My third year of running the London marathon and my second as a championship entry runner and the race still gets me excited! I love everything about the London marathon and can't recommend it enough to people. You truly have to be a part of it and run the course to appreciate the noise, atmosphere and support from the crowd. There's not much of the route that isn't lined with people shouting your name and encouragement or giving out high fives. The crowds seem to get even louder over the last couple of miles which is a huge help when you may be running on empty or starting to struggle. Everyone seems to be willing you to make it to end.

Support from marshals/volunteers on the course is amazing and their enocuragement is just as big as the crowds. From 3 miles in there's water stops at every mile so you haven't got far to go before your next drink if needed and then there's Lucozade at 5 mile intervals too, so there's plenty of fuel along the way.

The goody bag this year was decent and I was surprised at how heavy the bag was when I was handed it at the end, packed with goodies from deodorant, Lucozade, an apple and some other food bits. The finishers t-shirt and medal are top quality too, as expected, and are a great addition to the collection.

Definitely a race that should be on everyone's list and one that I'll be doing for as long as I can. See you next year London!!