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Out of London
10th April 2006
Hi All,

Sorry this has to be such a disappointing diary update.

After having done all that I could to keep my preparation going and spending four weeks doing all I could to try and get my foot better in time, I had to admit defeat and withdraw from the Flora London Marathon last week.

It was a decision that bitterly disappointed me as the London Marathon is a race that is so important for me and, after having to withdraw from the Commonwealth Games, it was what this season was all about for me. It's still really hard to imagine the race going ahead without me but I have had to accept that my foot needs total rest to clear it up and with many more goals and hopefully years of serious running and racing left ahead of me I don't want to do anything to jeopardise this.

Although gutted not to be able to race I have to be sensible and let my body get on with the healing process. There will be many more great London races and also big targets to come. Looking on the bright side I know that often from frustration and disappointment like this comes a strength that often surprises me once i get back training and racing. I always find that when something I love and enjoy so much is taken away from me it only serves to emphasise and reinforce how much I still love and crave the basic act of being able to get out and run. Right now I feel frustrated and restless as my rest period for this season doesn't come after the goal has been achieved and I can sit back and relax during my break. Instead the rest has been forced upon me and my mind is already thinking about new goals to replace the ones I missed out on. First step though is to be patient and sensible and get back 100% before attacking these targets with a vengeance.

So now I'm giving it the total rest it needs and thinking about setting new targets for when I start back running again. Once again it teaches me that you have to remember and make the most of the good times as we are all always going to have difficult times to test us and make us stronger.

Being in the USA at the time I was unable to see much of the Commonwealth Games but did manage to see some of the final days of the Championships. It was mixed results for the home countries but the distance events fared better than most. It was great to see good performances in the Marathon - great runs by Dan Robinson, Liz Yelling and Tracey Morris. I was really happy for Liz as she won her first medal and overcame a difficult last 12 months. Equally pleased for Jo Pavey with a great tactical run as she makes her way back to 100% after illness problems and Mara Yamauchi in the 10000m. Great run by Lisa Dobriskey and the others in the women's 1500m and Susan Scott and girls in the 800m too. Just shows that the talent and the work ethic is there in the girls coming through.