I don�t think anything could have ever fully prepared me for it.
The first few miles were ok..they were pretty slow as there were so many people it just kind of bottle-necked but everyone was in high spirits and we had a good laugh waving at the passing motorists!! Miles 4-8 we kicked ass and got a really good pace going, 8-10 seemed were also pretty quick and Ali and I also got a text from Effel to wish us luck..it was nice to know she was thinking about us. 10-15 seemed longer but we still had quite a good pace going�.it was pretty disconcerting walking past the 24 mile sign between 10 and 11 though and realising how far we had to go!!! Somewhere at about mile 16 we overtook at a rather tired looking Lorraine Kelly! 18-22 were hard going but Ali tried to keep us motivated with shouts of �Woo!�. I just gave her the death-stare as I was feeling far from motivated!!
At the 22 mile mark I declared that I wasn�t going any further that I would go and sit over the other side of the road and wait for them to pick me up on the way home in the morning. Ali refused to let me stop though and somehow we kept going despite fighting dizziness and the urge to throw up.
At mile 25 I was just determined to finish as we were so close to the end. Ali however had decided that she�d had enough and was never going to finish it. I refused to let her stop though and grabbed her hand and kept walking.
The last 500 metres were the longest I have ever been through. I have no idea what kept us going, every part of my body hurt, I alternated between feeling dizzy and sick and my feet just felt like they had concrete slabs attached to them but at 9am yesterday morning, we made it. We were greeted across the finish line, pictures were taken and medals were given. It was at that point that the 3 of us cried! I was kind of prepared for the physical pain (not to that extent of course!) but it was the sheer mental exhaustion. You would never have thought that walking would be so mentally draining.
Still, Ali�s friend �The Accountant� came and met us as we were finishing and as for Dan and Si there are not enough nice things that I can say about them. They drove to Battersea at stoopid o�clock on a Sunday morning laden with sandwiches and hot tea for us. They then drove us home and Dan set about running a hot bath for Ali while Si made tea, made me soak my feet, made a hot water bottle for me to sleep with on my aching limbs and gave me tissues when I got emotional coz my blister burst!! (Si � I love ya matey � I would never have made it through yesterday morning without you looking after me!!!)
But..despite the pain today it was certainly well worth it, not only for the experience and the fact that I can say I walked 26.3 miles through the night in a wonder bra, but also because between the Star Dust team (Ali � Cosmicdust, Irina � Hornydust, Me � Fairydust) we managed to raise over �850 for charity. Not bad for a nights work!
And tonight � well tonight I am off for a well deserved beer and to finally meet Erica��yippee!!