MARATHON mum Elaine Kennedy-Walton is feeling relieved after completing the London marathon at the weekend.
The mum-of-three from Moffat has at last completed the marathon after she was forced to pulled out due to injury in 2016, or compete virtually because of the pandemic.
This year she ran in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support in the hope of completing the journey she started back in 2016.
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing to the finish line for Elaine as days before the race she felt a niggle in her calf and wasn’t sure if she’d be able to run at all.
She said: “Last Thursday morning I had a test run which didn’t go that well and I was tempted to not take my running stuff down the road with me. When we were travelling done to London I was so convinced that I wouldn’t be able to run but at the Expo, when I picked up my number, I got some last minute physio done and they managed to get me run ready.
“When I started the race it was fine until about mile 16 or 17 and it started to cramp up again, so I had lots of stops to stretch it out and I managed to get around with the support of the crowd. I actually don’t know how I managed it looking back, because it’s in pretty bad shape at the moment, it’s all swollen.”
Despite everything, Elaine completed the race in three hours and 34 minutes, and was one of the first Macmillan runners to cross the finish line after receiving encouragement from her family who were there cheering her on.
She added: “I managed to see my family at mile 13 and I then passed them again at mile 22 and I knew when I saw them at that point I didn’t have much longer to go so I stopped and had a wee blether with them, stretched out my calf, posed for photos with them and that was my last stop before I finished the race, it was such a good boost.
“And I finally got my Macmillan cheer, it’s such relief now that I’ve done it. After I finished I went into the Macmillan area and they had cheerleaders there to congratulate you, I hobbled up some steps and they were all chanting my name and doing cheers, it was a great atmosphere. I got a post-race massage and it turns out I was one of the first Macmillan racers back so I got the chance to lie down, relax.”
Since returning home Elaine has been recovering and taking a break from running but is thankful to everyone who donated, adding: “The fundraiser has reached over £1000 which I’m really overwhelmed by, there have been a lot of donations not just from friends and family but from anonymous people, so I’d like to say thank you to everyone who donated.”
