THIS weekend’s blog post is all about this man.

Chris, my fiancé, is running the Florence Marathon. Here he is supporting me at this year’s Great North Run. Tomorrow, I will be supporting him as he takes on the 26.2 mile distance for the fifth time.

His previous marathons were:

• Blackpool, 2009, 3 hrs 55
• Berlin, 2009, 5 hrs 19 (he ran with me, and I’d not trained)
• Edinburgh, 2014, 2 hrs 53
• York, 2015, 2 hrs 45 for 14th place!

Chris has been training hard for this marathon. While I’ve had several dramas and running-disasters, Chris has been quietly getting on with things. He’s put in the miles, and has even done some strength training. There were a few weeks when things didn’t quite go to plan. He was ill for a week or so, and before that his 40th birthday celebrations in Vienna got in the way of training, but apart from that things have gone well.

He’s done the training. Now he’s resting up, drinking water, eating pasta, making his last-minute preparations, and hoping that his hard work pays off.

The marathon is a tough distance. It takes mental and physical endurance. We’re both a little nervous. I want him to have a great race and get a time he deserves. But whatever tomorrow brings, I will be incredibly proud of him.

Good luck, Chris xx