I took a year off from the marathon. 

I love running marathons. I (mostly) love training for them. 

Honestly I think part of it is relishing the routine of training as a non-routine girl. Of seeing the progress over a 12, 16, 20 week build. And truly, the marathon distance scares me enough to stick to the training or stick to it as best I can. 

I ran my last marathon in October 2025. It was not the race I expected it to be… 

Watch the YouTube video to find out how it went down. 

And then my second son Woody was born via surrogate in November 2025 and I had no desire to run a marathon while he was really little. Sleep deprivation, trying to juggle training around childcare and figuring out how to navigate life as a mum of two – I just didn’t actually want to try to add in marathon training to all of that. Or miss those newborn snuggles because I was trying to fit in a long run.

It is hard to admit but I struggled much more this time around. I found it hard to feel like me again, to find a balance between being mum and being Charlie. I didn’t run as much, I didn’t get to as many classes, I felt burnt out and overcommitted with content work and races. I felt like I was constantly apologising or asking for help just to get by.

Suddenly I was SO glad I had turned down some big opportunities to run Spring marathons that felt hard to say no to at the time. I thought I would have major FOMO watching so many people running the Cape Town marathon but was so happy not to be running 26.2 miles that weekend so far from home (although I did end up running 21+ miles that weekend in Ottawa – watch the vid!) 

I have started to finally find a little consistency with my training (not so coincidentally now that Woody can come on runs in the buggy!) but more importantly, joy in following a plan. I’m back working with my coach Ash who has got me PBs in all of my races, and as a Mum of 4, she gets it! 

And I’m feeling a little envious of everyone starting to train for Sydney, Berlin and Chicago marathons. Truly I’m a Marathon Majors girlie and you can’t convince me otherwise… 

With that said, I got into the Copenhagen Marathon ballot for next May which I am soo excited to run after loving Copenhagen half last year. It is fast, flat, well supported and crucially still allows me to spectate the double London Marathon next year. 

Now I need to figure out my plan for the next 11 months and how to get back to peak marathon shape. Do I race a fast half this Autumn? Find a late Nov/Dec full marathon to build volume – or the craziest idea my coach threw out… get some triathlon training in given that I already have Swim Serpentine in Sept??? 

While I try to decide what to focus on, I’m just trying to work on a base build and get in a routine with training. I’m roughly running 2 x easy runs with the buggy, 1-2 speed workouts and a longer run. 

A reminder to you, me and anyone else that needs to hear this…signing up for a marathon is not an endeavour we should take on lightly. It requires more time and commitment and sacrifice than most people posting about their training on social media will admit. We’ve made it so casual to run a marathon in the running world and on RunTok that the enormity of them has been somewhat lost. And I’m including myself in this. 

So if you’re thinking about signing up for a marathon; 

• Find one that actually excites you and the timing works with your life 
• Use a training plan that is realistic to both your availability and current fitness levels 
• Understand that something will have to give 
• Don’t skip the strength training 
• Practice your fuelling! 

Very.co.uk recently sent me some Nike Running trainers; the Nike Vomero Plus which I’ve been dying to try for nearly a year after testing the Premium. I didn’t love the Premium but do genuinely love the Vomero Plus. They seem to be the sweet spot for cushioned recovery shoe that I found too much with the air pockets in the Premium. 

I’ve been using them to run mostly easy miles but also to pick up the pace with 1 minute repeats and love the feeling below foot across both road and easy trail terrain. I’ve put around 25 miles in them so far and have just packed them to take with me on holiday next week – a sure sign that they are a hit. I trust Believe on the Run when they say a shoe is legit, and they said this was the best of the range and they weren’t wrong…

I’m also think I may finally be getting on board with loose running shorts. I’ve been looking at the Free People shorts on every Gen Z influencer and wondering if they would work for me. Well teamed with running vests to actually hold all my things (I never run without my phone…ever) turns out they can work. I’m not quite confident enough to team the shorts with just a sports bra and I’ve realised the way to style these shorts to make me feel comfortable is to either go with a loose tank and tuck, or tighter tank that meets the top of the short line. 

Keep your eyes peeled for another Gen Z outfits styled as a millennial runner with these? I think they are going to be staples in my summer running wardrobe! I’ve had a lot of requests for running shorts testing so I’ll also be sharing those