Word of the Week - Marathoner

Well I did it. I ran the Brighton Marathon in a time of 6 hours and 28 minutes and 6 seconds.

I am NEVER doing it again.

I will however possibly probably mention it again.

I'm 54 years of age. I'm bloody proud of myself.

The last time I ran was when I was in school. I left school in 1987.

I started with the couch to 5k on October 10th 2025 on World Mental Health Day. I completed my first 5k 4 weeks later at a parkrun in Monmouth, I'll be back there this Saturday.

I often surprise myself with my strength both physically and mentally.

It has been an emotional journey.

At 1 min and 3 sec you'll see me come into view and then cross the line and keep on running because I didn't realise I'd actually finished..

I hit my fundraising target and a big thank you to everyone who donated to Bowel Research UK.

Running Preparation for the Brighton Marathon for Stephanie

I don't know how this works for others but I sort of feel the novelty has worn off, not for me but for everyone else and I'm hoping it'll pick up again as I feel I really am doing this all on my own.

I signed up to run the Brighton Marathon to raise funds and awareness for Bowel research UK and for our daughter Stephanie who died in October 2024 from an Ischemic Bowel which causes the death of around 3000 people a year in the UK.

I've no training plan, no personal trainer, no special diet, no training buddy, no special gear.

Just a desire to raise awareness and to run in Stephanie's memory. 

I'm moving out of running leggings this week into skorts and I'm trialling a camel pack.

I had a free trial with Apple Music that has come to an end, but I found listening to just music boring and I prefer to listen to the radio and have a variety of chat, news and music. I have the free version of strava that I just hit 'record' on and don't check until I get home. 

My wireless ear pods are a little temperamental with my ear piercings and if I tap them more than once when I adjust them they need putting back in the pot to reset. So I'm going back to wired ones and I've been threading them through a hook on my bra strap. 

I also hook my glasses through my bra when I'm running as I need them to set my phone and watch at the start and end.

I've been doing park runs and going to the gym, but most of my training has been endurance training with a mixture of walking and running up and down the Malvern Hills. The furthest I've actually run is 10k which I did this week and it took me 90 mins. 

My 5k times are improving.

I also did a half marathon walk/run around Malvern a couple of weeks ago in 3 and half hours with an elevation of 493ms. 

Next weekend I'm taking part in my 3rd Ultra Challenge in 6 months. I started with a 25k hike in the Chilterns which I completed in 5 hours 30 mins. A 42k walk in London in January completed in 7 hours 44 mins and next weekend I'll be in Bath attempting to run/walk 25k with an elevation of 600ms in under 3 hours.

Marathon Training - Stop smoking plan.

I started training for the Brighton Marathon on April 12th 2026 on World Mental Health Day October 10th 2025. You can read all about why I'm running a marathon and how my training started here.

Prior to this the last time I'd run was when I was in school in the late 80's.

I'm 54, I'm smoke 15 cigarettes a day. I like to walk and did so regularly with our dog, Bob until he died in 2023 and I swim occasionally. 

I've been running/walking 3 times a week following the couch to 5k. The furthest I've run to date is 5k. I have however been walking and trekking routes up to 17k twice a week trying to run at least 5k. 

I took part in a Winter Walk in London in January where I walked 26.2 miles in 7 hours and 44 mins. My reason for doing this, is because the Brighton marathon has a cut off for a medal of 8 hours and I really want something to keep from the day as well as my other reasons for entering the marathon in the first place.

After running my first parkrun in November 2025, I really struggled with running 3 times a week as by the time I was getting home from work at 4.15pm it was dark outside. It's hard in Malvern to find a flat route to run without going round in circles unless I run through the industrial park or off road and as you may appreciate these are isolated areas after working hours and in the dark.

I'm not one for joining groups, I tried a walking group in January to trek the end to end Malvern Hills, the pace was too slow for me, despite promises that you had to be of a certain fitness level and I was getting cold and after a few miles I just had to leave the group at British Camp and continue the walk on my own.

But I plucked up the courage and I joined the gym with the hope of using the treadmill to run on. It didn't go to plan, it hurt my feet running on the spot, but the cross trainer, bike and rowing machine are great with helping me to build up strength and stamina.

I was ill over the New Year and had got behind with the running but had been doing a lot of walking, especially over the hills. I started running again and did a parkrun the end of January, and I've been out running after work, now the evenings have been getting lighter, even when it's been raining.

