Anthony Johnson runs the London Marathon 2024 for Young Lives Vs Cancer

It’s been a life goal of mine to run the London Marathon.

In 2023, I ran the London Landmarks Half Marathon with my wife Carla and some friends as a little taster.

I had an ongoing injury for many months leading up to the day, so unfortunately I didn’t get to practice much. I wasn’t my fittest on the day and I pulled the same muscle about halfway around. Carrying on, I managed to run the half marathon in 2 hours, 9 minutes.

I swore down after that day I wouldn’t run a full marathon. Although I managed to get around without walking, I just couldn’t begin to comprehend or imagine running another 13 miles.

In January 2024, I contacted Young Lives Vs Cancer and asked them about possibly piloting a new scheme we had in mind called Drive against Cancer. The offer was simple: 50 hours of free driving lessons funded by driveJohnson’s to enable a young person with cancer to learn to drive.

We proposed to pilot the driving lessons in Milton Keynes, with the hope of expanding its reach across the UK in the future. On Saturday, 6th April 2024, we took our first step towards this vision as Danika Hill, a Hodgkin’s Lymphoma cancer patient, embarked on her first lesson through the scheme. You can read her inspiring story here.

I was feeling pretty nervous before the race, fearing the unknown between miles 20 to 26.2. Everyone says the marathon starts at mile 20. The plan was to hang onto the 4:15 pacer for my dear life up to 32k (20 miles). I knew if I could keep with the pacer to this point, I’d have a good chance of completing the race without walking.

I managed to stick with the pacer up to 35k. From 35k (21.5 miles), I broke the run down into 2 miles (3km) at a time, just telling myself, ‘Do another 2 miles and it’s okay if you want to walk after that; you’ve exceeded your original goal.’ and I kept up with the pacer to 35k. My pace slowed from 5:45km/h to 6:00km/h to get through this. At approximately 24 miles, I just said to myself, ‘Don’t look at your watch now, don’t worry about pace, JUST DON’T STOP running!’ This tactic served me well, and I even found the energy to pick up a couple of walkers at the last mile and encourage them to run with me. The last mile was a team effort; I was spurring them on like an army general a bit, which helped me get through to the end without stopping or walking too, in hindsight. We celebrated over the line, hugging it out, and it felt good to complete the last part of the race helping my two new fellow soldier friends.

Mission accomplished. I was happy with my time 4 hours 19 minutes.

Everything pretty much went to plan. I don’t think I could have run it any faster in hindsight, so I have no regrets. I’m proud of myself for digging deep when I could have easily stopped. The crowd definitely played their part from miles 20 to 26.2. It felt like I was running through a full house Colosseum for the last 6 miles!

Seeing my screaming wife, Freya, and family and friends around the course was fantastic. Big shout out to them: Carla, Freya, Dave/Cheryll (in-laws), Susan (my sister), Michael, Rob and Sharron Bostridge, plus Nicki our driveJohnson’s office manager and her husband Craig (also a good friend).

Would I do it again? YES!

Being part of the London Marathon Class of 2024 is a memory I will cherish forever! I’m amazed by the support and messages I received before, during and after the race – I can’t thank everyone enough for their kind words and, of course, donations to my chosen charity.

Today’s goal was to run 10k at my marathon pace 5:45km/h.

My watch was telling me I was running at 5:45k pace. However, Strava, which I only check at the end, said I was running faster, so that’s something to keep an eye on for race day. I finished with an ice bath which really sorted my legs out.

The plan for race day is to start around 5:45k/h pace, no faster, and aim to get to 20 miles at that pace. If I can do that I will be over the moon.

This was my last long run before the London Marathon. It felt good and, although I’m feeling nervous, I feel good and healthy 6 days beforehand, so for that I’m grateful. :-)

Today’s run was just shaking off the stiff legs from Thursday’s 13 mile run.

We had a late evening on Saturday watching Michael McIntyre at the O2 with Carla’s parents.

