Marathon News

Never having run a marathon before, I realised very quickly that it would be a long, Winter run

progressive learning curve. Some runs are easy and fleetfooted, others are a real slog and yet somehow, through it all, there is a very real sense that God is using this time of preparation not just for the purpose of strengthening my weak arms and feeble knees (Hebrews 12:12), but of doing some deeper work as I move out of my comfort zone.

Through my writing, I will endeavour to share not just stories of running, but also of the children in Ethiopia for whom I am making this sacrifice and hopefully nuggets of revelation that the Lord may grant through the many hours of solitude on the road.

So for any of those who are interested in finding out how it is going, I will be writing a marathon blog which you can read below.

Please prayerfully consider sponsoring me in this event.

See my recent blog posts below:

Surrounded by so Great a Cloud of Witnesses

The day has come and gone, the marathon has passed and I have succeeded in completing the course - Whew!

Firstly, I want to say a very big thanks to everyone who has supported me in every way through all the training and on the big day. I am very pleased that I was able to complete the course and my great hope and prayer for the day was that in all things, God would be glorified. I continue to pray that now as extra donations continue to come in and as I speak to people who are all asking how it went.

I have had so many thoughts surrounding the day that I won't bore you with all of them, but I will write about the event to give you some idea of how things went and give you a little insight into the day.

On Sunday morning, I travelled up from Kent where I had been staying with family for the weekend with my wife, mother-in-law and 5 week old daughter who were coming to support me. The three boys were staying with their granny and other family and taking glimpses on the TV through the day to try and see me.

The train was delayed in to London, so by the time we had changed onto another train at London Bridge headed for Maze Hill, changed on the train...

Togging up on the train

I had followed signs to the Red Start...

stowed my bag on the truck...
Kit truck

and set off for the start, the race was just under way. Don't panic, though, it takes a looooonnnggg time for 35K people to start, even if they are on three different starts. At that point, there were still runners sitting on benches in the park, stretching, going to the toilet etc. because they obviously knew from past experience that it takes 23 miles for the pack to break up a bit.

Walking start

If you can see the blue shirt behind the guy with the yellow shirt, that's me.

The pack was very thick and we walked for 12 minutes before reaching the start line. I had the idea in my head that after the first few miles that it would break up a bit and I'd be able to get into my stride, but it was a bit like running on a treadmill which is too short for your legs or driving in a traffic jam - you ain't going nowhere fast. The density of people only really started to ease coming back along the Embankment past 22 miles when lots of people were walking and the road was nice and wide.

There was one time when everyone slowed down to a walk during the race as there just wasn't space to run, but even when there were two lanes of road, getting past people was very difficult as they tended to run in groups although plenty of people managed to get passed me :-)

My cheering party was stationed just before the 12 mile mark and I managed to see them although they didn't get a picture of me at that point with all the masses of people around.

This is what the runners looked like at that point:
12 miles

I was doing okay at this point although I was feeling very cramped - not in my muscles, but in the way I needed to run to avoid tripping on people who were trying to cut through or people who were dropped their drinks, phone, MP3 etc but that is part of the deal I suppose.

Through the docklands, I walked past a number of the drinks stations, just giving my legs a break and then once we were were back on a straight road back along the embankment, the pack eased up, notably after Charing Cross where I felt for the first time that I could actually run properly.

The number of people spectating and cheering us on was astounding. If you think about a route of 26 miles or 42 kms and then line it with an average of 3 people deep on both sides of the road packed next to one another, you will get an idea. There were people hanging off bridges and roofs and flyovers and balconies. People pressing in to get a glimpse of the runners as they shuffled past.

Derek Prince used to say, "This is so vivid to me..." when he spoke of a verse of Scripture which the Lord had illuminated for him. Well, I was often reminded of Hebrews 12:1 which says, "Therefore (read chapter 11 of Hebrews to find out what its there for) since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." When I considered this picture of saints who are cheering me and every one of us on in the race of faith and then I looked at the crowd which was at times up to about 10 people deep, I was deeply overwhelmed. As the Scripture in Hebrews goes on to say, "Let consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men and not grow weary and lose heart"

I finished in the Mall in 4:34:20

and then walked the mile of The Mall to retrieve my bag, get my goody back with some refreshments in it and find my family which was a very welcome sight.

P N

What most people want to know is: How do you feel now? Well, two days after the event, my legs are a bit stiff and I have some blisters on my feet, but I'm fine and looking forward to a run in the next few days.

It was a good day and I am sure that I will continue to mine the day for gems of experience in the months that lie ahead.

Thanks again for all your support.
Every blessing
Peter, and of course, I write on behalf of all those who will receive the benefit of the funds raised, the children and widows in Ethiopia.

Peter Lindop, 28/04/2009

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Final Countdown

There are just 5 days now till Marathon Day.

I still feel some hesitation about the race, but I think that the desire to do it and have it done is definitely stronger than any hesitation.

Shirt Front

My t-shirt is now printed so hopefully all my supporters will be able to pick me out of the vast crowd of runners at least once it starts to thin out a bit.

There are around 36,000 people running and there are three different starts. Two of the starts (blue and green) merge after half a mile or so and then my start (red start) which is mostly for charity places merges in after about 3 miles.

The logistics of this race are huge and the numbers of spectators that come to watch is equally impressive. I know many people love the vibe and if I remember correctly there are over 70 official music bands along the route. Pubs are dotted all along the route with special events on, many of them for charity.

Looking at the long term weather forecast, Sunday is looking to be sunny and mild with a low of 7C and a high of 17C. There is no forecast yet for the wind which may prove to be an influencing factor, but strange as it may seem, I quite like running into the wind, perhaps because of the cooling effect.

My running number is:

33295

so please look out for me on the day if you are in London watching or have a television if you want to watch it online, it is on http://www.universalsports.com/ and on the BBC too - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00k369j .

Thank-you to everyone who has sponsored me thus far. If you haven't yet and you are able to, please click here or feel free to send a cheque in the mail to:
Kingsfield
Hadrian Way
Baldock
SG7 6AN

If you are not from the UK, feel free to donate towards the marathon at your nearest local office - just tell them it is for the London Marathon.

Thank-you very much

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My times are in Your Hands

The title of this article is taken from Psalm 31:15. I went on a 10 mile run on Saturday through the rain and got to thinking about the marathon again. It is interesting to me that one of the first questions people like to ask is, "So what time are you aiming for?" The reason I find this interesting is because, without any ill intent, the question infers that there is some value attached to a certain time.

Getting back to the quote, the context that David was writing was quite different, but the concept remains true, our times are in His hands. The times for our lives, the times where we will live in certain places (see Acts 17:26) and indeed, He has determined the times we can accomplish things like marathons in.

We tend to look at someone and say that because they can run a marathon in 5 hours that they are doing okay, but if someone can run it in 3 hours, we say they are brilliant. The fact remains that the Lord will not judge us against other competitors, he will judge us partly in how we measure up to Jesus and partly in how we have done with respect to the gifting that He has given us.

What I am saying, then, is that many of the slower people will work much harder to finish than the faster ones at the front. And the ironic thing is that the winner on the day is not necessarily the person who ran their best in relation to their potential.

Peter Lindop, 14/04/2009

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Peter Lindop, 14/11/2008