Soul searching

After the Boston Marathon disaster I had to do some soul searching about my future as an elite runner.
Magdalena Boulet, my friend and fellow Olympic Marathoner from 2008, commiserated on the phone with me recently. She had trained equally hard for the London Marathon and was in great shape finishing just steps in front of me at the World Cross Country Championships. Unfortunately, she faded from her goal of finishing in 2 hours and 25 minutes, to finishing in just over 2:30. She said as she was struggling to make it to the finish line, she was contemplating retirement. I felt the same way as I was running in Boston, wondering if all this time, effort and time away from Quin was worth it in the end.

That’s the thing about having a goal. It comes back to bite you time and time again.
More on this in Saturday's column.