London Marathon Training August 2026

Distance run: 28km and a 6 mile hike.

Work outs: 3 gym sessions due to holiday.

Things I'm learning:

Nutrition - Hairbos are good to eat whilst running.

Fluids - I really need to work on this as I'm spending too much time focusing on my need to wee.

Carbs - Eaten before a run but at least 2-3 hours prior.

Proteins - Eaten after a run.

Clothing - too hot, too cold. When I ran Brighton I had warmer clothes to get to the start that I discarded before the race, then half way through I was able to hand a top and a jacket over to Peter. At the moment the weather is not quite warm enough for my shorts and vest but I'm over heating with leggings. I'm able to run with a jacket tied round my waist, but I struggle with a bumbag, camel pack or hydration vest. My feet are too hot at the moment.

Footwear - I've put in an offer on Vinted for an identical pair of shoes I ran Brighton in so I can alternate between the two pairs for training and the marathon.

Running apps - couch to 5k is my go to app. I love running with it, listening to Steve Cram my chosen coach, just for the motivation, the timings and the reminders.

Things to avoid:

Social Media. Oh my word I've had to leave all the groups I'd joined. I can't be doing with all the questions that a really simple and quick google will answer. I have, however connected with a few people on TikTok and am picking up a few tips and techniques that should help me improve my time from Brighton.

Gels - yuk and why? 

Clothing, shoes and equipment. Buy the most expensive shoes you can afford, buy a half size up. Designer only and £150 for a hydration vest. Not me. My trainers cost around £35, they're the size I normally wear in shoes and were bought based on the comfort. I bought a £75 pair of Nike that I was talked into buying when I asked for advice in a store and they're sitting in the doorstairs loo, unworn for running as the soles of my feet hurt within 30 seconds of running. My running leggings were $15 from Big W in Australia, shorts were £4 off Vinted, running tops are from primark around £5 plus my vest from Bowel research UK and my jackets and caps are left over from working on the European Golf Tour.

Things to do:

Plan a menu as I'm getting bored of eating the same foods.

Book hotel.

Sort out the running apps.

Start stacking (longer runs back to back)

If you've any tips you would like to share, then please do, I'll take any help I can get.

 

How I ran my Brighton Marathon April 2026

Yes it is possible to run a marathon with no formal training plan, no coach, no special diet or expensive equipment.

This is what I ran in. It was what I had been training in and they say don't make any adjustments that you haven't trained in. But you'll see from the photo's it was a hot day and within one mile of setting off, I used the toilets to change out of my off running vest. Thankfully there was no rubbing or chaffing.

There was a 3.5 mile walk to the start line from the camp site near the Marina to Preston Park. It turned out to be the best warm up for me. A chance for my breakfast to be digested and to enjoy a coffee as well as walking familiar routes as I'd done as a child towards the viaduct in the background to London Road where my mums family used to live.

On arrival it was windy and raining and I wore my hat and had a disposable plastic rain mac. At the start there was a clothing bin for SHELTER where I dropped my hat before the race.

I met up with a woman in the toilet queue who had run the Brighton Marathon before who gave me a few tips for the race.

The first group went at 9.45am and they called us in waves. I was in wave 8 and we set off at 10.37am. There was a chip built into the bib that was activated as we crossed the start and I also activated the app at the same time so family and friends could follow my progress and for Peter and my friend Jenny to be able to see me on route which gave me an amazing boost to hear my name being called and get a hug.

The toilets became pretty grim as the race went on. This was my second stop around 4 miles in.

At this point mile 6 I was still running and very much enjoying myself. I had a clothing malfunction and knew I was seeing Peter at the 8 mile mark.

I saw my friend Jenny with her husband around this point. shortly afterwards the route went uphill then out onto the sea front and the wind and sun was vicious. At mile 7-8 I slowed down and walked and ate and ran a bit until I got to Peter to hand over my jacket and running top and get a drink.

And this was the part of the run I was dreading the most. We'd travelled it on the bus on the Friday. 2 miles out and 2 miles back. No crowds. At the roundabout a run in land then up the last hill to the windmill and back to the half way point.

