The London Marathon - You're In!... What now?!

You come home and find that magazine you've been waiting 6 long months for. You tear it open hurriedly, excitement filling every part of your body.  YOU'RE IN! It's a dream come true. You take a picture and open Instagram to share it with the wold.  And then it hits you.  You feel sick to the bottom of you're stomach.  Why?! What is life? What have you done to yourself.  You've never run before.

AND THAT IS OK.

I was in that exact same position two years ago. I was so excited and when I called my mum, was met with silence on the other end of the phone, then finally she answered "well I suggest you walk it".

... And that made me determined to not walk it, I was going to run the whole 26.2 miles.

I went out for my first run on 16th October 2015 at 7PM, I wanted it to be dark so no one would recognise me.  I started running, it felt strange and I wasn't sure I liked it.  I ran as fast as I could for as long as I could... 1.8 miles later I stopped at the end of the road, bent over puffing, out of breath.  I had considered myself quite fit, but at that moment in time I had never felt unfitter.  I walked back home and sank onto the sofa, wanting to cry, if I could only barely manage 1.8 miles, how ON EARTH was I going to manage 26.2 miles.

They say it takes around 16 weeks to train for a marathon (there are various traning plans out there).  So you don't need to start training until the new year.

But what you can do is get your body used to running.  If you have never run before, you can start now. 

Just go for one mile at first, don't run as fast as you can, take it nice and steady. Timing doesn't matter at this stage.  Then slowly build it up.

If you have a bad first run or if the mileage daunts you, please do not worry! Yes you may only be able to run 1 mile today, but you have six months ahead of you.  That's half a years worth of running! You will get there!

Tell all your friends and family.  There is nothing better than having the support of all your loved ones to motivate you.

If you got in through the ballot, why not run for charity?  Research your charities and pick one that you feel passionate about.  One of the best feelings in the world, that really helps to spur you on, is knowing that all of those people have sponsored and supported you, and you are doing it for a good cause.

Do not dispair.  It may seem daunting now, and it may seem scary but it's also exciting.  I trained for my first London Marathon two years ago, and I had never ever run before.  Since then I have ran 4 marathons, countless half marathons and I still run for fun now.  If I can do it, you definitely can!