I didn't sleep the night before, so getting up at 5am was relatively easy! I was so excited once I got there – the atmosphere was amazing.

The first 8 miles went by without me really noticing, and although it was getting hotter, I felt good. There were live bands and people cheering my name every step of the way. Each time I was convinced they knew me – the support was unbelievable!

Going over Tower Bridge was something I had been looking forward to as I used to run there when I was working in London , and I wasn't disappointed. The noise was immense!

I managed to spot quite a few Iain Rennie Runners along the way which was really nice and I think we all spurred one another on.

I was getting tired by about mile 16, and the fun factor was certainly beginning to fade. I knew I could run 22miles as I'd done it in training, so I kept telling myself this and trudged on. The IRHH cheering squad were brilliant and a very welcome site at mile 18, it was a blur of purple and smiles and cheers! My family surprised me again at mile 22 – I nearly went by without noticing but was so glad I didn't – my mum can certainly shout!

It was a huge effort from this point to the end. I was definitely running slower, felt quite sick and my legs hurt. Once I got to 23miles I knew that I was going to finish, which was such a good feeling. At mile 24 I saw some of my friends from university who I hadn't seen for ages which was brilliant! It was so lovely to have their support.