Pete's Story | The London Marathon

My daughters and niece all go to Chickenshed, and I've seen first-hand how much they've grown. Being welcomed open armed by everyone and given the confidence to flourish. I feel so lucky to have found Chickenshed, and wanted to play my part given that Chickenshed needs to raise £1.6m a year to keep running for the 15,000 people that go through the doors each year. Last year I did the Swim Serpentine 2 mile last year for Chickenshed and Wonder Walk as well. Seeing the outpouring of support when friends learned about Chickenshed from me encouraged me to take on a bigger challenge. A much bigger challenge as I found out!

Training takes place through winter, and juggling 3 young children plus a full time job was a case of fitting in training when I could. I vividly remember running at 11pm on 23rd December, in 3 degrees, with a head torch to guide me. My eldest (Oria) had just performed in PAN as Tiger Lily so my heart was full, and I knew it was runs like this that would get me through the marathon. The hours of training all come together to make the day of the marathon itself so profound.

I was petrified... I hadn't run the distance in training, I definitely hadn't trained in 22 degree heat, and I knew I'd get excited and go off too fast. What helped was thinking about my friends and family who were scattered around the course. And the Chickenshed team who'd be at mile 15 for us runners. I had several people come up to me and tell me their Chickenshed stories, which eased the nerves and reinforced why I was standing here with a chicken on my head... Patting myself on the back for opting against wearing the full chicken costume.

So many. I went through the full spectrum of emotions. From unbridled joy seeing my family and their giant cut out of my wrinkly face. Through to total elation at mile 15 seeing the Chickenshed Team and feeling like we're doing this together. I had some tear-jerking moments talking to other runners who were raising money in memory of lost loved ones, and medical support. And shed a bucket load of tears as things got hard around mile 20 and every step hurt. I was overcome with emotion as the exhaustion kicked in and I realised I was nearly at the end. What really sent me over the edge was the support from strangers on the sidelines. Screams of "YOU'VE GOT THIS PETEY" through to "Make the chickens proud Petey" non-stop for the last 45 minutes was incredible. Without them I wouldn't have made it, and to everyone reading this who's supported at the marathon - THANK YOU. You'll never know how big an impact you have on little runners like me. The London marathon is the biggest fundraising event in the world. It brings out the best in humanity, and made me feel really proud to represent Chickenshed.

I don't remember seeing Buckingham Palace. Big Ben is a hazy memory too. I think the organisers need to re-think the route and put these amazing landmarks at the start! But I do remember the volunteer taking my weight as I painfully crossed the line in 3:38, and guiding me through the finishers area. He was amazing and after 3 bottles of water I walked myself over to the London Classics tent where I collected a SECOND medal because the marathon was the final "Classic" for me to complete after doing the Swim and the 100 mile Ride London in recent years. It's worth saying to the potential runners out there that the immediate feeling wasn't one of euphoria or pride. My body was screaming, and I felt some grief as this marked the end of all the training and fundraising. But that passed within a couple of hours, and when your brain allows the euphoria to kick in, it feels INCREDIBLE. I'm still feeling it.

Do it. Do it. DO IT.

It's an experience like nothing you'll ever encounter. The togetherness, the sense of accomplishment, and equally importantly the amount of goodwill it unlocks in others to donate. I've somehow managed to raise £3.5k thanks to the generosity of others. And if you're someone who other people might think "no way will they do a marathon", then you're the perfect person to run for Chickenshed. It all starts with running 1km. You can build up from there. And as they say 'Rome wasn't built in day'. Although what they fail to mention is that Rome was destroyed at various points and a real mess. That's how you can feel at different points of your training, but stick to the plan, believe in yourself and think about how incredible the day will be.