My first marathon... and my last

A WOMAN from Shiplake completed her first marathon in London on Sunday before vowing never to run another one.

Diane James, 57, was one of a record-breaking 50,000 runners who took on the 26.2-mile course.

She finished in four hours and 42 minutes and raised £3,645 for the Samaritans.

Mrs James, a solicitor, was greeted at the finish line by cheers from her husband Hugh, children Josh and Olivia and friends.

“I loved it,” she said. “The weather couldn’t have been better because it was really breezy and I didn’t feel any injury or niggly pains.

“The crowd were amazing and get you round the course when you feel you have had enough. They’re cheering your name the whole time and there is a real sense of support and camaraderie.

“There were a couple of hilly bits around Greenwich that I was not expecting as I thought London was pretty flat. But you go past beautiful parts I hadn’t really seen, like the East End, which is all done up now, and the docks.”

The moment she realised she would make it to the finish line was upon reaching Big Ben.

Mrs James said: “I thought: ‘That’s it, I’m nearly there’. Tower Bridge was another highlight as whenever I’ve watched the marathon on television, you see the runners go over it and it is exactly halfway.”

Running alongside her were a host of different characters. Mrs James said: “I saw a washing machine, Big Bird was right in front of me at one point, I saw two Teletubbies running for a children’s charity and someone running for a homeless charity wearing a Wendy house.

“It was emotional to see lots of people in the armed forces running with their kit on and they all got massive cheers.

“There was an amputee running with their blades and I saw a lady who I initially thought was a man running topless until it was clear when she turned sideways that she’d had a double mastectomy and wasn’t wearing a top.

“She was obviously running for a breast cancer charity. I just thought: ‘How brave’.

“I ran past at least four people dressed as rhinos running for Save the Rhinos and one person was pushing someone on oxygen. It was all quite amazing.”

Twenty politicians were taking part this year, including Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and former health secretary Matt Hancock.

Mrs James said: “I didn’t see any of the MPs but I saw at least five or six people holding placards saying: ‘You’re running better than our Government is’.

“A lot of people were giving out sweets and oranges and all sorts of things.

“I was expecting the crowd to thin out around the Isle of Dogs but at no point did they. There were just people everywhere.

“I kept the same pace the whole way round and didn’t sprint at the end. You’ve got to get your pace right and not get over-excited. I wasn’t sure if I had finished as I reached the carpet and had to ask someone. All I kept thinking was: ‘I have done it. I have finished it.’

“I wasn’t looking at the time but my goal was to do it in five hours so I was really thrilled.

“I was really proud to raise money for the Samaritans. I know people who have been so affected by suicide.”

To celebrate, Mrs James and her friends and family went for dinner at a Pizza Express in the Strand which was “heaving” with people.

She said: “I’ll never run it again because it would never work out as well again. It means a lot of training and a lot of physical strain on my body.

“But I would recommend anyone to do a marathon, particularly when you’re young and fit.” Another woman who was taking part in the marathon for the last time was Kelly Hargreaves, 57, of Newtown Gardens, Henley.

The hairdresser was running for the ninth time with her husband Ian, 60, a landscape gardener, and daughter Millie and her boyfriend Tom Gregory, both 23, personal trainers who were making their race debuts.

Mrs Hargreaves had decided before Sunday not to run again after this year due to knee and foot problems.

“It’s purely because of my injuries,” said Mrs Hargreaves. “I had no idea how I was even going to get through this year.”

She has to have physiotherapy three times a week and did most of her training on a bike.

Mrs Hargreaves said: “It was a special day because it was my husband’s 60th birthday and my daughter and her boyfriend were there. Ian said it was definitely his final one too.

“Millie and Tom absolutely smashed it — they did really well.

“Ian and I couldn’t run for the first three miles together as we were in different pens but joined up as we said we would run together whatever it took.

“The crowd were amazing; I have never known anything like it. I seemed to get an awful lot of attention and everyone screams your name, which somehow just picks you up.

“There were a lot more runners this year and it was possibly too busy — anyone wanting to get their personal best would have found it impossible.

“At times you couldn’t move and the main parts like Tower Bridge and Cutty Sark were absolutely heaving.

“I said at the beginning that one way or another, even if I had to walk it, I would get around and enjoy it. I said running it in six hours would be a miracle and I got five hours and 30 minutes.

“Considering the injuries I had, that’s great. My personal best is four hours and 44 minutes.

“My knee on Monday morning was not too bad but a little bit swollen. My back probably hurt more.”

The quartet were raising money for MACs, a charity that supports people with anophthalmia (no eyes), microphthalmia (small eyes) and coloboma (a cleft in the eye). Between them they raised £6,000.

Mrs Hargreaves said: “I am overwhelmed by how generous everyone has been and the support we have had.”

After the race, the group went to a pub in Trafalgar Square followed by dinner.