I'm struggling to regulate my temperature in this cold and rain. I'm too cold when I leave the house, so I've started with a brisk walk into town, where Peter has met me and has then taken my coat back home while I've run back and I've been spending more time in the gym, working on strengthening my inner and outer thighs and my shoulders and chest and using the cross trainer more often for longer periods of time.

But I need to get back running and on the road more. I'm running where and when I can. Instead of catching the bus after the football. I run/walk back to the train after the match.

And now I'm giving up smoking. I've stopped many times before and restarted again. I'm away for the February half term. It had been my plan to run while I was here and to stop smoking. I''ve not run at all. I've walked the dogs every morning, but it's been so cold and wet and windy, I've put it the bare minimum. But I have gone 2 days so far without a cigarette.

I am receiving support from my GP and Boots online pharmacy with taking Varenicline. This medication is not nicotine replacement. I've tried that and vaping alternatives before. it's the habit I need to break. I successfully stopped smoking in the past using Champix which this medication was previously called and no excuses other than extreme stress, relocating to the UK during the height of covid, hotel quarantine, having been separated from Peter, restrictions on us both from travelling (not just going on holiday).

Varenicline reduces nicotine cravings and withdrawal symptoms. You pick a date between day 8 and 14 to stop smoking but by day 5 I'd just gone off the idea of wanting or needing one and the smell of stale tobacco on a hat made me feel a little sick. It costs £89 a month for 3 months. I'm currently spending around that per week on cigarettes.

Sometimes I set myself goals that are just too high. I've taken on too much at the moment. Too much is out of my control.

The weather is my biggest enemy. It's too cold and wet and windy to be out running. I've got to focus my time and energy on stopping smoking and not worry and stress myself out about not running this week or next week even. 

The Brighton marathon is 7 weeks on Sunday. As long as I'm not smoking I know I'll find it much easier to be running and walking. I already know I can walk a marathon in under 8 hours I already know I can do it physically and mentally.

I can still go to the gym next week.

Winter Walk - Marathon Training with Ultra Challenges and Bowel Research UK

I've entered the Brighton Marathon on April 12th 2026. It has a cut off point of 8 hours for a medal. So I wanted to see if that was possible for me to complete in under 8 hours and check that not also did I have the stamina for it but I also had the mental capacity to complete 26 miles.

I'm not in it for a fast time, I'm in it to complete the marathon, that's all and to raise awareness of Bowel Research UK, fundraise any amount where possible and create a legacy and keep Stephanie's memory alive.

Stephanie is one of our 5 adult children in a blended family who died at the age of 36 on the 7th of October 2024, without warning from Bowel ischaemia, which is the cause of death of around 3000 in the UK every year. It is almost impossible to diagnose.

We also have a 4 year old grandson who was born with Hirchsprung's disease and spent most of the first year in and out of hospital and had several major surgeries and had a stoma bag which was successfully reversed.

The Winter Walk was not a stroll around London. It was a 26 mile trek around the City and I completed it in 7 hours and 44 minutes according to Strava, although the Ultra Challenge site gave me a different time. I set Strava off as I set off walking and only stopped it as I crossed the line and collected my medal. I didn't stop it or pause it at the rest stops as I wanted it to reflect my time out on the course.

Peter and I booked a hotel in Wandsworth and drove down on the Friday night. I got everything ready the night before as I had to get up at 6am to catch the train at 6.30am on the Saturday morning.

I missed the train and ended up sitting on the platform in Wandsworth Town in the dark on my own for 20 minutes as I'd gone to platform 3 that only ran to Vauxhall on a Sunday, and watched the train leave platform 4 without me.

Well signposted and lots of people heading the same way as me and only a short walk to The Oval and getting light.

I still had time to grab a coffee and a photo.

A warm up session after registration and a briefing and we were off.

I headed off on my own at a brisk pace and the sightss of London kept me focused.

There were plenty of things to see on route.

And it wasn't long before I met up with two women who I walked with to the first rest stop.

The first rest stop and I just used the toilets, picked up some fruit and a drink and was straight back on the route with one of the women.

Now on the opposite side of the river.

Peter was waiting for me at this point as he'd been tracking me on the app, but it said I'd walked past so he'd headed back to The Oval on the train to wait there, we came past a few minutes later. the app was ahead of itself.

The half way point. I checked in, then sat outside with Peter for a quick lunch. Peter headed back into London for the afternoon.

I headed back out on my own and my pace slowed. It took a while before I picked up with anyone and it was a bit lonely.

There was less to see and the distances between the sites felt a lot longer.

