05/05/2026
My dramatic and unforgettable London Marathon 😳. What have I learned?
It's hard to believe it's little over a week since I was rushed to A&E after the finish line. It's been a wild time, and while I still await a clear diagnosis on what caused my severe GI bleeding, here are a few early reflections:
After 15 years of endurance running and 19 marathons, I thought I knew my body pretty well, but the complex interaction of health status, life stress, fitness and training load is always evolving and often on a tightrope. Regardless of what led to my bleeding last week, this has led me to rest, reset, and reassess my own balance in the same way I do for my clients.
My first experience of accidentally going viral, and with it, the toxic / trolling side of social media. I have thick enough skin to dismiss this, but it shone a light on the negativity of certain demographics and platforms.
When to listen to your body and when to ignore? This is a key question. Anyone who has pushed themselves over the marathon knows it is a unique and ongoing battle against any number of physical and mental discomforts, so it shows a complete lack of understanding to suggest that discomfort means you should stop. In this case, with the benefit of hindsight, clearly I wish I had stopped for the loo, then seen blood, then stopped altogether. However, there's every chance I would have assumed beetroot juice (as I did when it first happened) and carried on, so who knows.
In my post before the race I said I was 'determined to enjoy' my last London Marathon as a Londoner. Well, it's fair to say that didn't happen, but I'll certainly never forget it. And although I feel completely detached from the results of the day, it's special to have been on the course while human history was made.
Finally, I bloody love the NHS. Imperfect, yes, but full of talented and kind people. In all my ICU years, we'd usually see 2-3 marathon admissions on the Monday, but this was the first time I'd seen the much steadier flow of marathon A&E admissions. I'm so grateful to those that helped me through such a scary time last Sunday ❤️🩹.
