On the morning of the 2023 London Marathon, my wife, Lynn, set out in search of a spot along the course where she would cheer for me as I ran by.
Hundreds of thousands of other spectators were of the same mind hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite runners.
It turned out to be a challenge perhaps greater than the marathon itself.
In London, I was a charity runner for Team Fox of the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Katie Casamassina and Liz Diemer of Team Fox planned cheer stations for their runners at the Cutty Sark Museum (Mile 6.5) and another one at Canada Square Park (Mile 19). Their idea was to shift from Mile 6.5 to Mile 19 at the appropriate time so they could exhort Team Fox runners twice, once at each cheer station.
Given the routing of the course, with some loops and swirls, these two viewing spots were relatively close together. On Canary Wharf, where Canada Square Park was, the course layout suggested the opportunity of multiple sightings between Miles 15 and 21.
That is, if it weren’t for all those thousands of other similarly-minded fans.
Lynn headed for the Cutty Sark cheer station at about 10 am. She had the London Marathon’s tracking app loaded on her phone. The app allowed users to see the current location of any runner and from that she knew that I had started my race at 10:40 and was likely to get to Cutty Sark at about 11:30.
At the Cutty Sark train station she met chaos.
It was wall-to-wall people. The logjam was nearly impenetrable getting off the train. The four flight climb to ground level was shoulder to shoulder. At ground level it was more of the same.
Lynn considered her options. She could succumb to the evident futility and give up on seeing me on the course. Or she could get back on the train and head to the second cheer station hoping for a different outcome.
She decided that she had to find another way.
In fact, this was true for everyone. The masses engulfing her clearly were not going to get into position to see any runners.
She approached two ladies, locals. They told Lynn of a foot tunnel under the Thames that came out at Canary Wharf. They all went off together.
Then, in the foot tunnel, another logjam.
For safety’s sake, an officer was limiting the number of people allowed in the tunnel at a time. Lynn actually appreciated this because the crush of people was beginning to feel claustrophobic.
She glanced at her phone. There was a new issue. The tracking app crashed making it appear as if I was frozen in place at Mile 6. The app was of no use in tracking me anymore.
Upon finally emerging from the foot tunnel onto the Isle of Dogs, she had maybe a mile or so to walk to get to the second Team Fox cheer station. But without the tracker app, how was she to find me? Would she be able to get to the cheer station in time? What if I ran by without her knowing?
Before it died, the tracker had me running at about 9 minutes per mile. Mile markers were set up on the course. She did a quick calculation then found a relatively uncrowded spot that was just shy of the Mile 18 marker.
Anxiously, Lynn camped out there and waited for the pair of telltale pink socks.
When they came by she shouted out “GO JOE DRAKE!! YAY TEAM FOX!!”
I was very happy to hear and see her. It was just what I needed: a huge emotional boost at a difficult time in the race. I did my best to look good for the photo she snapped.
Lynn was elated as I ran by. She turned around and pumped her fist. “YES!”, she said.
Lynn then went on to the Mile 19 cheer station to greet Katie and Liz. They had not gotten there yet. MJFF’s local partner, Parkinson’s UK, were there but they had not seen their Team Fox counterparts. Lynn tried to reach Katie by cell phone but the cellular network was down.
Katie and Liz were still fighting their way to Mile 19. They wanted to see all the Team Fox runners pass them before leaving Cutty Sark.
I appreciated it. They were there when I ran by, holding Team Fox signs, shouting, and clanging cowbells. That, too, was a great lift for me. I couldn’t ask for a more dedicated, enthusiastic support team.
Besides providing race support, Katie and Liz organized a meetup and a pre-race dinner for Team Fox runners. The two of them flew in from New York City on the Thursday before the race. I had just seen Katie on Monday. She organized all of the Team Fox activities associated with the Boston Marathon.
There were a record number of Team Fox London runners this year, 18. It’s a reflection on the rapidity at which Parkinson’s is growing. Many people wish to contribute to a cure given that they have relatives and family friends who suffer from PD. This is true of the Team Fox London athletes I met this year. We raised a combined $164,830 for Parkinson’s Research through this race.
If it was not already obvious, the highlights of the race for me were seeing and hearing Lynn, Katie, and Liz shouting my name and urging me on. It is impossible to overstate how helpful that is when running a marathon.
I found out later that the 48,000 runners in the race was a record for the London Marathon and about 10,000 more than in 2021 when I last ran it. I felt the difference as a relentless crush of people. The course, much like it was for the spectators, was crowded with multiple bottlenecks. That alone could have added several minutes to my finish time.
The weather was fine. For me, that is. Cool in the low 50’s with periodic rain just like it was for Boston the previous Monday. Seattle training weather. All good.
My pace held fairly steady though I struggled the last 10 miles. Yet, I have to credit my Stryd app with dictating a sustainable pace in Boston that set me up for rapid recovery going into London. Stryd is legit; I will be working with it more in preparation for my fall marathons.
My finish time of 4:01:59 pushed me a bit further off my goal of running all the six majors this year in a combined time of 24 hours. I’m halfway through now and my total comes to 12:16:24. I will need to average better than 3:54:32 in the fall marathons (Berlin, Chicago, and New York City) to meet my goal.
Given that I have only one sub-4 hour effort among the eleven Majors I have run to date, this is a tall order. However, I am encouraged by that one positive result and the fact that I came oh, so close to hitting the mark again only six days later. With five more months to train, anything’s possible.
In 2023, I will be running for Team Fox again. You can donate to my New York City Marathon campaign (click this link). I could use your support. If you share the passion that The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) and I have for finding a Parkinson’s cure please consider contributing. All donations are meaningful and greatly appreciated.
Alternatively, if you would like something tangible in exchange for a contribution, consider purchasing my book Run With It: A True Story of Parkinson’s, Marathons, the Pandemic, and Love. I’ve heard it’s a good read. Most of the reviews are coming in at four to five stars and it recently was named a Finalist in the 2022 Wishing Shelf Book Awards contest.
All profits from its sale are donated to MJFF. It can be found on my author’s website and Amazon. It’s cheaper on my author site (for domestic shipping), a larger percentage goes to MJFF than for Amazon sales, and you get the option of having it signed by the author.
