RUNNING A MILE WITH KATHERINE GRAINGER pt 2

This week I ran further than I’ve ever run in my life – 20 miles. The distances are starting to feel a long way, even in a car, never mind when it is my legs carrying me around the streets.  I ran the distance with Anna Watkins, my London 2012 partner, and although we didn’t have thousands of people lining the banks like the last time we raced together, there was something reassuringly familiar about training together again.   Whether we were chatting about Anna’s recent skiing trip or in companionable silence with only the noise of our breathing, the miles passed a little easier having someone alongside. 

 

Not that it was easy. 20 miles is a long distance to cover and there is no escaping the sobering fact that on marathon day there will be another six miles still to go.  By then I’ll be in unknown territory.  The taper is ahead and there are no plans to run more than the 20 miles in training, so there will be something daunting about starting off on race day fully aware that I have never actually run the full distance.  But standing at the start line with many thousands of other runners, then I most certainly won’t be alone in that thought.  A huge number will be first time marathon runners, all going beyond what they ever thought possible and doing it for important causes.  That’s just one reason why this race is so special. And the weather is also helping, with longer days and bluer skies; the future is beginning to look bright.