Phew. Well, there was an awful lot of running this weekend, not a lot of sleep, and medals galore. One silver, one bronze, for a start. Yes, even more exciting than the Olympic games, it was the last event of the Surrey Road League, which also doubles as the Surrey 5k championships. But aside from the stellar performances by my running club, who came away with more medals than Michael Phelps, those Olympians did pretty well too.

While the marathon took place at a viewing time that was far more civilised for us Europeans, I felt for the athletes – that looked HOT. There’s a reason most marathons take place in the spring or the autumn. While cynics may say the marathon isn’t the best spectator sport, I couldn’t turn it off. To watch that level of performance, mile after mile, in the baking heat, in a pace I couldn’t sustain for 200m, is just awe-inspiring. To say nothing of the track events that followed.

And hopefully it might just be a bit more literally inspiring – because it’s just under six weeks until Berlin marathon for me, and I’m about to disappear on sabbatical for a month. I’ll be haunting the comments below the line (can’t get rid of me that easily, and I’ll need somewhere to moan…) but handing the reins over to Nick and Adharanand for the next few weeks. So see you in the taper, folks. As always, share your own weekend highlights – whether running yourself or watching others – below the line.

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