The London Marathon delivers a lifetime’s worth of inspiration
Tomorrow's Virgin Money London Marathon will deliver a lifetime's worth of inspiration in a single day, according to one of Britain's greatest ever Paralympians, Noel Thatcher.
Noel, who is a visually impaired runner, won five gold medals when representing Great Britain at six Paralympic Games between 1984 and 2004. He was joined on Friday by a group of retired Paralympians who are all taking part in this year's London Marathon ‘for fun'.
Thatcher paid tribute to the thousands of inspirational runners who make the event so special year after year.
"The London Marathon is so much more than simply a running race," he said. "I was completely blown away by the crowds, the noise and the atmosphere when I first did the race.
"I took part in my last Paralympic Games in 2004 and, when you retire, you do miss the buzz and the profile you enjoyed as a world-class athlete, but the experience of running the London Marathon comes really close to that feeling."
Retired swimmer Dervis Konuralp, who was a London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Ambassador, is looking forward to feeling that special London Marathon buzz when he makes his marathon debut in his home city tomorrow. The 33-year-old from Hackney can't wait to swap the pool for the streets.
"I'm used to winning a gold medal in 25 seconds so running 26 miles is going to be a new experience for me," he said. "But I've seen the London Marathon on TV so many times, and heard so many great stories about it, that I can't wait to experience it for myself.
"As Paralympic athletes we all went to loads of amazing opening and closing ceremonies at big championships but I'm sure the London crowds will be like all of those rolled into one from start to finish, and that's really going to motivate me to do my best."
Like so many of the 36,000 runners who will line up at the start in Greenwich tomorrow, Konuralp is a little apprehensive about the challenge that lies ahead.
"When I signed up for the marathon, I was quite naïve that my many years of training as a professional swimmer would give me a head start but it's been just as hard for me as for everyone else who is training for their first marathon," he said.
"I was really competitive when I was a professional athlete, and you never really lose that, so I will try to rein that in tomorrow. My goal is simply to get to the finish line and feel that medal around my neck.
"I might have won 14 gold medals in my 12-year swimming career but on Sunday I'll have no advantage over the thousands of other people giving it everything to get to the finish line."
Danny Crates, who was Paralympics GB's flag bearer at the 2008 Beijing Games opening ceremony, offered Konuralp some advice ahead of the race: don't start too fast and don't run with Iwan Thomas.
"I made the mistake of running with Iwan for the first 12 miles in 2012 when I made my marathon debut, which meant high-energy chatting until he ran off into the distance, no doubt chasing some blond girl, and left me in a pool of my own destruction," said Crates.
"I'm in better shape this year but my goal, like so many other runners, is to run for fun and make it to the finish line. I was an 800m runner [he won gold at the Athens Paralympics in 2004] so stepping up to the marathon distance - and running 50 times that far - is not easy. Like everyone else, I'll try to rise to the challenge and enjoy the experience."
Martyna Snopek, who represented Poland at rowing at the 2008 and 2012 Paralympics, added that she's found her background in sport to be a benefit as she's trained for this new challenge. "Being a former world-class athlete gives you more humility when you try a new sport because you understand how much effort it takes to be the best and get to the top," said Snopek.
She will make her marathon debut in the wheelchair race on Sunday after achieving everything she could in her rowing career. "I wanted a new challenge so I chose the marathon because everyone said it's so hard," she joked.
Ben Quilter, who took up judo after developing the eye condition Stargardt disease in 1992, certainly made things hard for himself by signing up for not one but two marathons this April. "I ran the Brighton Marathon last week for fun," he said. "I don't know if that was a warm up for tomorrow or whether the London Marathon is the cool down.
"Like everyone else sitting around this table, once I start something I feel that drive to be the best that I can be, but with the marathon it's difficult to really know what you're capable of," said Quliter. "I finished in 3:47 last week so I'm torn between enjoying it and running around in four hours tomorrow and going for it and trying to finish under 3:30."
Bob Matthews is one of the most experienced Paralympians of the bunch but even he failed to make an impressive marathon debut, so he'll be looking to pace himself on Sunday.
"I did my first marathon in 2000 and I was on for a 2:40 time but my legs seized up towards the end and I slowed to eight-minute miles," said the eight-time Paralympic gold medalist. "I was in loads of pain but the crowds helped to carry me along. It really was an incredible feeling. This will be my eighth marathon so I'm really looking forward to getting out there again."
Thatcher summed up how this group of world-beating Paralympians feels ahead of tomorrow's race: "The London Marathon is an amazing event because people face so many challenges before they even get to the start line.
"We're all part of that journey; it's more than a race, it's about 36,000 people laying it on the line, facing their demons and making it to the finish to collect that all-important medal."
