All Runners Are Beautiful
- Laura Stonehouse
- Apr 28
- 7 min read
How and Why I ran the London Marathon 2025 without a Garmin
The London Marathon was never on my bucket list until 12 months ago. I’ve been running for 30 years, I started on the treadmill in the gym, it was the only activity I really enjoyed doing. 5 minutes, became 10, then 15 and then 25 … then I started running outside, I’d run from my flat down to the river, early mornings, or after work. And I became obsessed with time, how many minutes, how fast. After I had my children, I really started to begin to train properly and runs became races, local half marathons. Sometimes 3 in one year, sometimes, 2. Not super fast times but respectable. Then 12 months ago, I challenged myself with some trail running (@puretrails) in the Serra Tramuntana and I began to realise that I might just have the capacity to run 26.2 miles.
Every start line is a finish line and every finish line is a start line. That desire to challenge and push yourself – I don’t know where this comes from in me – the need to test your limits and see what you can do. Every time you put yourself on a start line for a race or indeed any to achieve any goal – you risk failure. And every time you succeed, you take the next risk to achieve more success. But it is the definition of success that is crucial. A few years ago, I ran the Palma Half marathon. This race was loaded with emotion for me because my grandfather lived in Palma. As a family, we spent every family holiday in Mallorca from the age of 3 – that was my summer. I had had an operation in June of the Palma Half and the race was October, I had to let go of time and measuring success in this way and embrace the art of completion and being present. Out of all my half marathons, this will always be my favourite race, and it remains my slowest in terms of time. Yet I was fully present, I took in the amazing crowds, the glowing early morning sun and the cobbled streets with the steel band – it was a beautiful experience, and I am so grateful to have lived this race. Sometimes I think we are so busy looking at our ‘garmins’ racing to the finish line that we don’t live the race, fully – it’s a set of numbers we measure ourselves by.
Preparation is key. Training for endurance events require a certain amount of respect – you have to respect the distance you are planning to run and train accordingly – there are no short cuts. There are 3 basic runs in a running training plan that are designed to get you to the finish line. It is written by an expert based on ideal conditions. A training plan usually has a long run, a tempo run and recovery run. Make friends with all 3 and make sure you fully understand why each run is in the plan. Remember that a training plan is not a static document. Just like life, the plan can change, be adapted and amended according to the needs of the runner – and that’s ok – it’s not weak to reduce a distance run or adapt the plan – it’s intelligent strategy.
The recovery run is the most interesting because this is the run that actually strengthens you and makes you a better runner – it is run at an easy pace – your 3/10 effort. Being a better runner makes you a better version of yourself. For endurance or distance running, it means you have learnt patience in the run, not going out too fast, keeping something back so you don’t burn out, it means you have learnt the capacity to endure – to persevere - under pressure and stress, it means you have discipline to execute the plan, it means learning to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, it means you understand what to eat before the run, what to take in after the run to help rebuild your muscles, it means you understand what your body needs to grow strong again – which is not more running – it is more rest. It means you understand that your body and your mind are working together to create the runner you want to become.
Olympians only sprint for 100m or 400m max – you don’t sprint a marathon – you run a marathon over time. The fact is that 80% of your training should be easy and only 20% hard. We think that unless you are pushing yourself 24/7 you are not strong but that is simply not the case. Rest and recovery is just as important as doing the reps and mileage. How much of your life are you living to 80% rest and recovery – easy pace - and how much are you pushing hard and applying pressure?
A marathon doesn’t just start on a start line. The journey to a marathon sometimes begins years before the race, mine began in the gym over 30 years ago, it began with the first half marathon, it began with the first training plan I came across, it began with the first time I had a running coach, it began with being inspired by my running partner who trained solo for her first marathon, and it began 10 years ago when my mother became unwell, it began with a visit to the memory clinic, it began with her bones becoming weaker and weaker so that she couldn’t walk without pain anymore. Had I not experienced this hidden journey, I would not have been drawn to Alzheimer’s Research. Two different paths came together, one was a runner’s path and the other the path to developing a cure for dementia – where you can’t remember the journey you are on. You are not fully present and time has lost all meaning.
There may be one runner but there is a whole team behind them. It took 100 people to raise over £2500 for Alzheimer's Research. I have run for so many years independently as a runner – this is a private activity for me to gain headspace and withdraw from the world but this race has taught me that sometimes you need to be that little bit more visible and ask for help. And I needed help to raise the funds, and I needed the support of my family and friends to make it through 300 miles of training and the 24 hours leading up to the race. So I had to ask for help. And I am so grateful that I did. The endless love and support has been incredible and life affirming.
See it – feel it – experience it - Tower Hill – I had been told it’s pretty special but actually – it was electric – simply charged with emotion, and energy lighting you up and making you feel invincible. That’s how you feel when you hit that moment of fluidity in running – it comes sometimes when you start a run and don’t feel like it and then 20 minutes later you’re flying – it’s what makes running so addictive. Those golden moments, the taste of gold sparks when you have found your rhythm and you are fluid. Yet there are other times when you feel your body is a lead weight and you have nothing in the tank but you have another 16 miles to go. They say just when you feel you are at the end of your capacity, that you have only gone half the distance and you are actually capable of enduring twice as far.
It's true that the finish line of the London Marathon is the start of another line to cross for me, one is a race that I have to win within myself, this is a personal goal I have been trying to overcome for many years and the other is my next race - the Bridge Run starting in Denmark and ending in Sweden on June 15th 2025. I only run races now that truly inspire me – it’s changed my approach to my running commitments, to the things I give my focus, energy and time to – they have to be absolutely worth it.
I ran the London Marathon without a garmin, I made the conscious choice not to run it with a watch, and I can honestly say I fully lived this run - it is in my top 3 running experiences of all time. At some point, I will challenge myself to run ‘a time’ in a race but not right now. If you are a runner, I challenge you to run your next race or pick a race in a beautiful location – somewhere that inspires you - and run it without a garmin, let go of time for 1 race and open yourself up to the experience of a run. You will become a better runner for it. I challenge you to stop measuring yourself with time as well and by numbers – runner you are so much more than a number. If you are not a runner then be inspired by the capacity of runners for their perseverance and endurance, and their supporters for love, compassion, generosity and kindness.
Small steps, lead to great change, I believe everyone deserves a happy ending - Alzheimer's Research are working to find a cure for Alzehimers. To make a donation to Alzheimer's Research, please follow the link below:
If you would like to find out, what kind of skincare I used during my training, then get in touch:
All Runners Are Beautiful is the trademark line from the Naples Half Marathon which I ran in February 2020.
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