There was another loop on Marina Parade and a shoe/sock malfunction followed by a mile to Hove where the 6 hour 30 min pacer caught up with me and there was no way she was going past me and I had a boost of speed. I threw my bum bag at Peter as I had finished my snacks. The 4 miles round Hove saw me run/walk from lamp post to lamp post. A colleague in work who is running the London and Sydney Marathon this year said he could tell I was really digging in at this point. 

It took forever to run round the lagoon for the last 2 miles and past the beach huts and that's when the emotion kicked in, when I remembered why I was doing this at the ripe old age of 54 with 26 weeks of preparation. Stephanie.

I could hear Peter yelling my name and I found the last bit of energy I had. I never once doubted myself that mentally I was capable of this, but physically I was starting to question my abilities.

I appear in this video at 1 min and 3 secs. I didn't realise I'd crossed the line and kept on running.

After crossing the line and collecting my medal, I was given some water, protein yogurt, a t shirt and found Peter.

Peter carried this bag with him for the day, plus he had my jacket which I put back on as I was really cold once I stopped running.

I had my snacks, drink, took my trainers and socks off and put on fresh socks and my crocs. I could hardly move. I just lay on the grass for about 20 minutes.

So do I have any secrets and tips to share with you?

Yes.

I wrote down the water stations mile points as well as the refill stations and toilet stops on the inside of my bib so I could refer to them during the run.

The previous day I'd done a parkrun and had skipped breakfast and hadn't warmed up. DON'T DO THAT.

Don't do anything new on race day that you haven't done before. I ran with the laminate pinned to my back. It was fine when I was running, but when I tied my jacket round my waist it was a pain. My bum bag and jacket tying didn't fit with how my bib had to be pinned on my front. I'd covered the toes and part of my feet with compeed plasters where I knew I'd had problems in the past.

Take tissues for the toilets and hand sanitiser.

What I ate and drank. I'd not tried these gels that runners use. I stuck to my ham sandwich, banana, crisps and snack bars and sweets, washed down with gaviscon. I carried this in my bumbag. I ate the banana and a snack bag before the race started.

Things I didn't use or I'd do differently although there won't be a next time.

• I didn't use the headphones but next time I'd make sure I used them on parts of the route where there weren't any crowds.
• The refillable water bottle. it didn't get used.
• I wouldn't wear the long sleeve running top. I still wear the cardigan/jacket as I'm used to running with it tied round my waist, but I wouldn't laminate the picture/story, I'd have it printed on the back instead and keep it with me. 
• The bum bag works. No mints in future, didn't eat them and only had 1 snack bar, each time I've been out I've only eaten 1.
• I didn't activate Strava and I don't care. I'm more than happy with the official time and distance.
• I would have my name printed on the front of my shirt.
• I would take more photos and videos especially at the finish line.

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.

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.

From 15 cigarettes a day to 5k and my first parkrun

My couch to 5k training and a parkrun in 4 weeks.

So I decided I needed something to do for myself. Our daughter died in October 2024 from an ischemic bowel. She was disabled and the one thing she could do with total independence was to walk. She never complained because she couldn't verbalise or express herself and she has been my motivation to keep going when I hit a brick wall. 

I love walking and I completed the Ultimate 50 Challenge in the Chilterns in September, raising £850 and awareness for Bowel Research UK in memory of Stephanie. What I didn't consider when I signed up were the words 'Ultimate' and 'Challenge' and what they actually meant and I walked 25km/15 miles in 5 and a half hours with an elevation gain of 486ms. 

I decided to challenge myself further and to take up running and I started the couch to 5k on World Mental Health Day October 10th giving myself just 4 weeks to complete the 9 week program and be ready for my first 5k, a park run by November 8th.

I've not run since I was in school (1986) and I won the victrix ludorum where I competed in the 1500m and 800m in year 4 (now year 10) I ran in flip flops over the dunes in Durban in 2012 chasing the dog who was chasing a monkey, but I was over taken very quickly by the 13 year old who caught up with the dog, before I was half was up the first sand dune and more recently I ran for a train that had already left the station before I started running for it.

I committed to the parkrun with a friend before I started training, she is a volunteer and I knew once I told her I was going to do it, she wouldn't let me back out.

I know there are many of you who have been doing this for a long time, running marathons and thinking 'so what?' just remember, you started somewhere and I'm just sharing my journey.

