Reflection on the London Marathon

Reflection on the London Marathon

On Sunday, April 21st, four employees and friends from Prime Appointments participated in the 2024 London Marathon. They embarked on the 26.2-mile challenge with mixed emotions but had smiles on their faces.

As well as the guys from Prime Appointments, we also had Jack and Charlie Milsom from Milsom Hotels who ran for Alzheimers Society and helped us raising the incredibly total amount of £11,015

We caught up with two of the team a few weeks after the event to hear about their experience running in one of the world's most popular events.

Craig Turnbull, Marketing Manager:

The London Marathon has been on my bucket list for a long time, and I always said that if I ever ran a marathon, it would be in London. It didn't disappoint. The atmosphere was unreal, and the people of London were incredibly supportive. There were times during the race when the encouragement of a stranger shouting my name was all that got me through.

I will never forget that day and have memories to last a lifetime. I am also so grateful to have a support network like I do and want to thank everyone who attended, as well as those who sent messages of support with kind words. I also want to thank everyone who donated to my page and gave me some fantastic song choices for my training playlist.

Would you do another marathon?

I think I will do another one at some point, but it won't be anytime soon. I really enjoyed the day and the atmosphere, but the amount of training is very time-consuming and isn't something I could do all the time. I also think that the marathon puts a lot of strain on the body where you're basically running more than a half marathon most weekends

Jack O'Brien, Director

On 20^th April 2020, I ran my first 5km, if you would have told me that 4 years’ later (21^st April 2024) that I would be running the London Marathon, I wouldn’t have believed it.

Since April 2020, I had run 3 half marathons and The London Marathon had been on my “bucket list” for a while, I was fortunate enough to have got a place through Alzheimers, so I was thrilled to bits with this news for a few reasons:

1. To raise money for our chosen charity - @alzheimers, a charity very close to my heart, as my godmother was diagnosed with this horrible disease at the young age of 51.
2. To be able to run the London Marathon, such a prestigious event

My training felt good from January 2024 up until the London Marathon, running over 500km, I was excited and ready to hit the streets of London.

On the day, the weather was perfect, it was overcast with a slight breeze. The crowd were electric and fuelled me through the 4 hours and 39 minutes, it was very special & emotional at times to see friends and family at various points around the city of London.

In total I managed to raise just shy of £3,500, a heartfelt thank-you to everyone who contributed! It really does mean the world to me and this a memory that I will cherish for a lifetime.

Would you do another marathon?

Yes, I would like to do another marathon in the future, initially I wanted to complete the London Marathon in 4 hours. Unfortunately, cramp set in around mile 20, leading to a stop-and-start pace. I feel there's unfinished business and a time to beat next time.

The training was a big commitment, especially with two kids under 3, so I would wait for them to get older before attempting it again. Who knows, maybe next time I could complete the marathon in a more exotic country, an excuse for a family holiday abroad too.