Monday, April 27, 2009

What an experience!



What a fabulous day yesterday (Sunday).

We completed the London Marathon in a time of 5 hours 31 minutes. It was a fantastic experience.

I hit 'the wall' between 20 and 21 miles and had to walk for a while whilst Annie could have kept running.

To finish 26.2 miles in a reasonable time was tremendous – it feels good.


There will be pictures soon – just give us a few days.


Almost 36,000 runners; hundreds of thousands of spectators; millions of pounds raised for charity; sunshine; just an absolute joy to be part of it.

If you are interested, the official London Marathon Website is at this link giving all the results. http://www.london-marathon.co.uk/site/

So many people wished us well it is impossible to list all the people we need to thank.

Many visitors to Simplicity Blog gave us terrific support and encouragement since our training programme began 24 weeks ago.
We are both extremely grateful for your support – it is greatly appreciated.

Fish and Chips tonight from our local village 'Chippy' were marvellous.


29 comments:

Rocky said...

SWEEEET!!!!!! Way to go Trevor and Annie!!!!! What is next. Mount Everest?!!

Marilyn Jess said...

Sweet is right! I can't imagine how awesome it must be with that many people in a race. The energy must be something to behold. Enjoy those fish 'n chips, and a toast, or two. You've both earned it.

Trevor Gay said...

Thanks Rocky and Marilyn - it feels good.

Fish and Chips tasted better than ever after 6 months without them! Everest is beyond us Rocky ... at least until next year ... just joking :-)

Dick Field said...

Fantastic effort, you two! Good for you, Trevor, in "soldiering on" after hitting the wall! I'm sure Annie was a big help in that!

Neva and I walked the 6.2 mile "March for Babies" (March of Dimes) on Saturday as proud Members of "Team Baby Lucy". Not quite in your league, but with the same amount of devotion to the cause.

A great weekend for worthy causes, all-in-all, it would seem.

Trevor Gay said...

Well done Dick - Annie was terrific as always. She could have run ahead ... I told her to do that .... but she hung around waiting for the oldie to eventually recover!

Well done on your 6.2 mile walk with Neva - terrific effort for another great cause. We continue to include little Lucy in our prayers.

Best wishes my friend

JOHN O'LEARY said...

Congratulations to both of you! VERY impressive. (Hell, I'd get tired driving 26 miles.) Perhaps the Boston marathon next year?

Trevor Gay said...

John - We'd love to come to Boston next year ... who's paying? :-)

Thanks for your best wishes - much valued my friend.

Unknown said...

Trevor, I'm so impressed! My heartfelt congratulations from across the
pond. I went for a rather short 3 mile run today, and lately have been
thinking how much I enjoyed the longer distances. I think I'll just
have to start extending things now.

Bravo! And now that you're done, have a pint for me. :)

dave wheeler said...

Trevor and Annie,

"Simplicity" put...PHENOMENAL!

Rosa Say said...

Ho‘omaika‘i ‘ana – Congratulations to you both Trevor and Annie! What a thrill for you both.

You continue to show us what magnificent things will happen when we set goals and are true to our own capacity with achieving them. What a gift to have friends like you set such a great example.

Trevor Gay said...

Dan - thank you - we celebrated at home tonight with a bottle of Champagne tonight ... with our Fish and Chips!

Trevor Gay said...

Dave - thank you my friend.

Trevor Gay said...

Rosa - you are too kind.

My inspiration comes from the many folks I meet through my Blog.

Thank you for your words - both Annie and I value your support always.

J.KANNAN said...

My Dear Trevor & Annie,

Congratulations to you both and both you have made it fabalously and marvelously. At the moment I have no words to go deep into express my expressions. Jesus was with you through out your mission.
My wife is progressively improving and Sriram's presence with us made remarkable and progressive changes in his mother's health condition, she still continues to be in hospital.

Thanks a lot for your prayers and let me see when I will be back in the simplicity screen in full scales with the blessings and grace of God and prayers of all my beloved simplicity friends and well-wishers, as I was in the past.

May god continue to bless you and your family always.

With Best wishes & regards.

J.K

Trevor Gay said...

JK - how wonderful to hear from you and I’m so pleased the news of your dear wife is better. I am sure Sriram’s presence offers much support to your family at this difficult time.

