Dear Reader
In 2019, shortly after I ran the Berlin Marathon, I signed up for the London Marathon. It’s the penultimate stop on my “World Marathon Majors” scorecard, after having run New York, Chicago, Boston and Paris (which is actually not on the list). It’s an extremely popular marathon that takes place in April, and you can either enter a lottery or raise money for a charity to try get in. After watching the documentary Crip Camp and finding out all about activist Judy Heumann, I wanted to run it by raising money for Sense Charity, an organisation that works with people who have complex disabilities; advocating for them and supporting them throughout their lives.
So, I started fundraising, started training, and then…March 2020 happened, and I started this newsletter. Eventually, it became clear the marathon was going to be cancelled, and when it was, I continued to run, but soon came down with an injury. I was pushing myself a bit too much during that most uncertain of times, and running so hard for so long was not the answer.
When the new marathon was set for a date in October 2021, I finally seemed to have a hold on the injury, was rested and excited to give it a go again. It would be my tenth marathon, and I had raised all the money needed for Sense. I started training again, doing speed sessions and hill workouts with my friends Sarah and Victoria. Only during those workouts, I started to have to run to the bushes when bouts of nausea came over me.
You see, in the beginning of April, I had met the man who would become my husband four months later, and we had both wanted to start a family together. And we did.
Rather than chance anything, I decided not to go ahead and run the marathon (I would have been around 16 weeks if I had). Fun fact — my OBGYN ran it, with her parents! Thankfully, Sense allowed me to defer my place to 2023. The next one was again in October and it would have meant training at 3 months postpartum. Many new mothers have done that, but for me, it felt unnecessary to put that strain on my body, so soon after a C-section.
Which brings us to this Sunday!
April 23rd, 2023, I will run the London Marathon, my tenth marathon, and my first as a mom. While I have a time goal in mind, this marathon I’d like to use the 26.2 miles to revel in all the wild and wonderful moments that have happened during these past 3 years. Over the course of this training cycle, as up and down as it’s been, I’ve learned how to truly listen to my body — to push myself according to effort and feel — and how vital it is to carve out this time for myself, even when a million other things are calling.
This Sunday will also be a return to my old self, yes, in a way, but more so, an embrace of who I’ve now become. This new body, changed and adapted, strong and resilient, carried a life for nine months. What’s 26.2 miles in the face of that?
Still, I’d appreciate any good wishes you might want to send my way!
Here is the video I made about why I wanted to run for Sense:
As ever, thank you for reading.
Stay well
Your neighbour
Nadia
This post makes me so happy and proud that you are doing the run now. The universe needed you to experience some other lessons before coming back to this one and now I'm sure this marathon will have a totally different perspective and meaning for you. Congrats!