I'm 54, I smoke 15 cigarettes a day and previous to starting this, I couldn't cough, sneeze or laugh without the risk of wetting myself, I've got a dodgy achilles, bad posture, nerve damage in my neck, suffer with chronic migraines and have a B12 and Vitamin D deficiency. Diagnosed with PTSD, grieving and mental health not good.

Each session is for 30 minutes and I each time I've been walking/running my distance has increased the time spent running.

Week 1 - 10th October 

• Walk 5 mins 
• Run 60 secs was so out of breath it hurt
• Walk 90 secs struggled to get my breathing back
• Repeat x 7
• Walk 5 mins

I need to buy a sports bra. The only part of me that hurts is across my shoulder blades which is apparently due to poor posture.

I also injured myself moving bricks around the garden when the wheelbarrow fell on me taking a chunk out of my right ankle.

Week Two - 17th October 

A 6 mile walk up the Malvern Hills with an incline of just over 1000ft in the first 45 minutes 

• Walk 5 mins
• Run 90 Seconds
• Walk 2 mins
• Repeat 6 times
• Walk 5 mins

I didn't quite get my timings/distance right and had an extra walk home

Wore leggings (I can understand now why women wear their active wear all day even for shopping, so comfy) I'd bought them when I worked with the European Golf and was 10kg heavier, spent the whole run/walk hoiking them up.

Ran to 'Eye of the Tiger' in my mind Sly and the cast were running behind me cheering me on, but at my speed, it was the cast at the age they are now.

• 45 mins swimming.

• Walk 5 mins
• Run 90 Seconds
• Walk 90 secs
• Run 3 mins
• Walk 3 mins
• Run 3 mins
• Walk 3 mins
• Run 90 sec
• Walk 90 secs
• Walk 5 mins

Felt like day 1, out of breath, gasping to get breath back. Resisited the urge not to 'Walk like an Egyptian'

Now running as far as I'm walking each time, but my running speed is the same as my walking speed currently.

Week 3 24th October

• Walk 5 mins
• run 5 mins
• walk 3 mins
• run 5 mins
• walk 3 mins
• run 5 mins
• walk 5 mins

I just couldn't run the 3rd full 5 minutes. I'm now running/walking in a straight line to the retail park where Peter is joining me for a coffee at the end of the session. However it has meant I haven't been doing the stretching exercises until I've got home about an hour later.

I bought a new sports bra. I took advice from an 80 year old on a sports bra in M&S she told me which had the best hold. I asked if ran much and she said no but any sudden movements and she could knock a small child over within 5ft if her boobs weren’t supported.

I repeated the run again on the Sunday and managed the third 5 minute run.

 

The runs are now getting longer and surprisingly I'm finding it getting easier and feeling so much more relaxed.

• walk 5 mins
• run 8 mins
• walk 5 mins
• run 8 mins
• walk 5 mins

• walk 5 mins
• run 20 mins
• walk 5 mins

I was absolutely shattered after the two 8 minute runs, so when faced with the 20 minute run I wasn't convinced I'd manage it. Not only did I manage the 20 minute run, but I also ran for 10 minutes then turned round and got back to my starting point in the 2nd 10 minutes. I felt really good after the run, not tired or out of breath. My pace hasn't improved even though I ran for 20 minutes and walked for 10, compared to when I started in week 1 when I was only running for 8 minutes during the 30 minute session.

Week 4 - 31st October

This week is a mixture of the above with a couple of 10 minute runs with 3 minute walks in between as well as longer runs of 20 and 25 minutes. I've run on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

I had a bad run this week with a 5 minute warm up walk and a 12 minute run which was mostly uphill which I abandoned after getting out of breath so I returned to walking.

Week 5 - 8th November

Still on week 4 I did my longest run of distance and time on Thursday morning. 3.5k and 25mins of running. All on the flat and all on pavements. I've yet to test myself on grass/mud.

Friday night I drove to Monmouth after work to stay at my friends who has supported me via messaging and calls and love and laughter to get this far so I thought my first parkrun should be where she volunteers at. The parkrun on Saturday went really well. I managed to run the whole distance. I was really pleased with myself and proud of my achievement.

