Marathon 31: A Trip Back to School in Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire felt like a trip back in time.

We were originally due to be joined by Emily, but in the best possible twist, she's now into her third trimester of pregnancy. Sadly that meant no marathon this time, but given the reason behind this challenge and our support of Tommy's, it's hard to think of a better reason to miss a run. Congratulations to Emily and her family, and we look forward to cheering her on when she's back running and fundraising in the future.

With no running partner to plan around, I got to design a route around some very familiar roads. We started and finished at Spalding Grammar School, where I went to school, before heading out and back alongside the River Welland. After tackling Scafell Pike the previous weekend, the contrast couldn't have been bigger. No mountains, no climbing, just the wide-open, wonderfully flat Lincolnshire Fens.

The day didn't get off to the smoothest start after I realised I'd left both of my phones at my dad's house, meaning Amy had to make an extra trip with the kids to rescue them before we headed north later that day. Sorry, Amy!

Once we finally got going though, it turned into a really enjoyable morning. Huge thanks to Dave Nunn (you'll remember Dave from the Nottinghamshire leg, also on the bike!), who spent the entire marathon on the bike keeping me company with plenty of stories, water and snacks. It was also brilliant to be joined by my mum's cousin, James, for the second half of the run, making the miles back into Spalding pass that bit quicker.

We had some fantastic support from our family friends, Emily and her three kids, Toby, Sophia and Seb. They get the award for the best (and possibly only!) personalised signs of the challenge so far!

A very special mention also goes to 7 year old Hugo, who ran the opening mile with us, alongside his mum, Nat, in a very respectable ten minutes before going on to smash his junior parkrun PB the following day. Clearly the marathon warm-up did the trick! What a pleasure to have them join.

It wasn't the biggest or most dramatic marathon of the challenge, but it was one of the most personal. Running through places that shaped so many of my early years, surrounded by great people, made for another memorable county ticked off.

31 down. Just eight to go.