Since sharing that I was entering the 2018 Virgin Money London Marathon, I’ve had a huge amount of support both personally and also in support of Marie Curie, who I chose to raise funds for.
Aside from the training time etc, I thought it would be interesting to work out and to share how much money I personally put into the marathon. Some items, e.g. kit, I will continue to use but some were one off costs.
Entry fee
- £39 (via the ballot, unsuccessful – I chose to donate my fee if unsuccessful, which went to charity)
- £50 – Marie Curie registration fee for my place
Kit
- £120 ish – running tights, two pairs of three quarter lengths, short sleeve training top, long sleeve training top, compression socks, jacket, bum bag, cold weather headband
- £50 – Saints shorts (to go over tights)
- £26 – two last minute pair of tight/cycling style shorts (due to weather forecast!) to go under football shorts
- £20 – headphones, to keep me going through those long training sessions
- £10 – snap ice towel, to keep me cool due to the weather
- £10 – headbands
- £50 – Adidas trainers
- £150 – Asics trainers (used on the day)
- £15 – phone battery charger – heavy duty one for use on marathon day!
- I already had one pair of Nike running trainers I used for training as well as a running water bottle, and a snood and gloves which I used.
Keepsakes (for on the day)
- £10 – trainer tags
- £20 – event clips (bib number holders, alternative to safety pins)
Hotel and Transportation
- £338 – two nights at the Crowne Plaza King’s Cross on the London Marathon package (which included transport to the start)
- £20 – car parking at the Excel Centre as I had to attend the Expo to collect my number
- £40 – train into London pre marathon, black cab from Marylebone to hotel, black cab from finish to hotel
- £20 – car parking for Matt in London
- £14 – congestion charge to get to the Expo
- £11.50 – congestion charge for the Monday in London
- £15 – fuel, to and from Expo and back from the marathon
Food
- £4 – marathon day breakfast (fruit and porridge)
- £18 – pre marathon room service (pasta and garlic bread)
- £22 – post marathon Dominos
Treatment
- £250 – sports massages (four sessions, three different therapists due to staff changes!)
- £149 – physio (four sessions)
- £35 – chiropractor (one session)
Other
- £6 – jelly babies, hot cross buns etc!
- £5 – trialling different porridges etc!
- £14 – Marathon teddy bear and keyring (not included in total below as not a necessary cost, just nice keepsakes)
- Support from people – priceless!
Total cost – £1514.50
I wouldn’t change things and would do it again, but aside from the personal time, pain and effort, I hope this shows financially the commitment I personally made. There are of course things that could be done cheaper; I chose to stay in London as was travelling alone but I could have had an early start and travelled from home etc. I pursued my dream and didn’t financially plan it out in advance, but it has been a bit of a shock working out the total!
To view the video of my marathon experience itself, click here to go to YouTube.
Click here to sponsor me – thank you for your support!
