Lochaber Marathon

I'm pleased to say it's all over! The Lochaber Marathon 2009 took place on a beautifully sunny and warm day in Fort William, so conditions weren't exactly what any of the runners expected!

Meg finished in 4hrs 16mins and I was a way behind in a few seconds under 4hrs 30mins (on my watch at least!). The full results are on the Lochaber Athletics Club website.

My own race started well and I was running between 8.00 and 8.30 miles for the first 16 miles, on target to beat my time from Edinburgh in 2007. But beyond 16 miles, I think the heat and dehydration got to me and - to coin a phrase - I hit the wall.

From about 19 miles, I walked most of the way. Meg caught and passed me around 23 miles and I only ran most of the last mile thanks to the guy who finished just ahead of me. He encouraged me to get moving again and we had a chat over the last mile, which ended in a sprint finish which I have no idea how I managed!

Thankfully, Meg has promised never to make me do a marathon again - so it's back to halfs, 10ks and cycling for me!