This weekend’s long run was a bit of a family affair.

Having run solo so far I was looking forward to tackling Saturday’s 16-miler with my brother-in-law Chris, who is in training for next month’s Manchester Marathon. Well, that was at least until I realised he was doing his run on Sunday.

So it was just me and the countryside, with my new friend – jelly babies.

Running is straightforward on so many levels – just put one foot in front of the other and off you go – but it also strikes me how one small thing can make such a difference.

On Saturday that little bit of Bassett goodness got me through some tough moments and helped me reach another milestone on what was a beautiful day for running.

But equally important was the chance meet with my sister as I neared home, and then with my girlfriend and her parents who had decided to go to the shops while I slogged it out for two and a half hours.

After each brief meet I felt like I had an extra spring in my step (the reality may have looked different), and I know that support will help me so much on marathon day.

That, and a bag full of jelly babies in my pocket should do the trick.

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