Ruth's London Marathon
Last month Ruth completed the London Marathon for the second time! Here, she tells us all about her reasons for running and what it meant.
I can't put into words how grateful I am for everyone's support. It was always going to be a challenging London Marathon going into it with injuries but I did it and I'm absolutely made up!
The 2023 London Marathon was a huge life changing event and I think anyone who has done something as bonkers as this will completely relate. I wanted to bottle that feeling up, the euphoria as I crossed the finish line, the sense of being totally invincible but most of all hugging my Mum, who had a terminal lung cancer diagnosis. You can read all about the 2023 race and my Mum here in this beautifully written article.
When I applied for and accepted the charity place for 2024 with the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, Mum was still here and she was thrilled that I wanted to do it again. Deep down inside we both knew that she wouldn't be here, she sadly died in September 2023 and I think I underestimated how that would feel on the day.
This year wasn't about PBs (I did that last year), it was about finishing something I'd started. It was about honouring a memory of someone special and raising money for an amazing charity (the only one focussed just on lung cancer). It was also about the healing process, grief does funny things to you, as anyone who has lost someone close will know. Because Mum knew I was doing this London Marathon, deferring a year due to injury just didn't feel right, I needed to do this one.
It was a completely different run to 2023, it was freezing cold to start with! I had to nurse myself around the 26.2 mile course and spent some time with St John Ambulance getting checked out before emergining determined to just get it done. The feeling crossing the finish line was different - it wasn't the same type of euphoria, it was drawing a line under something, kind of giving myself permission to move on.
I'm still a little bit broken physically and emotionally. But it was absolutely worth it, just seeing first-hand the spirit of London and humanity at its best. A massive thank you again to everyone who donated, sent messages and tracked my progress. You all fuelled me every step of the way!
Ruth x