On Your Marks: Have I got a taste for it? Yes and no

And the answer is simply no. But do I want to keep up this lifestyle, level of fitness and good habits I have picked up? Then absolutely yes.

The ‘no’ is simply to distance. I don’t know how people do it every month or year. It’s an incredible thing to do and I have nothing but admiration for them.

But will I do another half marathon? Probably not. I can’t say I enjoyed doing those 13.1 miles. But I did enjoy the achievement and the journey I took to be able to complete it.

I think my next steps (excuse the pun) will be looking to maintain this lifestyle and level of fitness.

I will definitely continue with some Parkruns and maybe look to do a couple of 10Ks by the end of the year.

Regarding diet, I never changed this dramatically, but I did cut out the chocolate and snacks. This has made a real difference to my life. After completing the Run Gatwick Half Marathon, my son Noah and I went for a McDonalds, something I had not had since the end of 2017.

And I really didn’t enjoy it. I also had a chocolate bar, something I had not done since my sessions with Dr Karena Westergaard (see previous columns online). And again, I didn’t enjoy it.

This journey, which I started in October last year, has had a real positive impact on my life, fitness and body.

I wouldn’t have been able to complete this journey or write this column without the help of many people.

First and foremost my wife Amanda, son Noah and other family members.

K2 Crawley, Freedom Leisure and Crawley Borough Council and Owen Callagahan, fitness manger at K2 Crawley, have been tremendously supportive and have guided me through the last few months.

Early on in the journey Marc Sillett and Katie Warman at Horsham Fitness did great work with me and their sessions at Horsham Rugby Club were great.

Dr Karena Westergaard for getting me off chocolate!

And Mike De Frateschi at Up and Running Horsham for helping me pick the right trainers for my runs.

I picked up a lot of injuries during my training but I managed to get through thanks to the help of Jonathan Gaffney and David Such at David Such Osteopathy.

And thank you all for reading this column and supporting me on this journey. I have had a lot of lovely and supportive comments in person and on social media.

It’s been an emotional ride.

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