Take your time - Simplicity Blog will be here for a long time.

Concentrate on supporting your family and join Simplicity Blog at your convenience sir. Your wisdom is always welcome here.

God bless you all.

Dan Gunter said...

Why am I NOT surprised that Annie chose not to run on ahead of you? Considering every comment I have heard you make about Annie, I have no doubts she would have CARRIED you to the finish line in order to finish "together."

Partners. It doesn't get any better than that.

I love the "work" I do. I thoroughly appreciate my friends and life's numerous niceties and pleasures. But at the end of the day, when all of those become just fleeting memories or "things" gathering dust in the darkness of the night, what I appreciate above all else is to rest my head next to the woman who makes me happy and is always standing beside me.

Call it "sappy thinking" or whatever you wish, but if I had to "simplify" my life down to one single thing and choose to do that for the rest of my life, I would not have to ponder the question. The answer would be simple. I just "know" the answer... every time I think of her.

That, my friends, is "simplicity" that I can totally live with.

Trevor Gay said...

Thanks Dan - I could not have described my life better than your words.

"what I appreciate above all else is to rest my head next to the woman who makes me happy and is always standing beside me."

Ditto my friend- that really is simplicity!

David Wike said...

Champagne with fish and chips. Now that’s what I call style!

Do you have your entry form for next year yet? Perhaps you should get one for Dan as well!

Many congratulations to you both.

Frank said...

Great job Trevor and Annie.
Looking forward to blis(ter)ful pictures.

Trevor Gay said...

Thanks David - no entry form obtained for 2010 ....yet ... The jury is still out on that one.

Amazingly we enough feel great and fewer aches and pains than we thought. Would be great to see Dan over here next year!

Trevor Gay said...

Frank - great to hear from you - hope you are ok. We will have some pictures in due course. The official photographs take 72 hours to be published on the Marathon website.

We only took a few with a disposable camera - we didn't have the digital camera with us - minimal carrying required.

Dan Gunter said...

David,

I don't think you'll ever find me in a marathon photo. I could not begin to keep up with what these two wonderful people did. Now, if it was the "Running of the Bulls"...

"Ouch. That's gonna leave a mark."

Trevor Gay said...

Come on Dan - you could do a marathon!!

Scott Peters said...

Looks like your best friend on the TP blog may be a little jealous of your accomplishments (Annie too). Thanks for being a great inspiration during the campaign to better carers worklives and personal lives.

I'm sure the soreness will take days/weeks to wear off!

Goal----planning/training-----results (stellar). There is a business lesson in your expedition!

Trevor Gay said...

Scott - thank you Sir for being a great source of inspiration during our training. Your constant encouragement and your fantastic sponsorship are both brilliant. We really appreciate it.

Dan Gunter said...

Trevor,

Give me a nice, long hike in the mountains any day. But the running thing just doesn't work well for me. I was into competitive weightlifting during my high school days, and even during my firefighting years, I was much more suited for sudden burts of energy and ability, not so with the "endurance" thing. I can stand a lot of things for extended periods of time, but running definitely isn't one of them.

But all my admiration goes out to those who do it and do it well (most especially to those who also do it for a worthy cause.)

Trevor Gay said...

Hi Dan – I played football (soccer) for years at a reasonable level and table tennis at county standard so I was also more into the short bursts/sprint sports. Nowadays I find the stamina is amazing and I can keep on running. The cardio system seems to be strong which is encouraging. Short bursts of speed are long gone for me I fear. Thanks again for your kind comments.

Dan Gunter said...

Trevor,

Perhaps it is a given that the world NEEDS both sprinters and long-distance runners, just as the world of medicine needs paramedics and trauma nurses while also needing long-term care professionals. We all have our niches, and they all matter.

Hope your round of golf was very enjoyable. By the way, is playing just the front nine vs. playing two 18-hole rounds akin so "sprinting" vs. "endurance?" I know that a REAL test of endurance would be what someone would go through watching me try to play golf. No doubt excruciatingly painful.

Trevor Gay said...

Hi Dan

Golf was terrific thanks - sunshine, relaxation, peace and played well so all good.

I guess playing 9 holes or 18 are somewhat similar to the short run and the long run – never really thought of it in that way before.

Personally I prefer to play 18 holes. It always feels like 9 holes is just never enough!

Maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment.