On Saturday I headed out to Richmond Park for the longest run I’ve done so far: 14 miles. This was a mile further than the half-marathon I did back in October but, more importantly, two miles further than I’ve ever run in a non-race environment and it went surprisingly well. I was able to have a bit of a chat as I was running and I finished in 2 hours 24 mins which is roughly 10 minute miles.

I didn’t have a crowd cheering along the route but I did have my one-man support crew in the form of Lazy Boy. He was cycling alongside me for most of the way with a bottle of cherry Powerade on hand. I usually don’t take a drink with me when I run and make use of the drinking fountain’s in Richmond Park on anything over 11 miles – but now my runs are getting longer the need for fuel is getting greater.

So I tested out Powerade this weekend because that is the sports drink that will be available at the Brighton Marathon. And as all well-read marathoners know; you should always test out your sports drinks before the big day in order to avoid any nasty surprises. Some drinks can have a dodgy effect on the stomach if you’re not used to them, so it’s best to plan ahead.

The colour of these drinks did put me off and I’d assumed they’d be really sickly (more so than your usual sports drink) but it was fine. I had the red (cherry) one so I still have the other two to test but so far so good. I think it definately gave me an extra boost in the last couple of miles and my legs didn’t feel too bad the next day.