembolwed and forced to eat their parts, which I really find hard to believe.

Then a rope would be placed on each limb and tied to a horse. That's the quartered part. Then if the person were still alive after all that then the head would be chopped off and placed on a pike which would sit on London Bridge.

So Guy Fawkes knew this already and he made sure he leaped to break his neck immediately is how the story goes.

This did turn out to be a B@B with seven rooms however it was very nice. I had my first bap this morning with tomato chutney. Tomorrow I'm going for the caramelized onion chutney. Both days ended up being sunny.

Tomorrow I head to Edinburgh.

[UrsaMajor]

My church choir from Frankfurt sang an Evensong in York Minster many years ago. That place is really imposing and has amazing acoustics....