Apparently, I always talk about my fastest marathons, but I very rarely mention those which didn’t go to plan or were just much slower. 

In fact, a certain Mr A Grand set the Sportlink clock to 2:17. 

Well, I had a few which did not go to plan, that’s for sure. 

At the same time, it is those marathons which in some ways are the most memorable. 

My first ever marathon, which was meant to be the only one I was ever going to do, was in Wolverhampton in 1982 where I certainly discovered what hitting the wall meant. A proper baptism of fire I think it is fair to say! 

Those last four miles were awful, but I learnt a lot finishing in 2:37:33. 

Then despite immediately saying no more, just five weeks later, I ran in the first Norfolk Marathon, finishing in 7th place which was such a bonus as far as I was concerned crossing the finish line in 2:40:18. 

My slowest ever though (2:42:38) came about just over a further month later at Rochford where the temperature had soared to the high 70s F before we even started. The late Jim Peters set us off and those who know the history of the marathon will know he is still a legend to this day. He was the first person to run sub 2:20 and at the same time held the world record on the day of my birth for which my personal best (2:17:35) is just one second quicker than what his record was at that time. 

On the start line Jim told us all to be very careful due to what happened to him with just metres to go when stumbling all around the track in Vancouver at the 1954 Commonwealth Games. He never ran again. Whilst I finished in second place at Rochford, this was only because another athlete had gone off course with a mile to go so I gave up my second place to him. Jim Peters came over to me and shook my hand and called me a proper gentleman, which to me was far better than a silver medal. 

Then to finish what was my first year as a marathon runner, I finished third in the Norwich Evening News Centenary marathon in 2:39:18. Once again on a very warm day, but I was just thrilled at being in the top three in a race won by another legend of the sport, Mike Tagg. 

However, the races which I actually look back on with some disappointment, performance wise, is the Crete Marathon in 1988 after an awful year of struggling with injury and then agreeing to run after a late call from what at the time was the British Amateur Athletics Board. This time in temperatures that were extreme, over 90F to be precise. I, along with others, just agreed to use it as a long Sunday run which we did finishing in 2:38:36. However, I must admit I did feel guilty whilst also running the last 10k fast. On the plus side the after-race party was something else. 

Then one marathon which perhaps was not so slow looking back at it now, was after agreeing to run in the history making Hong Kong to China cross border marathon in 1992 when I was full of cold which had hit my chest really hard. My beloved Grandmother had passed away just two weeks prior as well which did not help me mentally. I finished in 2:28:08 but at no stage could I get going physically or mentally. The positive was that I was out there with some great guys and the post marathon celebrations just like Crete were pretty special. 

 My full list of 28 marathons ran between 1982 and 1992 from fastest to slowest is – Berlin 1986, 2:17:35 - Berlin 1985, 2:19:07 - Norfolk 1987, 2:20:33 - London 1985, 2:20:47 - London 1986, 2:21:20 – Wolverhampton 1987, 2:22:04 – Kosice 1987, 2:22:30 – Hong Kong 1987, 2:23:03 – Deluth 1987, 2:23:09 – Aberdeen 1986, 2:23:53 – Nantes 1992, 2:24:52 – Leicester 1984, 2:25:00 – Luton 1991, 2:25:26 – Palermo 1990, 2:25:42 – Bermuda 1990, 2:26:28 – Malta 1989, 2:26:35 - Hong Kong to China 1992, 2:28:08 – Norfolk 1986, 2:29:28 – Bungay 1989, 2:30:32 – Norfolk 1984, 2:30:47 – Norfolk 1990, 2:30:53 – Norfolk 1989, 2:31:26 – Wolverhampton 1983, 2:33:11- Wolverhampton 1982, 2:37:33 – Crete 1988, 2:38:36 – Norwich 1982, 2:39:18 – Norfolk 1982, 2:40:18 – Rochford 1982, 2:42:38. 

I won seven of those 28 marathons with several second and third places too. I also had two England and four GB vests (2 ultra marathons) to throw into the mix. All done off just sheer hard graft with very average ability. So, and whilst at the time I was not always happy about some of my performances, now looking back I wish I could do it all over again. The many great friends made along the way whilst also meeting so many legends of the sport has also been priceless.