Preparations for the Belfast Marathon went really well, and I even even managed to have a bit of fun during the deload phase by having a go at running 5km as fast as I possibly can. (Answer: 19 mins, 45 seconds!)

The race itself was a great day out. My goal was get round it, and to do so a bit faster than my previous PB (3:46:50). I did that, with an official race time of 3:35:46, and thoroughly enjoyed getting to see the city for what felt like the first time in about twenty years. I was a little disappointed not to come in under 3:30, and definitely have that in me, but there’s a bigger goal on the horizon and I’m delighted to now have an official (and fairly decent) marathon time. The cit was buzzing and the inclusion of relay teams was a fun addition, though at times a bit disorientating as new batches of enthusiastic people appeared at 8km intervals. Now the big one is round the corner, I’ll need to keep going, and more importantly, figure out a way to train for mountains in a city with no hills!