Must have been annoying being 1 minute outside an elite time.
I've run in the London marathon twice. I finished in 3:27 the first time. The last six miles were the hardest thing I've ever done.
Last year I was trying to keep up 7 minute miles. I developed a huge blister which burst at 14 miles. I hobbled along for another couple of miles then I just stopped and sat down by a side road. I didn't want to run any more because I wasn't going to get a good time and I did not want to hurt my feet any more. I did not want to walk it, because it always puts me off when I see people walking. Eventually the St John's ambulance came down. They insisted on putting me in a wheel chair with a blanket over me. They pushed me to their station where they confirmed I had a massive burst blister. Then I had to walk about a mile to the underground, which was full of people. I had to get back to the finish to collect my bag, only I was not sure exactly which stop it was. At one of the station two of the marshals cut off my chip and put a cross through my number to stop me cheating. I did not know exactly which stop was closest to the finish, so I ended up walking miles. When I got near the finish, I had to persuade the soldiers from the Parachute Regiment to let me through, because they were providing the security. Obviously they wanted to know why I dropped out. I had to tell them I had a big blister that burst. The only up side was I was running with someone else's number, so I do not have a DNF under my own name.