I I have been running both on trail and road for several years and while I have competed in mid distance races, I have not run a marathon before. I upped my training as fast as I could do safely and created a training plan based on advice from friends who are runners and various plans I found online. Perhaps not very sensibly at such a late stage, I decided to buy a new pair of trainers. It has taken time to break these in and I feel like I have made a small investment in a plaster company but they are now comfortable and ready for the event!

Over the past couple of months I have persevered come rain or shine and have increased the distance I am able to run comfortably by a huge amount. Being based in the Lake District I am lucky to be able to train in the hills and around the lakes. While struggling up some of the steep ascents I have tried to reassure myself by thinking about the fact that the marathon is mainly downhill… although I know it’s not as straightforward as that!

It has been great to train in springtime – although I am usually out in the local hills quite a lot, I have been out training most days and have really enjoyed seeing the trees get greener, the lambs playing and the bluebells coming out. As I usually run in the evenings after work, I have found there is no better feeling than standing on top of one of the hills looking back down towards Keswick where I live as the sun goes down.

I think that running at altitude will be the part of the marathon I will find the hardest as I have been training at the low levels of the UK. However, I have been to high altitude trekking and mountaineering several times before so I know what to expect. Running at high altitude will be an exciting challenge!

Tomorrow I fly to Kathmandu and am looking forward to meeting the other runners, thes trek to Everet base camp and of course the marathon itself. I am not aiming for a particular time for the run; I think that finishing it will be a fantastic achievement in itself. Good luck to all the other runners!

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