So, here we are. After four months of training the start of the 2009 Flora London Marathon is less than 48 hours away.

It’s at this time that marathon fever begins to grip the capital. The local newspapers are filled with feel-good stories of why people are running, the nationals print handy where-to-watch guides and yellow signs pop up on major roads announcing their imminent closure.
 
I’m not excited in the slightest. Why you ask? Because it bloody hurts, that’s why! Call me a killjoy, but as a general rule I don’t feel anything but dread before undertaking something that will inevitably leave me in agony.

In fact, despite what you’ve been telling your mates, I reckon you’re probably feeling some of what I am. This will be my third marathon and I’m fully aware of what to expect yet the feeling remains. Maybe it never goes away. 

Sorry, self-pity shared is self-pity halved, or something. In other news, the training has gone as well as I’d hoped. To celebrate, I spent this week stuffing my face with the office's supply of carb-filled biscuits.

On Tuesday, Team MF – our adventure racing team made up of three of our readers Darren Roberts and brothers Steve and Nick Tidball – stopped by. They had just returned from the Namibia Desert Ultra Race – a 126km race across the scorching sands of southern Africa that must be completed in under 24 hours. Darren won, and he'd never entered an ultra race before. Nuts.

For me the marathon is the pinnacle of my training programme, a goal I have spent the last four months working towards. For Team MF, a marathon is a Saturday morning training run. After Sunday I intend to put my feet up for a few weeks. Team MF have already resumed training for another of their races, The Jungle Marathon.

I’m not sure what my point is – I’ve consumed an awful lot of sugar today – but I think it could be that the human body is capable of far more than most of us give it credit for. If you’ve never run before, sign up for a 5K race. If you’ve done a 10K, think about having a go at a half-marathon. If you’ve done a half, go the whole hog. It will hurt like hell at first but you will get there in the end. And despite the pain, the feeling of crossing the line is good enough to get even this curmudgeonly chap running it over and over again.