I'm James Crooks. I'm the Chief Information Officer at
Durham University up in the North East, but I live in Liverpool.

So I've travelled down from Liverpool for the TCS London Marathon.

Well, I've watched the marathon on TV before, so I kind of,
I thought I knew what to expect from the finish line.

But after 26 and whatever it is, miles, the feeling was amazing.

The sense of relief and, and all that accomplishment as well as feeling slightly bewildered and dazed by the whole experience.

But it was an amazing feeling when I crossed the line.

So where I live, I, I often train on the beach and it's really nice and sandy, golden, sandy beaches.

And I can, I can go for, for kilometers on the beach and London's a little bit different.

The, the, the pavements and the roads are a little bit more impactful.

So it takes a bit of its toll on the old knees. So it was great seeing my dad on the course. He's, he's come down to support me. He had his jester hat on and a bright yellow T-shirt and a flag.

So he's really easy to spot.

And just seeing him giving a big hug gave me such a boost to carry on and do my best.

So London's my first marathon. It was hard work, but I did a load of training, 16 week training plan.

My advice to anybody else doing it for the first time would be really put the effort into training.

But it's so worth it when you get it.