An Aberdeen lawyer is hoping lightning strikes twice as he takes on the London Marathon for a second year in a row.
Tom Main will push himself to the limit in the UK capital tomorrow as he attempts to complete the world-famous 26.2mile route.
The 25-year-old, whose girlfriend Laura Campbell will also be running, will be raising money for mental health charity Heads Together, the event’s official partner this year.
The trainee solicitor has been training since November and despite not running the full distance, he says the preparation is the toughest hurdle to overcome.
He said: “It’s been one of the hardest parts, having a job which means that most of the week I’m working 11-12 hours a day has meant I’ve had to try and fit in a run each morning.
“Over the past six months I have got more and more into running and I’ve now joined a club. I wanted to become a bit more competitive and have more structured training.
“They recommend that you don’t do more than 20miles beforehand, I have done 18.”
Last year, Mr Main completed the run in four hours and 14 minutes and raised £1,000 for Sense, two totals he hopes to beat on Sunday.
“Hopefully I can get under four, that would be the target. But when you’re doing longer distances the idea is to make little improvements because of how taxing it can be.
“You just try and break it down into chunks, like five miles, so it doesn’t feel as daunting.
“Some part of you does go into auto-pilot I suppose, but it depends how much you’re hurting – if your legs are sore then it kind of brings you out of it.”
This year’s marathon is the 37th event and there will be 39,000 runners taking part.
And Mr Main says the scale of the event and the amount of people who come to watch is a vital piece of motivation.
“I’ve not done any other marathon events but the crowd in London is supposedly the best,” he added.
“The last three miles feels like you’re starting again because there’s so many people cheering you on, you get a real adrenalin rush.
“I think for everyone there it’s a really emotional moment when you cross the finishing line, because of what you’ve achieved and because of the crowd.”
Heads Together helps a range of people, including armed forces veterans and emergency responders, and aims to end the stigma surrounding mental health conditions such as depression.
To sponsor Mr Main visit
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Tom_Main
