This marathon was 4 laps of Pitsford Reservoir (the southern half). It was run as individual or relay, the relay being 4 runners of 1 lap each.

The course is easy on the eye, even pretty – when the sun was out. The going is hard, with compacted gravel surface, with the odd puddle which was frozen first thing. We went anti-clockwise. There are only two significant undulations, up to the cottage after the dam, and just before the causeway. Other than that it's very flat. Checkpoints/refreshments were on the dam and the causeway. Obviously next to a big body of water, half the route is open to the prevailing wind, the other half being fairly sheltered by trees around the perimeter. On this particular day, it had been -7°C overnight, so the whole of the northern half, and most of the southern half of the reservoir were frozen. During the first two laps, the sun came out and it warmed up to 7°C, but after I divested of a few layers, the sun went in and the wind picked up…I found it quite tough going in the third lap and although the 4 th lap was a little easier, I had to empty some stones out my shoes and then I got chatting to Brian Mills (who is now very close to 900 marathons) and we chatted and plodded to a just over 5hr run. A pleasant chat in good company is more important than a “time”, I'm sure? (except for Abingdon in October where there is a strict 5hr cut-off)

My time: 5hrs 2mins and 17seconds. I'd like to say another one done and no injuries, but there is some concern about PF, so you'll see less of me around Colworth doing in-between sessions until after my Easter “double”.

Did I say I won a prize? My superior understanding of course layouts and pacing got me second prize in a competition to estimate the cumulative finish time of the first three individuals and first three relay teams. 19hrs 58mins bagged me two flights with Monarch Airlines, and the missus is exploring the possibility of a holiday to Lanzarote. (I did tell her there was a marathon on Dec 8 th in Lanzarote, but she ignored that and carried on looking at November).