Carla is also getting back into running, so it was great motivation for her to run with a future stavros marathon runner like myself, lol.

The run went well, followed by breakfast and then a drive back to MK.

Today’s run was the last of my long runs.

I had a goal in my head to try and aim for a 1:50 to 1:55 hour half marathon time, but I fell short with a time of 2:03 hours.

I was testing compression sleeves on my thighs for the first time, which hindered me, and at 10k I had to take them off and throw them in the bin. They made my legs feel really heavy, so it was a good test to do now before the big day, but they definitely affected my running pace. Also, the weather was 17-18 degrees, which meant I lost a lot more water, so I’ve learnt to take more salt tablets if the sun’s out on the day.

I also tested Deep Heat on my thighs and ibuprofen for the first time. I will continue using these products on the day of the marathon. Hopefully, they can help me over the last six miles, which I’m pretty scared about.

After running 20 miles yesterday, I started to reflect and wish I had run a bit more, as it was my last big run before the marathon day.

I woke up early Saturday and felt pretty good, so I decided to go out and run another 6 miles to give my legs a beasting and the closest feeling to doing a full marathon they are going to get before the big day.

It was an empty stomach run, which went to plan, and I had no injuries, apart from my toe getting another pasting.

I now need to take 3-4 days off to try and allow my toe to recover.

Lastly, thank you to everyone who sponsored me over the weekend! I also received some amazing messages of support. Thank you everyone for the kind donations and support. It means a lot to me :-)

Today’s objective was to do 20 miles at my happy pace, approx 5:45km/h, and not stop. My last 20 miler was a disaster so I needed this run to clear my head and boost my confidence again.

Thankfully, the run went well. Weather conditions were tough, with lots of sludgy mud on the footpaths for the first 4k and the last 4k coming back. My toe started to explode around mile 12, but that’s something I’ve got used to now, and I’ve accepted it will probably be amputated after the marathon, lol.

Nutrition and hydration throughout the run were good, and although my legs felt tired by the end, I felt good mentally.

After my last 20-mile attempt, I needed some time off to allow the toe to heal again. By Friday, I was able to do a little 5k run test. I then decided to do 20 miles over 3 days, 32.5k in total, to get the miles in my legs and not damage my toe too much, which always happens when I’m doing long distances.

I’m feeling a little bit more confident now. Everything went to plan. I also did all the runs on an empty stomach, which will hopefully help my body get used to using fat as energy instead of glycogen. I tested salt sticks every 15-20 minutes too, as I sweat loads and think these could help moving forward.

Next up is a big 20-22 mile run next weekend. Wish me luck!

Today was the big test. It was meant to be the last long run before the big marathon day. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a disaster.

A few things led up to the run that meant my preparation wasn’t great, as mentioned in some of the previous posts.

I started well; in fact, I ran my fastest half marathon in 1 hour 55 minutes. However, the wheels started flying off the bus around miles 12-13 when I tried a shot of caffeine, which I’ve never done while running.

I started feeling weak and even stopped walking around miles 14-15. From miles 16-20, it was pretty depressing. I was craving sugar and anything I could get my hands on, even taking jelly babies out of strangers’ hands, lol. At the end of the run, I felt awful. The only plus was seeing my wife Carla and Freya at the finish line. Overall, I ran too fast initially and tried too many different things like caffeine shots. I plan to do another long run the weekend of 6th-7th April to make amends for this disaster. Everyone is saying don’t do it, but I can’t finish my long run preparation on that note.

Since my 20-mile long run, I’ve been out of action with a toe infection for approximately 7-10 days. I had to get some leftover antibiotics from my in-laws’ house as I couldn’t be bothered to play the phone lottery game in the mornings to see a doctor. The antibiotics sorted out the infection and calmed it down quickly. As I was recovering from that, I had a stomach virus for around 3-4 days.

