Unless you have been living under a rock for the past couple of weeks, you can’t help but notice all the London Marathon hype in between election fever. So, last Sunday my annual sojourn up to Blackheath started with a 6:45am phone call to Jeremy Joseph to make sure he was awake. After the usual pleasantries, tales of his bowls and nipples (to tape or not to tape? That is the question) he jumped on his Virgin Taxibike, I boarded a 453 bus and we converged at the alleged site of a plague burial pit.
Words and photos by Chris Jepson
At 10:10am a gunshot heralded the start of the 35th London Marathon and almost 40,000 people crossed the line. Everything from the heartwarming to the most ludicrous dashed past, as rhinos, dinosaurs, superheroes, Disney characters and athletes in Lycra wound their way through the boroughs of London and around our most iconic landmarks.
For a number of weeks Jeremy has had lower leg injuries and despite professional help from a sports massage therapist and an acupuncture therapist, when it came to race day he was popping ibuprofen and paracetamol like candy and had so much blue tape on his leg he looked like a Smurf, but as his race unfolded and his split times came up on my iPhone, I was amazed to see him perfectly on schedule for a sub four hour finish. He ran through the pain and indeed the occasional boredom of four hours with no one to talk to, but as I raced across London on somewhat sketchy race day public transport to meet him at the finish, he racked up consistent 28 minute 5Ks, and with 2 minutes to spare entered the Mall, crossing the line with a full 15 seconds in hand.
As we walked back along the Mall together, he wrapped in an attractive foil blanket, me avoiding officials trying to throw me off the course, we bumped into supermodel Christy Turlington (pictured, above), who we had also seen at the start. It seems both had made wagers with friends if they achieved their sub-4 hours target. So, next year should see George Clooney on the starting line and flyer boy Jack (he of the Detox escapade in last week’s QX) with more than just egg on his face.
I caught up with Jeremy two days later and thankfully his injury was no worse and he was still walking!
From all at QX Towers, a huge well done on completing your 6th London Marathon, Jeremy, and on driving the donations to over £312,000.
If you feel inspired, the 2016 Virgin Money London Marathon will take place on Sunday 24th April 2016 with the public ballot entry system open to all applicants on bank holiday Monday 4th May 2015.
