Week 28: Worcestershire – No Fuss, Just a Great Day Out

After a few bigger weekends recently, Worcestershire was a bit different. No huge crowds. No massive support team. No iconic organised marathon. Just a really well-put together day with great company, a lovely route and another county ticked off.

This challenge is always going to have weeks that look completely different from one another. Some are London Marathon weekends. Some are quieter. Worcestershire definitely fell into the second category, but that certainly didn't make it any less enjoyable.

It was also a rare luxury to have such a short journey. Just over an hour from Shrewsbury meant there was no painfully early alarm or long drive before we'd even started running. We arrived in Worcester ready for a 7:30am start, hoping to get plenty of miles done before the heat really kicked in.

My brother Ed was on support duties, while Gemma and Bex, Amelia's sisters-in-law, looked after us throughout the day. They started off following us in the car before jumping onto bikes around halfway and staying with us for the rest of the marathon.

The route headed south out of Worcester alongside the River Severn and it really was a cracking way to spend a Sunday morning.

Flat riverside paths, open fields, wildlife, farmland and plenty of apple trees made for a really peaceful first half. The miles passed quickly with plenty of chatting, and Amelia looked comfortable from the start. We reached halfway before 10 o'clock and everything was going exactly to plan.

Turning back towards Worcester, things became a little more challenging. We left the riverside paths behind and moved onto roads, which felt kinder underfoot in some ways, but the tarmac definitely held onto the heat as the temperature climbed. There were also a few more hills waiting for us on the return journey.

As always seems to happen over 26.2 miles, the marathon eventually had its say.

The pace eased slightly in the second half as the heat built and fatigue crept in, but Amelia never let things unravel. We stopped for water when we needed to, kept things sensible, and just carried on moving forward. The consistency was really impressive.

We covered the first half in just over 2 hours 10 minutes and finished in 4:38, so there wasn't a huge drop-off at all considering the conditions. It was a really solid performance and a brilliant achievement for someone ticking off such a big personal milestone.

The route worked, the support was spot on, the logistics were simple and before I knew it, I was home with the kids by 3pm after a refuel — something that definitely doesn't happen every weekend on this challenge.

Huge thanks to Amelia for putting together such a fantastic route, for joining me for the miles, and for sharing her story on the podcast. She organised a brilliant day from start to finish and then backed it up with a fantastic marathon performance.

With a fair few long journeys still to come, Worcestershire was a reminder that sometimes keeping things simple makes for one of the most enjoyable days of the whole challenge.

11 to go!!!