| Distance & Time |
Mental state |
Physical state |
Song & lyric excerpt |
Description |
| Pre race |
Cool anticipation |
Cold and tight |
Canon(Pachelbel) |
When music as nice as this exists, there can't possibly be anything bad in this world. Can there? |
| Pre race |
Cool anticipation |
Cold and tight |
Beautiful Day(U2)
Don't let it get away |
Cool and sunny. Perfect conditions. The Arc de Triomphe really did look magnificent. What a great day to run a marathon… |
| Pre race |
Cool anticipation |
Cold and tight |
Sunshine of your Love(Cream)
I've been waiting so long, to be the sunshine of your love |
The waiting will soon be over. Soon I'll know whether it will be a glorious day or a miserable one… |
| Pre race |
Cool anticipation |
Cold and tight |
I predict a riot(Kaiser Chiefs)
I predict a riot(x8) |
Quite fitting for Paris. And the amount of barging at the start was unbelievable |
| |
| Distance & Time |
Mental state |
Physical state |
Song & lyric excerpt |
Description |
| Start(00:00:00) |
Cool anticipation |
Cold and tight |
Ride of the Valkyries(Wagner) |
Perfect music for the start of a huge campaign, such as a helicopter invasion of Vietnam, or a Marathon |
0.5km
(00:04:00) |
Frustrated xenophobe |
Warming nicely |
I can see for miles(The Who)
I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles
(I tried km's but it doesn't work) |
The start is downhill, and when you pass the start line (ten minutes) you can see a huge sea of people for miles. Great. There are a million people beating me already |
1km
(00:06:00) |
Frustrated xenophobe |
Warming nicely |
Flight of the Bumble Bee
I think I was actuallyda da daaing this song as I went round |
As usual, all those people who decided to run in fives and are tied together seem to have started closer to the front than you did. The amount of sideways moving you have to do reminds you of playing squash. |
2km
(00:12:00) |
Frustrated xenophobe |
Warming nicely |
Highway star(Deep Purple) |
6 minute kms are no good. Need to be more aggressive and push through |
3km
(00:17:00) |
Frustrated xenophobe |
Feel the blood flowing |
Don't stop me now(Queen)
I'm faster than the speed of light(Actually, I wasn't even travelling at the speed of sound, but was still probably faster than the Northern Line) |
Running on the pavement, in the grass, just anything to get ahead |
4km
(00:22:00) |
Frustrated xenophobe |
Feel the blood flowing |
Bat out of hell(Meat Loaf)
I'll be gone when the morning comes |
This song was written just for running around gothic buildings. Never though I'd get a chance to test it like this |
| |
| Distance & Time |
Mental state |
Physical state |
Song & lyric excerpt |
Description |
5km
(00:26:00) |
Settled |
Starting to sweat |
Crosstown traffic(Jimi Hendrix)
Tyre tracks all over your back honey, I see you've had your fun |
I doubt Mr Hendrix was running in a crowd when he wrote this song |
6km
(00:31:00) |
Settled |
Starting to sweat |
Street Fighting Man(Rolling Stones)
The time is right for fighting in the street |
The French are surprisingly fiesty when fighting amongst themselves |
7km
(00:37:00) |
Settled |
Warm and cosy |
Bittersweet symphony(The Verve) |
You remember the video to this? I can now fully sympathise with Richard Ashcroft when he was barging all those people out the way |
8km
(00:42:00) |
Settled |
Warm and cosy |
Free bird(Lynyrd Skynryd)
I'm as free as a bird now |
Starting to free up a bit. The guitar solo to this song has been described as a marathon effort. Like to see them here? |
10km
(00:50:00) |
Settled |
|
Eruption(VanHalen)
This year the Imodium came up trumps (so to speak). It’s the longest I've ever run without having to jettison anything |
The stage where I usually need a portaloo… |
11km
(00:55:00) |
Settled |
|
Stockholm syndrome(Muse)
|
You're starting to actually enjoy yourself. And the very thought seems perverse |
12km
(01:00:00) |
Settled |
Slight aches |
Where the streets have no name(U2) |
The streets do have names, I just can't read them |
14km
(01:10:00) |
Settled |
Endorphins kick in |
Yesterday(The Beatles)
Yesterday all my troubles seemed so far away. Now it looks as though they're here to stay
(Can you believe the guy who wrote this then inflicted Wings upon us?) |
This time yesterday I was still in bed. Today was Tomorrow, and it came a day too soon |
15km
(01:15:00) |
Settled |
Endorphins kick in |
Solsbury Hill(Peter Gabriel) |
You can see an incline. But there's nothing to fear. Relax |
16km
(01:20:00) |
Settled |
Endorphins kick in |
Uninvited guest(Marillion)
I'm the 13th at the table, I'm the univited guest |
Start running through a park. No spectators, just people walking their dogs |
19km
(01:35:00) |
Settled |
Slight aches |
Wind of change(Scorpions)
The wind of change blow straight into the face of time |
After a 4k gradual accent you turn around and go back down |
| |
| Distance & Time |
Mental state |
Physical state |
Song & lyric excerpt |
Description |
21km
(01:45:00) |
Reassured |
Slight aches |
Livin' on a prayer(Bon Jovi)
whoaaahhwe're half way there |
Whenever I'm halfway through anything, this song always pops into my head. Even if I'm halfway to Ealing Broadway on the Central line |
22km
(01:50:00) |
Like a Rock Star |
Slight aches |
Money for nothing(Dire Straits)
Get your money for nothing, and your chicks for free
(Very true apart from the money… And the chicks) |
At this stage you are going in and out of underpasses, with bridges full of cheering spectators. In this section I heard 2 people shout "come on serpentine" Fantastic. It makes such a difference |
