Running the extra mile is as much physical as mental

I am glad the world-famous London Marathon, with its iconic finish on The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace, is back to the regular April slot. It's the biggest single-day fundraising event in the world, and I am sure the runners and the supporters will make it a colourful and epic event. Good Luck to the elite, the championship, the serious, the aspiring and all the runners with their personal challenges.

I have run 25 London Marathons and virtual marathons during the pandemic. This is the first time I'll be supporting the runners instead of running it over so many years.

I have always been physically active, and sports have been my passion from a young age. I was born in Mombasa, Kenya, and the weather is not conducive for running. Hence that never appeared as a sport for me. That changed in the UK after I qualified as a Chartered Accountant. I was encouraged by my boss during one of our short lunchtime runs. He was so convincing, having done a couple of marathons himself, that my naivety led me to apply for the daunting 26.2 miles (42.2 km) of the London Marathon. I wasn't successful in getting a ballot entry, but I got a charity entry for the London Marathon in April 1994.

The 1994 London Marathon was one of the coldest. The first marathon is an experience, an eye opener and a huge achievement for anyone, but a novice runner doing the coldest London Marathon was an added "bonus". Upon crossing the finish line, my first thought was: "Been there; done it; never again". In hindsight, how wrong was I in thinking that!

Since my first marathon, I have achieved many things like running the World Marathon Majors twice, running the famous ultra-marathon – Comrades in South Africa (almost 90 km) etc.

The most recent marathons (post-pandemic) have been in the USA, Canada, the UK, Spain and Japan with my friends who I have trained, and there's a particular satisfaction in seeing them achieve their dreams.

When you are working full time, living in a busy city and have a family, one of the biggest challenges could be finding time to train. This is where commitment and focus have to be absolute. Good training for a marathon requires around 16-18 weeks and also depends on your fitness level. Marathon is a big commitment but also a huge achievement.

In addition, I would say start with slow short runs and gradually build up to longer distances. Setting a target finish time for the first marathon is difficult until you are well into your training. Many people will be able to get to a half-marathon (13.1 miles / 21.1 km) without major issues or injuries, but the second half requires a lot of endurance and stamina. Starting with the Saturday Park Run is probably a good suggestion for a novice runner.

The essential equipment for running is proper shoes. Doing your gait analysis and getting your shoe recommendation specific to your needs from a good running shop is very important.

Another thing often overlooked is one visit to a good physiotherapist at the outset, who should be able to see your body alignment and recommend specific exercises to avoid future injuries.

Running marathons often changes your outlook. Marathon running is as much physical as mental.

Time and again, the runners I have trained said that they had not realised what they could do, physically and mentally, until they ran the marathon. The runners already had the capability, and I have only been a catalyst in getting them out of their comfort zone and thus realising their potential.

With my experience, I would like to train more people and work with charities. I am currently an ambassador of a Japanese charity, ACE, since 2020, for the Tokyo Marathon. Similarly, I work with several UK charities for the London Marathon and other organisational issues.