My time was a personal best of 3 hours, 15 minutes and 30 seconds. So all in all I was quite happy with that. Chris came in at around 3 hours 50 minutes, I think.

But how did it feel? It was a great experience and fun to be one of more than 10,000 participants. But it certainly had its tough moments. Running into the driving wind and rain wasn’t much fun after around 30 km. Then I had my first real experience of the infamous “wall”. For a few minutes, I couldn’t physically run. But when I saw the 40 km mark, I got my second wind - or was it the fourth or fifth? Somehow, I could actually pick up the pace and finish quite strongly.

So now I have something new to work for next time. How do I avoid the wall?

But I recently started running regularly, partly to get some movement into an otherwise desk-related day, and I enjoy it. But a marathon! I can’t begin to imagine what that must be like.

Good luck guys!

I’m really looking forward to the beginning of the race - the atmosphere is something to savour as 8,000 runners crowd onto the road outside the Black Diamond. And I’m dreading the last 8 or 9 km. That must be about as close a guy can get to experiencing the pain women go through in childbirth voluntarily.

David and I have discussed using aspirin during the race, but perhaps we really need an epidural. Our legs will be wobbling all over the place anyway once we pass 35 km.