London called and Bay hero answered
AFTER receiving an invitation to race in the Virgin Money London Marathon, a fourth-place finish in the grand masters on Sunday was an unexpected bonus for Port Elizabeth long-distance athlete Alan Taylor.
Taylor, 60, of Sunridge Park, crossed the finish line in three hours, 10 minutes and 16 seconds to take fourth place in the 60-64 age category.
“This was my first London Marathon. I received an invite to take part in the race through Ironman director in South Africa, Paul Wolff,” Taylor said.
“I obviously gladly took it up, because the race has been on my bucket list for probably 30 years.
“I have been helping with the Ironman African Championship for 14 years and for years Paul has been saying to me, ‘Alan you can go and do an Ironman event anywhere in the world’, and they would pay my entry.
“And I have always said to them, ‘I am a runner’ and not an Ironman. So when Wolff got this offer from the head office he thought of me.
“I grabbed the opportunity with both hands, because I think it’s every athlete’s dream to do the London race.”
He said his fourth-place finish came as a huge surprise.
“Running here was very difficult,” Taylor said from his hotel in London.
“The road was very congested because we had three separate starts – you don’t all start in one actual place. Then you all link up 5 or 7km down the road and the three races merge into one.
“It was bad enough having those athletes start before us, which was probably close to 2 000 of them, and then down the road you get the next 2 000 athletes of the other start.
“And when the starts come together it increases the number of athletes on the road, which made running very difficult.
“Back home we all wear an age-group tag on our vest – they don’t do that here so I didn’t know where I finished.
“After the race I just went back to the hotel and about an hour after the event finished a friend of mine sent me a text on WhatsApp saying: ‘Hey, well done in London, you were fourth in your age group’.
“And then more WhatsApp texts starting come through. I was just glad I finished the race.
“To finish fourth in my age group is amazing, because there must have been about 2 000 people in that group. I just came here to experience the marathon, because it’s something I won’t do ever again.
But he said: “If I get an invite next year I’ll come back.
“For now though I can just tick it off my bucket list and say I have done it, I’ve been there and I have experienced it.”
He said the race was well organised and the crowd was phenomenal.
“The marathon was amazing, and the people. There were over 40 000 athletes and the roads are lined from start to finish.
“You don’t get a gap in the fence where you say ‘Oh I am going to stand here just to get a breather’, because there is no gap. It’s just people standing and shouting continuously. I can still hear the noise in my ears.
“The weather was great, I think that was what brought a lot of the spectators out. We arrived in London on Wednesday last week and from that point right up until Monday the weather was beautiful.
“It was really an amazing event. I think it’s probably the hugest fundraising event in the world, when it comes to raising money for charities.”
Taylor said entry was like a lottery system. After paying to take part in the race, you have to wait for a call-up to be included in the starting lineup.
The entry money of those who do not get the call-up goes to charity.