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| Why its marathon shows London at its best | Why its marathon shows London at its best |
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| One of the things you notice most when lining up to start the London Marathon, as I will be on Sunday for the third year in a row, are the messages on the backs of those in front of you. T-shirts and vests are adorned with the names of the charities the runners have been raising money for, often embellished in personal ways: photos of relatives or friends killed or stricken by pitiless illnesses; pleas to save particular hospitals, help the local homeless or protect the lives of vulnerable kids. | One of the things you notice most when lining up to start the London Marathon, as I will be on Sunday for the third year in a row, are the messages on the backs of those in front of you. T-shirts and vests are adorned with the names of the charities the runners have been raising money for, often embellished in personal ways: photos of relatives or friends killed or stricken by pitiless illnesses; pleas to save particular hospitals, help the local homeless or protect the lives of vulnerable kids. |
| In the gentle jostle of the first few miles of the 26.2 these human hoardings keep catching your eye, some overtaking you, others drawing you forward through the crowded field and, at least until your own pain – knees, calves, lungs - claims your full attention, reminds you of the suffering of others and fellow citizens' dedication to soothing it. | In the gentle jostle of the first few miles of the 26.2 these human hoardings keep catching your eye, some overtaking you, others drawing you forward through the crowded field and, at least until your own pain – knees, calves, lungs - claims your full attention, reminds you of the suffering of others and fellow citizens' dedication to soothing it. |
| It's a humbling experience, a beautiful one, and one that marks out mass participation running from other sporting events, as Roger Robinson eloquently argued following the Boston bombs. The London Marathon stirringly showcases these street-slogging advertisements for human kindness, gathered in the capital from every part of the United Kingdom and beyond. | It's a humbling experience, a beautiful one, and one that marks out mass participation running from other sporting events, as Roger Robinson eloquently argued following the Boston bombs. The London Marathon stirringly showcases these street-slogging advertisements for human kindness, gathered in the capital from every part of the United Kingdom and beyond. |
| The watching crowds too play a huge part, lining the entire route, applauding throughout. Drums are pounded, bands and records play, energy-boosting Jelly Babies are proffered by children hanging over the crash barrier fence. The marathon underlines much that is best about the capital itself, reassuring me that its global branding as a welcoming, generous and open city has a basis in reality. | The watching crowds too play a huge part, lining the entire route, applauding throughout. Drums are pounded, bands and records play, energy-boosting Jelly Babies are proffered by children hanging over the crash barrier fence. The marathon underlines much that is best about the capital itself, reassuring me that its global branding as a welcoming, generous and open city has a basis in reality. |
| The London marathon is not a political event, and I'm not seeking to depict it as one. But each of us, participants and spectators alike, draws our own version of the moral meaning of the grueling, heartening, experience and, for me, this year's, the 33rd, is already defined against the backdrop of a London that is changing for the worse. | The London marathon is not a political event, and I'm not seeking to depict it as one. But each of us, participants and spectators alike, draws our own version of the moral meaning of the grueling, heartening, experience and, for me, this year's, the 33rd, is already defined against the backdrop of a London that is changing for the worse. |
| It comes at a time in its history when the capital has been casually claimed as a playground, financial killing field, and unofficial tax haven by the most worthless of the super rich, and used as a testing ground by a desperate, dishonest government for its policy of pinning blame for austerity on those least able to defend themselves. All of this goes on with the chortling approval of a dilettante London mayor, for whom City Hall is a mere public podium of convenience from which to pursue his private ambitions. | It comes at a time in its history when the capital has been casually claimed as a playground, financial killing field, and unofficial tax haven by the most worthless of the super rich, and used as a testing ground by a desperate, dishonest government for its policy of pinning blame for austerity on those least able to defend themselves. All of this goes on with the chortling approval of a dilettante London mayor, for whom City Hall is a mere public podium of convenience from which to pursue his private ambitions. |
| The marathon, it seems to me, is nourished by the antithesis of this mean, destructive spirit. The efforts poured into it by ordinary people illustrate and resolve a potential paradox: on the one hand, it is an intensely individual and competitive event, with most of those running engaged in a grinding struggle with their own bodies and minds; on the other, and simultaneously, it is a huge collective endeavour largely conducted for the benefit of others. | The marathon, it seems to me, is nourished by the antithesis of this mean, destructive spirit. The efforts poured into it by ordinary people illustrate and resolve a potential paradox: on the one hand, it is an intensely individual and competitive event, with most of those running engaged in a grinding struggle with their own bodies and minds; on the other, and simultaneously, it is a huge collective endeavour largely conducted for the benefit of others. |
| I've been functioning within that paradox for much of my final six, rather disorderly, weeks of training for the heavy test of bone, muscle and resolve to come. Part of my head obsesses with the mathematics of finishing inside four hours, which I feel sure I'm capable of but have yet to achieve. Another part, the emotional spin doctor within, tells me to lower expectations, to remember my fragile shins and the cramp that hobbled me in 2011 and 2102 during those daunting, late-teen miles on the Isle of Dogs. | I've been functioning within that paradox for much of my final six, rather disorderly, weeks of training for the heavy test of bone, muscle and resolve to come. Part of my head obsesses with the mathematics of finishing inside four hours, which I feel sure I'm capable of but have yet to achieve. Another part, the emotional spin doctor within, tells me to lower expectations, to remember my fragile shins and the cramp that hobbled me in 2011 and 2102 during those daunting, late-teen miles on the Isle of Dogs. |
| And augmenting that wise caution is the occasional reminder to my solipsistic self that I'll only be running on Sunday at all because I'm honoured to be a member of Team UNICEF UK, and raising money to help its work protecting the rights of children all over the world, including some of its poorest and most war-torn. For me the marathon is an ego thing within a giving thing, which, multiplied many thousands of times, showcases London at its best. | And augmenting that wise caution is the occasional reminder to my solipsistic self that I'll only be running on Sunday at all because I'm honoured to be a member of Team UNICEF UK, and raising money to help its work protecting the rights of children all over the world, including some of its poorest and most war-torn. For me the marathon is an ego thing within a giving thing, which, multiplied many thousands of times, showcases London at its best. |
| As I write, I'm £465 short of my final fund-raising target of £2000. Please visit my Virgin Money Giving page and donate what you can. Many thanks. | As I write, I'm £465 short of my final fund-raising target of £2000. Please visit my Virgin Money Giving page and donate what you can. Many thanks. |
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