Jenni Falconer says foot was bleeding and mangled after London Marathon
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Scottish radio presenter Jenni Falconer has said she visited the medical tent as her foot was bloodied and “mangled” after she ran the London Marathon.
On Sunday thousands of people arrived in Greenwich to take part in the race, including Falconer, 48, who is a keen runner.
The TV and radio star, who hosts Smooth Breakfast’s London morning weekday show, said she was about 20 minutes slower than she had hoped for because of the injury, which was tended to by medics after she crossed the finish line.
“My foot was a bit mangled and I had to go to the medical tent,” she told the PA news agency.
“Something happened. Blisters and toenails. My trainers, I was like, ‘Why are they red?’
“And there was a bit of a bleed on my foot and I couldn’t work it out but it was so bad by the time I got halfway, my ankles started hurting and I think that’s just because the way I was running to compensate on my foot, so I had to power walk a bit instead of run.
“So it was a good 20 minutes slower than I wanted to be.
“I’m so delighted, I’m proud of the time I got, it’s just slower than the time I was going for. But that’s fine. Got a medal, finished it.”
Falconer also said that she had “a little bit of an injury” during training and thought that changing her trainers would help.
“I had a couple of weeks off (following the injury) and so I changed my trainers to trainers that might not cause an injury and, unfortunately, they caused a different type of injury,” she said.
“Pretty much all the injuries I’ve had are trainer-related and today, that was the case as well,” she added.
“It was quite painful, but you know that you’ve not got far to go and you think, look, I’ve got six miles left, and it’s really sore but let’s keep going.
“And then you’ve got three miles and then every step you take, you’re a step closer to the finish line and it’s just the most incredible event.
“All the medics at the finish line are amazing. So they saw my foot and they were like, we need to see what’s underneath the trainers.
“I ended up in a little ambulance, getting my foot tended to, so I’m now in flip flops with a big plaster on my middle toe.
“It’s very dramatic.”
Falconer has been running since she was 19 and has recently published what she describes as a “handbook to running” called Runner’s High: How To Squeeze The Joy From Every Step.
She said: “There are many reasons to run and all of them leave you feeling great.”
Other celebrities to have completed the marathon include musician Tom Grennan, TV presenter Natalie Pinkham, Luther star Ruth Wilson and McFly drummer Harry Judd.
Judd, 38, told TCS London Marathon: “The biggest buzz I’ve ever had in life has been from running.
“I love being a musician and it’s an amazing job to have but I get so much from exercise.”
He added that the mental health benefits are “huge”.
Luther star Wilson, 42, ran the London Marathon for charity Alzheimer’s Research UK in honour of her father Nigel, who is living with the disease.
She said: “I suffered an injury to my leg at around mile 20, so had to hobble the last six miles, but dad was in my thoughts throughout and motivated me to keep going.”
Elsewhere comedians Ivo Graham and Rosie Jones completed the course using a Delta Buggy, in which Graham pushed Jones.
Jones, 33, has ataxic cerebral palsy and they took part to raise money for charities Up – The Adult Cerebral Palsy Movement and the MS Society.
