Marathon 35: The Legs Were Tired, The Support Wasn't — Buckinghamshire

Week 35 took us to Buckinghamshire, and it was one of those days that just felt really good.

Some familiar faces, some great friends, some new friends, a beautiful route and, for once, slightly more friendly weather. Around 20–21 degrees might not exactly count as cool, but after some of the temperatures we’ve had over the last few weeks, it felt like a pretty welcome change.

Travel this week was just me. The family stayed at home, so I was up early on Saturday morning and headed down the M40 to Amersham for an 8:30am start.

There was a great crowd there to send us off. Alan, our book editor and champion of the challenge, and his wife Gaynor were there, along with a surprise from my great friend Annabelle, family and friends of Shan’s, and one of my best mates, Andrew and his fiancée Charlie. Beth and Leo also joined us, and between them we had plenty of company for the miles ahead.

The plan was for Andrew to join us for the first half and beyond, with Beth and Leo dipping in and out throughout the day.

So the three of us — me, Shan and Andrew — set off through Amersham and out towards Cobham, where my wife's godmother Judith and her husband Chris provided the cheers and balloons alongside their willing neighbours, before heading into the Buckinghamshire countryside. And it was beautiful.

We saw deer, plenty of red kites and gradually edged into the Chilterns, with some really lovely scenery along the way. Everything is looking very dry at the moment, so there was a definite yellow and brown tinge to the landscape, but it was still incredibly pretty.

There was plenty of climbing too. We had around 450 metres of elevation across the day, with most of that packed into the first half. And, as became apparent pretty quickly, my legs weren't really ready for it.

After Westmorland last week, that's probably not a huge surprise. We climbed nearly two and a half kilometres last week and then had to come all the way back down again. That's a lot of work for the quads and knees, and it was definitely still in the legs.

Normally, I expect the first mile or so to feel a bit rubbish before things loosen up. But when you're six or seven miles in and you're still waiting for your legs to wake up, you know it's probably going to be a long day. Nothing was hurting and there was no injury. Everything was just tired.

The early climbing didn't exactly help, and for me personally it turned into a bit of a grind for much of the day. Fortunately, Shan and her friends weren't suffering in quite the same way.

They floated around the course, popping in and out, and we were brilliantly supported throughout. There was food and water whenever we needed it, and my brother came out and supported most of the route too, which was great.

Leo put in a really good stint, Beth joined us for the final section and Daisy, another of Shan's school friends, ran most of the second half with us. It's those people that make days like this so special.

At around 18, 19, 20 miles, we made our way through High Wycombe and, once we were out the other side, we knew we were onto the home stretch. Although whoever planned the route clearly didn't think we'd suffered enough.

There were two particularly sharp hills in the final three or four miles. They weren't especially long, but they were very steep, and they generated a fair few complaints by the time we reached the top. But get over them we did.

And eventually we arrived at the Royal Standard, the oldest free house in England, where a great crowd was waiting for us with well-earned pints and food. It was a brilliant way to finish.

I've said it throughout this challenge, but it's the community around these marathons that has made this year so special. And Buckinghamshire was another great example of that.

My community came out. Shan's community came out. Friends, family and people we'd met along the way all played their part in getting us around.

Shan also did a brilliant job with her fundraising, and having that shared purpose — raising money and awareness for Tommy's — makes the hard miles feel so much easier.

35 marathons down. Just four to go.

Next week, we're off to Berkshire.