Double Spartathlon – Thank you

We did it!  I still can’t believe that my crew and I have completed something we set out to do two years ago!  Finishing the race itself was extremely emotional (as you can see from the photo!) I was so overwhelmed that I had actually done it I simply couldn’t hold back the emotions, neither could my crew who had lived the journey with me.

The Spartathlon is a tough race as you’re chasing cut-offs right from the start. This year I found it tough going but kept my mind focused on those marvellous feet in Sparta!

 Getting up the next morning at 4.15am I did wonder if my feet would be able to cope but as always my body amazes me with what it’s capable of overcoming and achieving.  My darkest moment was on the return leg with 75km to go and I remember thinking “OH god, this is going to take forever” I retreated into myself, I think my body’s way of conserving energy.  10 miles later I was OK again.  I believe I’m the first female to complete the Double Spartathlon.

This post is to say a massive thank you to my amazing crew, Becky Healey, Paul George and of course my marvellous and wonderful husband HWMBO.  They are without doubt the best crew any runner could ever ask for and great friends.  I run and they do everything else.  Sounds simple but they have to be on the ball the whole time anticipating what I will need and even things I think I don’t need.  Their job is to get me to the finish, my job is to not let them down – great team work.

On the return trip I had various people who came along and supported me, thank you to each and every one of you it really meant a lot to me and gave me a huge boost, you are simply marvellous.

I couldn’t believe all the lovely messages everyone sent me on Twitter, FB and privately, thank you for taking the time to follow me and give me a virtual hug by sending the messages.  When I read through them you had me in tears! (again!!)

There were sections of the route on the return journey that had us slightly confused on a few occasions and we did go very slightly of course but nothing too bad.  During the first night we met a Hungarian runner (I think he was Hungarian) who had been on the wait list and as he hadn’t got a place he decided to run to Sparta on his own while being filmed.  We chatted for a bit then Becky and I continued on our way only to be followed by the film crew who interviewed us as we ran – very surreal!

I’m in the process of writing my race report which could take some time, please be patient.  Thank you to my amazing sponsors X-Bionic UK, Sunwise Sunglasses SOS Rehydrate and Wigwam Socks. Also thanks to Race Drone for keeping the tracker open for my return trip, really appreciated.  A BIG thank you to my amazing coach Ray Zahab his support and advice are invaluable.

Now it’s time to recover properly then start training for my big event next year – watch this space!

Thank you.