Things to do when you're 40 #9 Run a Marathon

If you've really been paying attention to my wander through the poll on turning40.net you'll remember that I left you at #6. However #7 was "get divorced", which I don't really have enough experience to talk about.

#8 was "take time off", and being a teacher, in France moreover (where we get two months in summer,) I really don't feel I could say much about that, I've noticed people don't like it much when teachers moan about not getting enough holidays, which is why we don't.

However I'm now, since yesterday afternoon, a complete expert at #9, the marathon.

It's a pretty common thing to do at this age, 40 is the average age for a guy's first marathon, while women tend to start (and maybe finish I suppose) a couple of years earlier.

I hadn't planned to run my first marathon at forty particularly, but as I'd only started running a couple of years before it was, I think, my first chance to finish under my own steam, as opposed to in the back of a medic's van.

I enjoy running so go quite often, but I never really got into a proper training programme. I tried but it would always be interrupted by arctic weather, or someone's birthday party, or a weekend away.

I did, however take the food very seriously. Having been told by everyone that pasta was the perfect fuel I ate it more or less every day in the week before the race. For me, this was probably the hardest part, I'm not that fond of the stuff anyway, and now I hate it, can't stand the sight of it. The salty snacks were nice, but by the night before the race I was ready to explode.

The race was great, I remember from my pre-running days how boring runners are so I won't go on, but it went really well and after 4 hours and 26 minutes of chuggging slowly around the Geneva country and lakeside I lolloped over the finishing line into the arms of a couple of lovely workmates, who then took me for lunch and a beer.

The best part is definitely the adrenalin rush, I still feel invincible 48 hours later, don't mess with me - I ran a marathon. Like any decent drug though, I suppose the comedown won't be much fun, I'll just make the most of it until then.

Having ticked the marathon box on my list of things to do when I'm forty, I'm ready to tackle the rest of the list... world domination, here I come.