25km
(02:05:00) |
Like a (faded) Rock Star |
Slight aches |
When I'm 64(The Beatles)
Will you still need me? Will you still feed me? When I'm 64? |
In a couple of hours I won't be able to walk, talk properly or take full responsibility for my digestive system. Is this what it's like to be old? |
| |
| Distance & Time |
Mental state |
Physical state |
Song & lyric excerpt |
Description |
26km
(02:10:00) |
Solidarity Brothers ... |
Slight aches |
Winner takes it all(ABBA)
The winner takes it all. The loser's standing small |
You pass the 26 mark. But it's kms and not miles. You realise that the winners will have finished by now |
26km
(02:11:00) |
Solidarity Brothers ... |
Slight aches |
Tunnel of love(Dire Straits) |
There is this really eerie tunnel, where all of a sudden it's just you and the other runners. It's dark and echoey and lasts 1 km. The runners are all shouting stuff. It's really strange but nice. Only later did I find out that I was running on the spot where Diana met her end |
27km
(02:20:00) |
Solidarity Brothers ... |
Slight aches |
Paradise City(Guns 'n' Roses)
Take me down to the paradise city, where the grass is green and the girls are pretty |
You see the Eiffel Tower. You remember that this place means a whole lot more than 4 hours of pain |
| |
| Distance & Time |
Mental state |
Physical state |
Song & lyric excerpt |
Description |
28km
(02:25:00) |
Light headed |
Thirsty |
Barbarism begins at home(The Smiths)
A crack on the head is what you get for asking, and a crack on the head is what you get for not asking |
I started to really need the water stops. They were manic. People would just stop and chat. It was wet and slippy and you basically have the choice, risk injury or risk dehydration? |
29km
(02:30:00) |
Light headed |
Thirsty |
You stole the sun from my heart(Manic Street Preachers)
I should really stop smiling. It gives the wrong impression now |
The sun goes in. This is bad news. I was planning on absorbing more energy through photosynthesis |
30km
(02:35:00) |
Light headed |
Bit more all round pain |
Worst Case Scenario(dEUS)
The horror, the pain and the alphabet |
You're starting to hate everything. Running, other runners, friends, family, food, work etc. Not quite sure what they meant by this lyric, but at this stage I think the alphabet is fair game too |
| |
| Distance & Time |
Mental state |
Physical state |
Song & lyric excerpt |
Description |
31km
(02:41:00) |
Desperate isolation |
Unknown |
Time(Pink Floyd)
You run and you run to catch up with the sun but its sinking, And racing around to come up behind you again, The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older, Shorter of breath and one day closer to death |
Listen to the words of this song. It’s the most anti-running thing I've ever heard. An 8 minute epic about the futility of running and chasing things. At this stage you are inclined to agree… |
32-36km
(02:47:00) |
Desperate isolation |
Unknown |
Shine on you Crazy Diamond(Pink Floyd)
Now theres a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky |
There has not been a better song / album written about this particular feeling. That of being the centre of attention, with everyone cheering you on, but at the same time feeling more alone than you have ever been. Written about a man who spent just three years in the spotlight and then 30 years in psychiatric care. For the first time in 4 months you are not sure whether you will make it to the finish line |
36km
(03:10:00) |
Desperate isolation |
Unknown |
Comfortably Numb(Pink Floyd)
There is no pain, you are receeding |
The 3.30 pacemaker floats past, but you no longer care |
| |
37km
(03:15:00) |
Re-motivated |
Perfect |
There There(Radiohead)
Just cos you feel it, doesn't mean it's there |
Just done a km in 4.45. Obviously not is such bad shape. Overcome by a sudden sense of euphoria. I can speed up again. Was the previous 8km all in my head? |
| |
| Distance & Time |
Mental state |
Physical state |
Song & lyric excerpt |
Description |
38km
(03:20:00) |
Mind over matter |
Legs weigh 10 stone |
Everybody Hurts(REM)
Everybody hurts, sometimes |
A lot of people are walking at this point. Other peoples' misery is sometimes reassuring |
39km
(03:25:00) |
Mind over matter |
12 stone |
Days of our Lives(Freddie Mercury)
The bad things in life are so few |
Whenever I'm not sure whether its worth digging deep to achieve something, I will always remember when I was 11 years old. I watched a man who was a few months away from dying of Aids. He didn't complain or even tell anyone, he just wrote and performed one of the most beautiful songs ever done. What was required of me here seems trivial and easy in comparision |
40km
(03:30:00) |
Mind over matter |
15 stone |
I am the Resurrection(Stone Roses)
I could never ever bring myself to hate you as I'd liked |
Kind of like after an argument with your other half. You thought and said some silly things that you regret and you just want to kiss and make up. I didn't mean any of it. It came out all wrong |
41km
(03:34:00) |
Mind over matter |
20 stone |
Seven Nation Army(White Stripes)
A seven nation army couldn't hold me back |
Get out of my way everyone, I'm coming through |
| |
Finish line
(03:39:50) |
Euphoria |
I'm floating... |
We are the champions(Queen)
The whole song. REALLY LOUD |
The most sung song on planet earth. And it feels like it was written just for me, just for this moment |
| |
Medal line
(post race) |
Euphoria |
|
Stairway To Heaven(Led Zeppelin)
All that glitters is gold |
The Medal is HUGE
|