In which I admit to being defeated by my injury and have my place in the London Marathon deferred.

Disappointment, Defeat and Deferral

361 words about health — 07:00 · 6th May 2018

It didn’t get better.

As I’m sure you’re all well-aware, I didn’t run the London Marathon this year.

After going for another short run, to assess my recovery, it became painfully obvious that my knee still hasn’t recovered enough.

The pain wasn’t as severe as a few months ago, but it was enough to that the idea of running 42 km (26 miles) seemed like a bad idea.

I wasn’t the only one who was worried, a few close friends also began doubting whether I would be able to run the marathon.

About a week before the London Marathon, after talking to EAAA, we decided to defer my marathon place for next year giving me more time to recover, train and fundraise.

The marathon can humble you. Bill Rodgers

I was really disappointed.

I felt like I had failed EAAA, myself and all of you who had already donated to support my journey to the London Marathon.

I felt like I had failed myself.

Not only that, but by deferring my place until next year I missed so many once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

Like Mo Farah breaking the British record time in elite men’s race.

The Queen pushing a big red button to sound the klaxxon.

Or the woman who got engaged to a dinosaur during the marathon.

But it couldn’t be helped.

Sometimes injuries happen and judging from what my physiotherapist discovered, it’s surprising that I hadn’t sustained injuries earlier than I did.

In hindsight, I should listen to my body more.

In hindsight, I could have probably prevented the extent of this.

I should warm-up properly before going for a run.

Let this be a lesson Future Carlos, you are not invincible.

And if you already unashamed about wearing tight compression shorts when you’re running—which I know you are—then a little dynamic stretching or jogging the first few miles isn’t going to kill you.

After all, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

You’ve just read Disappointment, Defeat and Deferral.

In which, 5 years ago, I wrote 361 words about health and I covered topics, such as: marathons , virgin money london marathon , charities , journeys , and east anglian air ambulance .