The first day I felt up to running was Saturday, 16th March. I decided to take it easy as I still felt very dehydrated from the virus, and my resting heart rate was still high. My fitness watch app said not to exercise, so I decided to behave a little bit and take it easy. On top of that, my toe still felt a bit tender. I tried this toe cap invention for the first time and it was a game changer. It felt comfortable whilst running, and my toe didn’t rip open or blister again. So nothing major to report over the last 2 weeks other than me being a bit of a sick note and doing a couple of lame runs.

I have a big run coming up on Sunday 24th March – it’s the 20-mile Twin Lake Race. This will be my first time running with other people. I’m not looking forward to it, but it’s got to be done. I’m feeling a bit behind schedule now. Hopefully, the 24th of March goes okay and that will boost my confidence.

Today’s goal was to run at least 19 miles. Ideally, 20 miles.

I wasn’t looking forward to this run much, as I had struggled on an 18-mile run a few weeks earlier. I planned my run the night before to visit my old primary school, St Monica’s in Neath Hill. The route also included some areas where I used to walk to school, like Pennyland. From there, I connected back to a route I had done before, which included running to Giffard Park and Newport Pagnell.

When I arrived at St Monica’s, I took some pictures for the memory bank on Strava. The school’s appearance has changed so much in the last 30-35 years. From the outside, it looks like Woodhill prison now.

Regarding the run itself, I wanted to call it a day after the first hour. My toe was throbbing early on and I was concerned I’d make it worse. Anyway, I carried on and in the back of my mind I said to myself, if it gets too much, I’d just hop on a lime scooter or bike in the worst-case scenario, as there were plenty of them randomly lying around on my run.

Today’s goal was to run 10 miles at an average pace of 5:30km/h or less.

I have to say I don’t enjoy running at a faster pace.

I ran in and around Bletchley mainly, seeing a few driveJohnson’s instructors along the way. I waved to them, but they did not wave back, lol. After finishing the 10 miles, I ran another 3 miles at a slower pace to make it a half marathon.

I’m hoping to run another 13 miles this week to make a total 26-mile run within five days.

Today’s objective was to run 18 miles and nothing less. Waking up to pouring rain didn’t help my motivation level.

I knew my usual route would be waterlogged, so I planned a different route, incorporating many hills. I started at Furzton Lake and ran to and through Bletchley, going up along Whaddon Way, Buckingham Road and Manor Road, to name a few, before heading to Caldecotte Lake and then Walnut Tree to visit our old house where we used to live. It’s a bit weird for some, but I like going past some of the old places I used to live, especially when I was growing up.

Despite many inclines, I felt good up to around mile 15-16, and that’s when my feet started playing up. I was wearing new trainers for the first time, which was a schoolboy error.

Overall, I was happy to get the 18 miles in the bag.

I have really struggled to get past the 13-mile mark since coming back to training in January. Today’s goal was to run 17 miles/28k.

I loaded myself up with carbs and started running around 8am.

I found this run really tough around mile 14-15. I was in two minds to skip part of the route and finish on 16 miles again like last week. It was like I had a demon in my head just saying, ‘Anthony what are you doing this for? Take it easy, 16 miles is okay!’

I was at the crossroads to bottle it or go on the extended route, which took me up to 17 miles. At the last minute, I decided to ignore the demon and take my medicine.

The last mile was tough, but I’m glad I did it. My next long run goal is 18-19 miles. This is quite daunting at the time of writing this.

Things to consider for my next long run: buy some new headphones that don’t run out after 3 hours and bring more water on future runs.

Sunday 28th January 2024 – 16 Mile Run/26k

Today, I got past the 13-mile stage for the first time, which I was chuffed about. The goal was 16 miles and I did it. I still have another 10 miles to make the full marathon and I’m concerned about how I will achieve this. I ran from Simpson along the Grand Union canal to Giffard Park, doing a little reccy around where I grew up as a kid. I like running past our old house in Shelsmore where I lived from around age 3 to 17 years old before moving out. Then I ran to our old Harben House office and back to Simpson.