I really enjoyed the parkrun experience. I was apprehensive that I wouldn't as although I'm happy to mix and talk to other people, I don't really like joining in with things I've never done before. That's why I've enjoyed the couch to 5k. I hate the idea of having to drive somewhere, stress over parking, be somewhere at a set time, then worry I won't be able to grasp what I'm supposed to be doing or there are cliquey groups and I find myself alone not knowing what's going on. But my experience at parkrun couldn't have been different, although I was early and I hated the hanging around part.

The briefing was really good and instructions clear. I was introduced as a first timer and throughout the run not only did Kath, cheer me on, but there were volunteers on check points to keep us on route who were clapping, thumbs up and yelling words of encouragement. When I was lapped the other runners were great, with 'you've got this, you can do it' and several people stopped to chat to me afterwards, many who had come on their own, to say I'd done really well and for once I accepted the praise and said 'thank you'

My recovery went well also, with a walk around the town and a coffee to warm down, then I broke my 90 minute drive home up with visiting a couple of friends who have also started running recently for health benefits and home to a hot bath and an early night.

The following day was a rest day, but I did walk 1.5 miles home from the shops as advised online and I'm off for my next run on Monday as I start training for a 10k and another parkrun in Swindon next weekend.

I used to be a ....... soccer mum.

I used to be a soccer mum.

My eldest started playing football aged 5, for Forest Rangers in Cinderford in 1997, the middle child joined him in 1999 aged 4 and for the next 14 years, I spent 2-3 evenings a week sitting in car parks at training and weekends spent locating fields in the middle of nowhere for matches.

My career as a soccer mum came to an end in 2013 on the side of a pitch in South Africa, when the middle child declared he was no longer fussed with football and was concentrating his last 2 years in school on cricket and rugby.

I cannot begin to image the number of hours or the mileage I've driven, the time and cost of getting lost, even in convey. The rain and snow storms I've stood in, the number of times I've dug holes in the pitch to drain the water. The cups of teas and bacon butties made at home games, first aid administered, meetings attended, training, lifts given, the amount of subs collected or the money raised and the time spent organising presentation evenings. The kit washed and boots cleaned and tears dried when games were lost. I was never just a spectator. I dread to think how much we've paid for kit.

The boys have played football and/or referred in the Forest of Dean, Malvern, Birmingham and many, many tournaments around the UK. There have been trials, there have been holiday clubs and middle child spent 2 years training with Birmingham City.

 The middle boys trophies.

As well as supporting the kids playing football we've attended professional matches around the UK, mid week and weekend games to Manchester, Arsenal, Birmingham, Southampton and Wembley. We've seen England qualifiers and FA Cup finals, as well as promotions and sadly relegations. We've appeared on Match of the Day more times than we can remember. We watched Spurs play at Ellis Park.

Chelsea

Birmingham City

Promotion back to the Premiership

18th Birthdays

Wembley and a close up of David Beckham.

FA Cup Finals

Ellis Park and the vuvuzela.

My typical week was spent at work every day. Eldest child had local matches he referred on Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays in adult leagues, Training on a Friday and matches on Saturdays. Middle child had local training on Tuesdays. Training in Birmingham on a Wednesday night and Saturday morning and local matches on a Sunday afternoon. I usually juggled getting the boys to their venues, either organising lifts or driving between local matches. Local meant within a 30 miles radius of home and often at opposite ends of this radius.

Sponsorship with McDonalds and local and national trophies won.

 There was a core group of around 6 kids who played in this team for 8 years.

With Geoff Hurst and Eric Harrison

Being the goalies mum is nerve racking.

The last 2 years as a football mum were spent in South Africa at Tuks University in Pretoria. this involved Fridays and Saturdays at training where I was the only soccer mum who stayed for the 2 hours, with a book, a flask and enjoying a walk around the grounds.

Training session at Tuks, South Africa.

For many years our lives as a family revolved around football, playing, watching, supporting, fundraising and I even worked for the local FA for 2 years.

I get to Birmingham City when I'm in the UK with  a combination of kids, with hubby or on my own. I miss the football and the way of life, the socialising, the training and the matches. At the time it was hard work and very time consuming, but a great way to spend time together as a family.

How do you spend your family time?