Race Day!
After a decent sleep, I woke up ready to head out and support Jake on his big day. But first—breakfast. I tried a few spots, but all had long wait times to be seated. Luckily, I stumbled upon a fancy little place called Balans No.60, which was practically empty. Turned out to be a great find—the coffee and breaky were mint!
I met up with Jake’s cousin, Tom, at Limehouse Station at 11:30 a.m., which was close to both the 15-mile and 21-mile markers. The plan was to catch Jake running past at both points. Nothing could’ve prepared me for the crowds. I’ve never seen so many people—not just runners, but supporters out in full force.
We got word that Jake’s watch had busted, which was supposed to be our main way of tracking him on the course. The backup was the marathon app, which tracked runners through mile markers. Unfortunately, the app didn’t work for me, but Tom had no issues.
We had a good 50 minutes before Jake was due to pass, so we grabbed a quick coffee from a yurt… as you do… and made our way to find a spot near the 15-mile marker to cheer him on. We managed to squeeze through the crowds and find a spot along the road. The street was super narrow, and the runners were packed tightly together, which made it really tough to spot Jake. Either we missed him, or we left just as he passed—his tracker showed he’d already gone by. Oh well! Off to the 21-mile marker for another shot.
After a reasonable wait, we finally caught sight of Jake and cheered loudly as he powered into the final stretch of the marathon.
Next up was the meeting point at the Duke of York Column near St James’s Park. Absolute chaos! So many people all trying to cram onto public transport. Tom and I sardined our way onto the train platform, then onto a train, and thankfully made it to the Duke of York just as Jake’s tracker showed he’d finished the marathon.
Bloody well done, mate!
We headed back to the Airbnb so Jake could shower and change. Then we all met up at The Three Greyhounds for a well-earned beer.
The celebrations continued with dinner at a place called Fat Hippo, and after that, we put Tom on a train home. I dropped Jake off at The Bloomsbury, and finally got back to the Airbnb for some much-needed sleep.
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Day After Race Day!
Jake arrived early, and we grabbed a quick breaky at Gail’s Bakery. Then it was time to pack up and leave the Airbnb.
Today—we fly to Portugal!
