Marino Franchitti completes London Marathon

Apr 29 2010 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

Marino Franchitti completes London Marathon

WEST Lothian star racing driver Marino Franchitti swapped his supercar for a more modest form of transport this week when he completed the London Marathon.

Franchitti crossed the line at the end of his first ever marathon with an excellent time of 3:46.04.

His time was all the more remarkable considering his flight into the UK had been delayed by the volcanic ash cloud resulting in him stepping off a plane from California just 24 hours before lining up for the gruelling race.

Marino lined up at the start with 12 of his fellow BRDC (British Racing Driver Club) members including some fellow ALMS colleagues, Olly Gavin, Guy Smith, Darren Turner, Jonny Kane, Johnny Mowlem, Richard Westbrook, Andy Priaulx, Rob Barff, Marc Hynes, Peter Dumbreck, Charlie Hollings and club secretary, Stuart Pringle.

Marino’s jet lag had woken him through the night with his body clock looking for dinner as he prepared for the race.

“It certainly wasn’t the most ideal week of preparation, Mother Nature had other ideas, but setbacks like that just make you more determined.

“The excitement of taking part really kicked in and carried me through and the advice that our team captain, Olly Gavin, gave me throughout the build up was priceless in helping me get the best out of myself.

“I can’t tell you how amazing the atmosphere was at the start, it’s tough to describe and should be experienced by everyone first hand.”

Marino had set himself a target time of 3 hrs 30 mins to pound the streets from Greenwich to the finish in front of Buckingham Palace.

The first chunk of his marathon went well but at the 21-mile mark, and heading towards the Tower of London renowned for punishing its inmates, Marino was being dealt his own punishment as his legs began to tell him he had already completed seven miles more than he had ever run before.

But as all good endurance racers know, you don’t give up because the tyres are wearing out, you keep pressing on.

Along the Embankment, past the Houses of Parliament where the face of Big Ben was a reminder of the minutes ticking away, along Bird Cage Walk and finally into the Mall with Buckingham Palace ahead of him Marino stopped the clock at a very impressive 3:46.04 hrs.

“It was going so well up to the 21-mile mark and at that point I truly discovered what ‘hitting

the wall’ feels like and it was not pleasant,” admitted Marino.

“My training, in particular my running, for the marathon was far from ideal; it was the first time I had run more than three miles since before the Sebring race when I picked up a hip injury, and my first run ever over 14 miles, so I was delighted with the result and the feeling of getting to the end was very emotional.

“I’m so proud of my team mates, everyone under 4 hrs 30mins, but especially Olly who did an outstanding time.

“The crowd was like nothing I’ve ever seen, and really drove us on, it was even better than the Drivers’ Parade in Le Mans, which I didn’t think was possible. I’m very heavy in the legs now to say the least, but it was more than worth it and I’m so happy we could raise so much for a great cause like CLIC Sargent, thank you to each and every person who supported us with donations.”