Off to a bad start today when I opened my case and a massive greeny-brown spider scuttled out, leaving me to get rid of its web before I could start packing.
It's amazing how much stuff you need to run a marathon, at the bottom left you can see all my pills and gels and energy tablets, then two pairs of trainers, 2 outfits, warm clothes to wear pre-race and throw away. This shot doesn't even include non-marathon stuff.
Everyone talks about the bit of the NYC marathon where you have to line up for hours at the start line before the race gets underway. It's because they shut the bridges so everyone has to be bussed over before that. To keep warm, most people wear an outfit they are going to discard.
Paula Radcliffe has shared some gems of wisdom on this and the other difficulties of the NYC marathon here:
"New York is a difficult one in terms of the start because everybody has to get out to Staten Island and people doing it for the first time don't realise how early you have to get out there and how long you're out there," Radcliffe said.
"The other thing is that the road surface is very different in New York to London. "Where London is pretty good tarmac most of the way, in New York there's a lot of concrete and a lot of potholes! So when you're running with a lot of people you have to keep your eyes down and be very aware - a lot of people twist ankles.
"There's a bridge when you go into the Bronx - around 18/20 miles - and that's metal grid. That's pretty hard on your feet at that stage as well."
Weather forecast for Sunday not looking so hot:
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