ehT nodnoL nohtaraM 2202

Last year was my first nodnoL nohtaraM. This involves running the London Marathon in reverse. At night. Before the actual marathon.

This year I was with two Matts, Matt Shimwell and Matt Brimble. We set off at 1:30am from Trafalgar Square. There had been some light rain, but thankfully that had stopped. 

As the Mall was already closed off we ran around the perimeter of St James park before hitting the road on Birdcage Walk.

Five minutes later we were on the path again, dodging a surprisingly large number of people making their way to and from various night clubs. We crossed the busy roads around Parliament Square and started heading east along Embankment. We had brought head torches but didn't need them as the city was so brightly lit.

The River Thames on our right gleamed and reflected the London Eye which was illuminated in pink, the London Dungeon which glowed blue and Westminster Bridge with turquoise arches.

We ran past Whitehall Gardens, Cleopatra's Needle, Waterloo Bridge, Temple Station, HQS Wellington, and St Paul's Cathedral before dipping underground through Blackfriars Underpass. When we emerged on the other side there was a small hill up to The Tower of London.

Our route then followed the A1203 through Wapping all the way to the Limehouse Link Tunnel which brought us to Canary Wharf. Boring and dreary sums up the scenery although we did have our first heckle of "Quicker!" from a drunk bloke outside McDonalds. 

We headed south around the Isle of Dogs before winding around the financial district and leaving along Trafalgar Way to the north. The tall buildings are quite a sight all lit up against the dark skies. We saw many other runners who were doing the Virtual London Marathon.

Now we were travelling back west towards the City again. The marathon runners would be starting their last 6 miles from this point but we were now ten miles into our run. Another parkrun distance and we would be halfway.

It made me realise that without the crowds much of the marathon route is incredibly ugly. Nothing but houses and roads, shops and petrol stations. I was glad for the company.

Eventually we arrived at Tower Bridge and stopped for a photo and some snacks. I had brought a picnic - ever the ultra runner - and enjoyed Marmite sandwiches and Hula Hoops. Matt B had a lump of Chorizo and Matt S tucked into a cereal bar. The Shard glowed like a torch beside us as we refuelled.

Being back on the south side of the river made us feel like the end was closer, which it was as we were now at 14 miles. Matt S wasn't feeling great at this point and had decided to try and get as far as Greenwich where he would head home. 

First we had to get through Rotherhithe. This is another nondescript area which is no fun without the crowds of runners and spectators. We saw a fox. Not much else to say really.

Once at Surrey Quays it was a straight road through Deptford to Greenwich. We arrived at Cutty Sark and said goodbye to Matt S. 

Matt B and I continued to Woolwich and then ascended the hilliest part of the reverse course to the Royal Artillery Barracks. Many people on the London Marathon enjoy speeding down this hill with fresh legs after three miles, but pay for it later.

Ha Ha road took us to Shooter's Hill Road and here we passed the 26.2 mile point. A mile and a half later and we could see the Blue Start Line on Blackheath. The run had come out long because we started at Trafalgar Square.

We finished in around 4.5 hours, well before it was light. I had planned to meet people I knew who were running in the official marathon, but a three hour wait after no sleep didn't appeal. I said goodbye to Matt B and ran to Blackheath for a coffee before heading home to watch the Marathon on TV.