I was in Ireland for a long weekend, staying at a friend’s parent’s house in Galway, the West of Ireland. The house itself was fairly remote, with stunning panoramic views  from the ginormous windows. My plan was to run the first 6 miles solo, running along the quiet country roads from the house to the local village and back again.

I usually rely on Spotify for music, so without internet I was music less, luckily the views more than made up for it and were enough to distract me.

The turnaround point came at Ashford Castle, where we had enjoyed drinks on the lawn the previous evening. Building started in 1228, with newer sections and gardens added over the centuries, the castle is now a lovely 5 star hotel.

Once I’d completed one out and back, I picked up my friend Ally to finish the final 5 miles with. I was so excited when she’d told me she wanted to join me for part of my run, and I was very glad of the company to keep me motivated for the second half. Sadly I completely forgot to get any photos of Ally and I running, although the last mile consisted of me encouraging her to keep running by telling her all the things we could eat and drink at the end of our run; iced coffees, Prosecco and ice-cream came up tops!

11 miles done in an average pace of 9.17, followed by some stretching, iced lattes and admiring of Ally’s blisters.

This is my friend Nadia, using what we have at hand to get some strength work in…a wine bottle, obviously.

What motivates you for the last mile or so of your runs?