26.2 Miles on Broken Sleep: Marathon 5, Staffordshire

The build-up to this one was… a little non-standard. From a prep and recovery perspective, it wasn’t exactly textbook, as we welcomed our second child into the world on the Tuesday. We were absolutely delighted, relieved he didn’t make an appearance on marathon day, and everyone is happy and healthy — but it’s probably fair to say a bit more sleep wouldn’t have gone amiss. Still, with some invaluable granny backup at home, we made it to the start on time and in good spirits. Marathons on broken sleep is just something I’m going to have to get on with! 

This week’s company was particularly special. Lucie, our chief protagonist for Staffordshire, was fresh off the back of an over-50s indoor championship win, retaining her title over 3,000 metres the day before. We were also joined by Omar Ahmed, an elite runner over 10km and half marathon distances, what a privilege to have him run with us (although it was more of a walk by his speed standards!) Jess, an old friend of Amy’s from their school days, was with us too, along with a few others joining in along the way.

We had a solid group of four for the first ten miles, before being joined at Fordhouses Cricket Club by a few members of Wolves and Bilston Athletics Club. Dave, Paul and Sabrina jumped in to support along the way, which we were hugely grateful for.

Route-wise, this was a welcome change of pace. Flat. Very flat. After a few hillier weeks, that was a relief. The route followed the old railway line from Himley, running out through the outskirts of Wolverhampton before returning via the canal. Like much of the country at the moment, it was pretty wet underfoot — muddy in places and a bit slippy — but for the end of January, there were no major complaints.

It ended up being the quickest marathon we’ve done so far, which was great, and it felt good to move a bit more confidently on a flatter course. That said, the last hour was a grind. My left foot in particular became pretty sore, and it’s starting to feel like that might be the main challenge to manage as this goes on. There’ll be some work to do this week — footwear tweaks, physio, and a bit of problem-solving — but despite the discomfort, the pace stayed steady and we got the job done.

We finished back in Himley in just under four and a quarter hours, greeted by my brother and my in-laws, which was a lovely way to wrap things up. Huge thanks to Lucie for putting together another brilliant day — route, snacks, support and conversation.

Five down with over £15k in the team fundraising pot already. Onwards to Warwickshire on Sunday 1st February. Lack of sleep and all.