Familiar Faces, Close to Home, Steady Does It: Marathon 6

It was an early start on Sunday, made much easier by the fact that this week’s run was close to home, over in neighbouring Warwickshire. Familiar territory helps, as does familiar company. This time I was joined by Louis, a school friend of my brother-in-law Will. Louis and his wife, Sophie, were actually among the very first people I contacted when I floated the idea of this challenge, and they didn’t hesitate to get involved. It was great to finally line up together.

The build-up, physically at least, had been a little uncertain. I’d finished the Staffordshire run the previous week with a very painful left foot, the culmination of some mild plantar fasciitis that had been rumbling away through training and the early runs, but really peaked last time out. I was a little apprehensive about how that would hold up over another marathon. Thankfully, some really helpful conversations during the week with Rob the physio at Motum, helped settle things. They’ve been proactive, supportive, and very solution-focused. The short-term fix was a return to some old insoles that I’ve had success with before, with a plan for a re-scan and new ones in the coming week. I’d also been trying to stave off a cold all week, and with patchy sleep thanks to our newest arrival at home, it definitely wasn’t the smoothest preparation!

We had a small last-minute route rejig due to the Warwick Half Marathon, which turned out to be a huge event — around 3,000 runners gathering at the racecourse. We started there too, but quickly headed out of town to stay out of the way. Once clear, the route really opened up: lovely countryside, plenty to look at, and a fair bit of up and down. Nothing outrageous, but around 400 metres of elevation across the day — enough to keep you honest.

Louis had been fairly vague beforehand about how much training he’d managed, but he’s naturally athletic, so I had no doubts about him getting round. We settled into things nicely and made good progress over the first 10 miles to the beautiful town of Henley-in-Arden, where we were rewarded with an ice cream stop — and well ahead of schedule too. There we met a couple of friends, Tope and Emma, who joined us for the next leg towards Stratford-upon-Avon.

At halfway we were met by Sophie, bearing slightly less welcome news: the road ahead was closed for resurfacing, and technically impassable. After a quick discussion on the move, Louis and I decided to chance our arm — and thankfully managed to slip through, avoiding what would have been a very significant detour. Smile and wave was the tactic, and it worked.

We rolled into Stratford-upon-Avon at around 18 miles, again slightly ahead of schedule. On the way in we were honked at enthusiastically by wife, kids, and mother, which was a great lift. By this point, though, Louis was starting to feel it. The pace dropped, some cramp crept in, and while there was never any doubt we’d finish, things definitely became steadier.

Beth joined us in Stratford, followed a couple of miles later by Louis’s brother Max, and friends Alex and Nav, who stayed with us all the way back in. We had to add on a small loop around Arden’s Grafton to tick off the full distance, but eventually made it back to the pub, where we were met by a brilliant crowd of family and friends.

We stayed dry all day — always a win — and the conditions were relatively mild. The foot, crucially, felt much better by the end, so the insoles clearly did the job, and easing off the pace in the latter stages probably helped my week-six legs too.

All in all, a really good day out. Huge thanks to Louis and Sophie for organising such a well-supported run, and to everyone who joined, cheered, and kept things moving. Onwards now to Oxfordshire on Saturday 7th Feb, and we’ll see how the body responds over the coming week!