State of Play...

[El Gordo]

That sounds like the right decision for you, SP, and you should feel unburdened for reaching it and talking about it. There are plenty of people out there who have done marathons, but who no longer do them. A bit like what I was saying about the GNR on another thread. I'm glad I did it, but wouldn't want to do it again. I've been there, done that, what's next?

I don't feel the same way about marathons. They are there to torment us, but for some reason I'm fascinated by that torment, whereas most people have a far more rational attitude towards them, and stay away from them. It's nothing to do with courage or determination or ambition, or a lack of. It's actually much more to do with the simple practicalities of life, like the availability of time, the ability to establish a routine and the avoidance of injury. But most of all, it's about motivation; this one thing is the lever for all the other things. If you have motivation, you invent determination. You discover energy. Time appears where no time existed. But it sounds like your appetite has been satisfied, and you've just run out of motivation for another slog.

I remember when I was skating over the Tower Bridge cobbles at Mile 22 in that first marathon, overhearing two women runners talking. "This is definitely my last marathon", said one. "I love the race and the occasion, but it's all the bloody training that I can't take anymore. If I could just do the race without losing months of my life, I'd carry on doing it."

Sounds to me like you're agreeing with that very rational thought. I'm sometimes tempted to think the same, but the motivation just never quite goes away. It's a pitiful admission, but I look forward to the annual marathon and all the planning that goes into it. Not just the training but the location of the race.

Anyway, it's good to make the decision. No doubt we will talk about it some more over a glass of something Spanish in Almeria. Maybe you'll discover your vocation as a race photographer...