They think it's all over...... it is now!!

I survived Edinburgh! One dodgy hip, 3 damaged toenails and several sore muscles, but I got through it!

4:49:30 was my official time, which I'm so pleased with if you think about some of the problems I've encountered along the way. The weekend in Edinburgh was amazing - except, of course, for nearly 5 hours of hell on the Sunday morning/ afternoon.

The week before we travelled up there I was so nervous about what was expected of me - not by anybody else, but more the expectation I had put upon myself. The train journey was horrendous on the way up. there had been problems earlier in the morning so people had piled onto our train and there wasn't enough seats for everyone. Feeling cramped and claustrophobic was not ideal preparation - both mentally and physically.

The afternoon was quite hectic in the end, because we all had to pick our race packs from the Expo which was being held out of town. As I was arriving first, I had the responsibility of collecting everyone's numbers and making sure they were all complete before making our way back to the team hotel. In the race packs you get your number, electronic tag (for personalised timing), shuttle bus ticket, a race t-shirt and baggage tags. There are also usually leaflets with discounts for things like Lucozade or new energy products. Because the event was sponsored by Albert Bartlett, we also had the option of picking up some free potatoes - I declined.

We finally checked into our hotel (a lovely guesthouse about a mile away from the start - http://www.ben-doran.com/) and had a bit of time to freshen up before heading out for our obligatory pre-race pasta meal.

After a glass of red wine to calm the nerves, it was time to head back to get an early night. After a quick check of our kit it was lights out at 10.30pm!

We set our alarms for 6.45am to make sure we had enough time to get breakfast and get any last minute preparations out of the way. The hotel had laid on a simple early breakfast for us and other marathon runners that were staying there as well.

After being waved off by our loyal supporters (Paul and Miranda) we made our way to the start to meet Matt (chief photographer). We took this cheeky snap just before we made our way up to the starting pen. (from left to right: Guy, me, Zoe and Sally).

We knew we wouldn't all run together as a group, but after about the first mile we had all split up and ran our own race.

I was conscious of not starting too fast, so the early pace was quite steady. It is easy to get swept along by the crowds of runners and it can be quite overwhelming to run as part of a big group for the first time. It think there were 16,000 entrants this year, although I'm not sure about the amount of finishers!

When I got to about 16 miles, I was in pain. My feet hurt, my lower back was hurting and my hip was starting to twinge. Luckily Matt was there to shout us all on and take a few photos on the way round.

I managed to get in a bit of walking before being told off (which is the reason for my unimpressed face!). The weather at the start was cold and overcast - quite windy in some places which wasn't ideal running conditions.

By this point, the sun had come out and the heat was relentless. There was no shade to get under, simply no escape.

The final 8 miles for me were all about self-preservation. It was a mixture of running and walking just to get myself to the finish. I was hungry - actually so hungry I felt sick! - tired, and getting quite emotional about the amount of pain I was in - my feet hurt, my back hurt and the pain in my hip was getting worse. I knew that if I didn't take it easy, it would take me a long time to finish.

Throughout my training I was quite sensible taking on fluids, but I didn't test out eating. People in the crowd had bananas and sweets which they were offering us. I got to about 22 miles and starting taking jelly babies and wine gums off people - if they made me sick, I only had 4 miles to suffer it and then I would be at the finish.

The final 0.2 miles seemed to go on for ever. People think that marathon runners make a big deal about it being 26.2 miles, but the extra .2 makes all the difference. The finishing straight is electric, the crowds are there cheering you on which is great. Finding your loved ones after though, is not so great. After the medal has been put round your neck you have to make your way to the reunion area - where we had all decided to meet under the letter Z because we thought it would be less busy.

The feeling after you finish is quite weird. On the one hand you're so happy about finishing and getting through it, but on the other you are so exhausted it is quite hard to summon the energy to catch the bus home. By this point, my hip had given up so I was struggling to even walk properly. The shuttle bus queue was massive, so we decided to brave walking a bit further down to get a 'normal' bus.

Once we got back into town, we needed proper refuelling. We

wanted something quick and easy that would satisfy our hunger.

There was only one thing for it - McDonald's! I don't think the running magazines will advocate it as it's not ideal, but it tasted lovely!

On the Sunday night we decided to go out for a celebratory curry so we headed back to the hotel to get washed and tarted up.

On the way I spoke to my parents, who then texted family and friends to tell them my time. They started to forward me people's responses - there must have been about 15!

When we got back to the hotel we had a bit of time to get ready - which is a good job because my muscles had started to seize up so getting in and out of the bath was a difficult job.

I'd taken a bottle of champagne so we could all toast our success before hitting the town - although all I wanted to do was hit the floor!

It was another early night for all of us, even the supporters flaked out through exhaustion! We had a bit of spare time on the Monday before we all headed home to do a spot of sight-seeing. I managed to track down the Mills tartan before catching the train back to Birmingham.

I had such a great time in Edinburgh, and I'm going to get my medal engraved with my time - not that there's much chance of me forgetting! People keep asking if I'll do another marathon - never say never, but there's a big chance that this is it.

I know first hand how much time and effort goes into the training, and I don't think I can commit to that again. Also, I know how it feels when the training isn't going right, and how de-motivating that is.

Good luck to anybody who is training for a marathon, I think I'll stick to half's!

I just want to say a huge thanks to my Mom and Dad for co-ordinating my fundraising at home; to Sally, Zoe and Guy for keeping me company on a Sunday morning; to everybody who has sponsored me so far; and to Matt for all his support before, during and after the ordeal! Love you all x