Tupper triumphs in London Marathon!

As by now you know, my friend Dave Johnson, aka, Alf Tupper ran in the London Marathon on Sunday 21st April. Dave had been training hard for months and months in all the awful weather of our dreadful winter and spring, and despite a poorly knee. Nothing daunts Dave and he ran the race on Sunday and cheered on by his love ones completed it in fine style, all to raise money for two very deserving charities, MIND and Weston Hospicecare.

here is Dave/Alf’s most recent report on the big day:

Good morning

Alf Tupper, the Tough of the Track at your service. Well, after 6 months of intense training that included injury scares, illness, adverse weather and 4 weeks of teetotalism, Sunday 21st April 2013 dawned sunny and cold on Blackheath. After all the recent doubts about my ability to run 26.2 miles following my knee injury, I had made it to the start line of my third London Marathon in 8 years and there was no going back now.

Now then, as anyone who knows me well will testify, there is always a self-made crisis to resolve at the last minute. On Friday, having meticulously packed (or so I thought), a fine selection of running togs to suit all weather conditions and had a suspiciously smooth journey by car to our hotel in Docklands, I made my way to Excel with my daughter Coral to register for the race. It was then that, with creeping horror, I realised that my running shoes were still sitting pretty at my home waiting to be packed with the rest of my gear. Although I had a pair of running shoes with me that I wear for leisure, this was far from an ideal situation for a top class athlete who had recently suffered a significant knee injury. Would I be able to run 26.2 miles in the shoes I had? Fortunately, I didn’t need to consider that question for long. As anyone knows, behind every elite athlete is a well oiled back-up team waiting to spring into action. Cue phone calls to daughter Poppy in Exeter and friends Louise & Mike in Weston-super-Mare, travel from Exeter to Weston-super-Mare by Poppy on train, frantic visit to neighbour to obtain spare house key by Louise & Mike, collection of running shoes from my home, slick rendezvous between Louise, Mike and Poppy at Weston station for handover of running shoes and immediate return to Exeter with running shoes by Poppy. The following day, Poppy made her way to join rest of family in London as originally planned and running shoes were successfully linked up with athlete. A huge thank you to Poppy, Louise and Mike for pulling out all the stops to ensure that I could be at the start of the marathon wearing the shoes I had trained in for 6 months.

So, it’s Sunday morning on Blackheath and I am about to embark on my third London Marathon. I am hoping to complete the race in under 4 hours as I did in 2005 but I am realistic about my chances of doing so following the recent knee injury. My first priority is to get to the finish line, my second is to run all the way and my third is to complete the race in under 4 hours. Most of all, I just want to enjoy what is likely to be my final marathon. The weather is sunny and cool but warming up quickly which concerns me a little as I suffered badly in the latter half of the 2011 race in warm conditions to finish in over 4 hours and 7 minutes. The flipside of this, however, is that it is perfect weather for spectators so I am hoping that the public will be out in force to support the 36000 participants. A poignant addition to this year’s race, of course, is the 30 second silence and wearing of black ribbons for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings. A good friend of mine had run the Boston race and finished only 15 minutes before the explosions occurred and it was moving to witness the running community’s show of solidarity following that recent atrocity.

At 10:00 precisely, we were off and it was immediately apparent that the spectators lining the streets were not only out in droves but also eager to make their voices heard in support of each and every runner passing by. It was truly inspirational and reminded me throughout the whole 26.2 mile course of the crowds that line the mountain stages of the Tour de France. In the end, I had chosen to wear the running vest provided by the charity Mind as I knew they would have their support team out on the course to cheer their runners on. I had also decided to put my other name “Dave” on the front of my running vest and I soon lost count of the number of times it was shouted out by those watching, not to mention the high-fives with the kids and offers of sweets and orange segments to keep us going in the increasing heat. The support is always fantastic in London but this was without doubt the biggest and loudest crowd I had witnessed whilst running the race. Whether it was to catch a glimpse of Alf Tupper or Mo Farah, the glorious weather or, as I suspect, to show their support in the aftermath of Boston, the effect on all of the runners must have been substantial and I personally cannot thank them enough for their incredible support from start to finish. Thanks also to the Mind support team for their deafening cheers as I passed them at the 8 mile and 13 mile points of the route.

As far as my own race was concerned, I was determined to learn from 2011 and pace myself more cautiously during the first half of the race. Checking my watch at each mile point, by the time I reached half way I was about 6 minutes ahead of the pace I would need to complete the race in 3 hours and 54 minutes and I was feeling pretty good, although the sun showed no signs of disappearing behind the clouds as had been promised by the Met Office. My wife Sue and my children Poppy, Coral and Luke were due to be at the 20 mile point to cheer me on and that was an added incentive to keep going when the inevitable pain began, as I knew it would. Incredibly, the knee that had caused me so much anxiety in the weeks leading up to the race was holding up brilliantly but, around mile 16, general fatigue started to creep in and my pace began to drop. I still felt much better than I had at this point two years previously but I knew that a potential struggle lay ahead. I was encouraged by the fact that I was still running when others around me were walking, stopping and having to stretch tired muscles and then, as I approached the 20 mile banner, there were all of my family members cheering wildly and giving me immense inspiration just when I needed it most to get me through the most demanding part of the race. As far as my pace was concerned, I needed to cover the final 6.2 miles in just over an hour and I was cautiously optimistic that I could achieve that. I was struggling, however, and with every step the pain increased and the mental capacity to keep going rather than throw in the towel and walk became ever more demanding to maintain. With 1.2 miles to go and Big Ben ahead of me, I looked for a gear change to ensure that I achieved my goal but there was virtually nothing left in the tank. As I rounded the final bend by Buckingham Palace into the famous home straight along the Mall, my watch told me I had just under a minute to hit my sub-four hour target. I looked for the sprint finish but to no avail and crossed the line in a time of 4 hours and 25 seconds. Was I disappointed? Definitely not! As I limped to receive my medal, I knew I had given it absolutely everything I had in me. I had completed my third and final London Marathon more than 7 minutes faster than in 2011, had overcome a significant injury to compete, had ran from start to finish and had raised money for two very worthwhile causes. What was there to be disappointed about? As for the results, my official time was 4 hours and 25 seconds, my overall finishing position was 11072, my gender finishing position was 8750 and my finishing position based on age category 55 – 59 was 238.

All in all the 2013 London Marathon was the best I have experienced. It was wonderful to have all of my family out on the course to support me and the whole weekend spent with them will live long in the memory. My injured knee, although slightly swollen, is not painful and I will now take a short break from running before settling down to short training runs as a means of maintaining fitness. There will, I am sure, be further half-marathons and other events but that is it as far as the marathon distance is concerned. The physical and mental strength required to train and then to complete 26.2 miles is too much for me to take on in future.

This will also be the end of my fundraising efforts. I am proud to say that, during the last 8 years, you have helped me raise £1300 for Childline (London 2005), £2030 for Prostate Cancer (Great North Run 2007), £1900 for Alzheimer’s Society and Bowel Cancer UK (London 2011) and £1200 & counting for Mind and Weston Hospicecare (London 2013). Your support throughout has been truly magnificent and a big thank you once again to everyone who has supported me.

Finally, there is still time to get your donations in for those of you who haven’t yet done so. As always, secure online donations can be made to either or both charities via http://www.justgiving.com/Dave-Johnson5 andhttp://www.justgiving.com/Dave-Johnson .

Thanks for reading and all the best,

Alf