Teacher Support runner Joe Williams joined 300 other marathon runners at Cheltenham on Saturday.

I ran a tough race at Cheltenham on Saturday. It took place in the beautiful setting of the Cotswolds and was my second this year around a horseracing track.

I drove up from Bristol and was there in time to soak up a decent pre-race atmosphere and have a quick slurp of coffee before warming up near the grand stand.

There were about 300 people taking part and for the first time I took note of my finishing position within the field; 111 is of course in the top half, so I'm quite pleased with my performance.

I can't put my finger on why, but a couple of times during the race my calves seem to turn to stone and I found it difficult to pick up speed. Although there were no major hills, a fair amount of the course was on a gentle incline, and I think this took more of a toll than I would have expected.

Confirmation here as well of how much music makes the difference to your state of mind. Plodding along after 8.5km with my i-pod on random, it suddenly kicked into 'The Emergency' by BT; a record of considerable personal significance, with a breakdown that would have the most ardent dance-hater raising their hands to the sky and hugging the bloke next to them. For the last kilometre and a half I allowed the unapologetically emotive house dynamic to push me faster than I think I've ever run before. This last-minute drive turned a disappointing time into a respectable one, and I crossed the line at 52.41, my fourth best so far. Success begets success, and after a quick sandwich back at my Bristol base camp I watched Coventry City beat the Robins 2-1 in our first league victory there for about 300 years.

Alas my scheduled run in Taunton had to be cancelled. Deploying my usual powers of observation, I didn't notice that the deadline for entries was sometime last week. This obviously puts a bit more pressure on my schedule for the rest of the year, but should still be ok with an extra race in either Portsmouth or back home in the Three Counties on the weekend of the 2^nd October providing good alternatives.

Next up: the Biddenham 10K River Run on Sunday. Can anyone lend me a peddalo?

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