I was tempted to detour when I walked past our hotel.

Around this point I developed a boot malfunction and some grit under the insole in my boot came free and was rubbing me. As soon as I took my boot off to investigate I knew I'd made a big mistake and I started to struggle with my walking.

At the third rest stop, I was able to sort my boots out properly, adjust the insole and my sock and put some plasters on, someone offered to get me a drink and some food. I had 8kms to go and I literally just put one foot in front of the other and got on with it.

It was around this point at 22 miles I think, that I hit the wall, where I felt I couldn't go on any more and started to cry. I almost came to a stop. But I kept thinking about Stephanie and how she was unable to complain and how resilient she was and how determined she was to do something if she really wanted to do it.

There was a time when all 5 children were at home and Peter was away working and Stephanie decided she was having the loaf of bread out the kitchen, she spent all day trying to get at it. I'd wrapped it up, put it in the bread bin and put the bread bin in the far corner of the work surface. I'd moved the kitchen table up against the work surface to stop her getting to it.

She kept coming into the kitchen, trying to get past me. She'd had lunch, had snacks, had plenty to drink, there was no need for her to have the bread. I have no idea how it happened but the next thing I knew was she was sitting there on the sofa, loaf of bread in hand, all squashed by now, corner of plastic bag in her mouth, ripping at it with her teeth getting that bread out the bag, with a sheer look of determination on her face, laughing and me just shaking my head and just laughing back at her, knowing that as well as having to make dinner for 5 kids that evening, getting uniforms and school bags ready, I'd now have to add going to the shops for a loaf of bread for sandwiches as well as doing bath and bedtime.

And that memory is what kept me going, it is what lifted the bad mood and the tiredness and what helped me pick up my feet for the next mile as slow as I was.

And as I walked round the last bend towards the final mile, there sat Peter on a wall, waiting for the past 45 minutes and I cried again as he said 'come on, you've got this'

And do you know what?

I have got this. I'm very PROUD of my achievement.

I've got my medal for walking a marathon.

I've got the ability to run one in April.

And I've got the most wonderful daughter who continues to walk by my side whenever and wherever I go reminding me I can do whatever I want in life if I'm determined enough to do it and I start by just putting one foot in front of the other.

You can make a donation here if you'd like to sponsor me.

Running away from 2025 and into 2026 and a Marathon. Bowel Research UK

On October 7th 2024 our 36 year old daughter Stephanie died, the end of 2024 passed in a blur. We went through most of 2025 in shock, in a daze, grieving, going through all the firsts, nothing getting easier, just a little more prepared to handle the bumps in the road, with a network of friends helping us navigate our way.

Marking the first anniversary of Stephanie's death was a turning point. I wanted to do something in Stephanie's memory and the one thing Stephanie could do for herself with total independence was to walk. So I signed up for an Ultra Challenge as close to the anniversary as I could and walked 15 miles across the Chilterns.

I trained whilst we were out in Australia visiting one of Stephanie's brothers who had flew home briefly for her funeral and we'd not seen for almost a year, I delayed starting my new job by 2 months.

Whilst in Australia we visited the MONA Museum in Tasmania to see the Poo Machine and I've used every opportunity I've had to promote Bowel Research UK who I'm raising awareness and fundraising for  as Stephanie died from Bowel Ischaemia. It causes around 3000 deaths a year in the UK and is almost impossible to diagnose.

On World Mental Health Day October 10th 2025, I signed up to the Brighton Marathon and started the Couch to 5k. 4 weeks later on November 8th 2025 I took part in my first parkrun at Chippenham Playing Fields in Monmouth. The following week the town was devastated by flooding but I was back at the parkrun on December 20th and on New Years Day I took part in one at Southsea.

I've joined a gym for endurance training and I run 2-3 times a week. I haven't run more than 5k, but I have been able to run/walk 9k and I've been mostly walking/running the Malvern Hills. On Wednesday I'm going along to my first running club evening.

I'm taking part in another Ultra Challenge in London walking a marathon on January 24th. My aim is to complete the route in under 8 hours, as the Brighton Marathon has a cut off of 8 hours to get a medal and along with raising funds and awareness that is my goal.

Please share my fundraising page

Please share this post

Please share our story to help raise awareness of Bowel Research UK

I'd love it if you'd come running with me, if you have any training tips to share.

If you have any ideas to help me raise funds please let me know.

All help and support is welcome. I'm going to need it.

I’m linking up with Anne from Raisie Bay for Word of the Week.