And what a day it was - it began with 1,800 curses spanning the full range of offensiveness when the field pulled back their curtains to see...snow, and lots of it.

It continued with the brewing of tea and the gurgle of vacuum flasks. Layers were put on, then taken off, then missed. Later there was fiddling with ankle timing chips and nervously chatting to anyone who didn't have the headphones in and a determined stare.

Then there was the flutter as a walk became a trot, then a steady run and the start gate bleeped at us.

There were tobogganing children, really difficult spells out of Newbold Comyn, the conundrum posed by spitting discreetly in large groups of people. There was the lovely sense of being pushed on by numbers, then the realisation that for all the five-mile runs I have done recently - and there have been a pretty respectable number - I really should have thought about that last one and a bit to make up the 10km.

And, just when it was needed, there was an American marshall. You've seen those guys doing the world's easiest spelling bee by the Olympic pool and cringed. At 8.5km, that same "U.S.A, U.S.A" zeal, condensed into a shouty, transAtlantic 'go number nine, yeah' really hits the spot. There you have it, 8.5km - the distance at which I lose my capacity to be even slightly unnerved by American enthusiasm.

Then there was a painful last mile, a sight of the clock for the first time and a retching halt over the line.

And now? Now there are sore legs and thanks to the 1,800 of us, a record £25,000 in the kitty for local good causes.

In my case, there is also the kind of sporting injury which never makes the back pages. You just don't get 'Wayne Rooney has an Achilles problem and will miss the game, while Christiano Ronaldo is doubtful with a nipple', yet I swear my right one has got rubbed flat.

Oh, and there is also a little bit of smugness. I ran 52.29, just under the target of 52.45 which I was too cowardly to put in print last week.

That was on three months of running, for some of which I smoked. The Two Castles Run is in, what, June? And the 50-minute barrier is something of a benchmark, or so a guy wearing a t-shirt which said "running machine" told me. I wonder...

q Thanks to the people who cheered us on, and for the encouragement and advice from seasoned runners I have enjoyed during the last few months.

q Lynda Beetham has a long memory (must be all those supplements). About a month-and-a-half ago I questioned the value for money and effectiveness of nutritional shakes. I would now say that, yes, the powders are useful in terms of recovery and strength. The convenience of obtaining such fuel, particularly the protein, in such a concentrated form is undeniable. I am a fan, and were I a professional, I would enthusiastically use such products. The price is, however, for me, an impediment.