She was reluctantly eating her marathon fuel of porridge when she turned to my dad and told him...
'I can't do this.'
Which is probably the words that the majority of people thought or said at the early hours of the morning, whilst they tried to get ready for what may have been the biggest challenge they have done.
That's normal though. Your body is about to go through 26.2 miles of running, and after all the months of the training, the winter days, the wet weather and having cold fingers after running the 18th mile, the day finally comes when the London Marathon is knocking on your bedroom door.
Luckily this year, there was no rain though!
Blue skies and sunshine over London town.
After a little kick up the butt motivational talk from dad, mum jumped on the coach and made it over to the start line, ready to start at her quest for a medal at 10:15am.
Whilst I was surfaced after a few hours sleep, grabbing my spectators map and headed off into the streets of London.
The main rule of marathon spectating is a simple one. Plan your route. London is filled with family and supporters, and if you don't plan your route then you will spend more time fighting the crowds than spectating!
We headed straight for mile 9 at Canada Water, and grabbed a spot to cheer the runners along.
You will see everything at the Marathon.
From bananas, to a man carrying a Smeg fridge, to two people dressed as a camel. Everyone dresses up in their own way to stand out from the crowds and make light of a long day.
With so many runnings passing by, you try to spot your runner with laser-like vision.
'There she is.. oh wait nope no it isn't.'
'I see her! I see her! I don't see her'
In typical fashion, the moment we turned to each other to have a quick laugh, mum runs past and we had to make a quick dash alongside the spectators to catch her attention, shouting her name out as loud as we can.
Headphones in her ears, in the zone and running along, she didn't even hear us.
So much for not wanting to run this ay, but at least the spectators are enjoying the mad marathon chase around London.
Canary Wharf is the perfect spot to see the runners two or three times, with mile 15 at the entrance to the wharf and the runners just passing the half way stage, and mile 19 right in the centre.
Mile 15 where everyone who is running starts to feel the burn. Half way, and mentally still another 10 miles to go, it's the spot where you can really give the runners a pick me up.
This time we made sure we spotted mum, especially as my sister had come up to surprise her after telling her she couldn't make it.
The moment she spotted us, she lit up with a huge smile and a shocked face, told us she was feeling great and hugged us all.
Then she headed off with a little spring in her step, ready to attack the rest of the route.
Little did she know that when she came round to mile 19, we would be stood there cheering her on again for a little extra push!
Mentally, a marathon is absolutely gruelling and there are times when you want to give up.
Your body hurts, you are tired of eating the same energy gel bars, and the realisation that you still have a long way to go can really push your limits.
Mum's way to get through this was to break down the runs into four sections of 5 miles.
Get the first 5 miles done, and that's a quarter done, and onwards until you get to 20 miles.
I know what you are thinking... what about the last 6 miles though?
Mums answer? That was the last push. The home straight. The light at the end of the tunnel.
You come out of Canary Wharf and you know you are heading back into central London towards the finish line. At 23 miles was mum's hotel at Tower Bridge, and the final three miles are along the Embankment where the crowds cheers pull you through to the end.
With one last cheer at the 25 mile mark, everyone knows the end is near and those fears they had earlier in the morning are a distant memory. Big Ben, Whitehall, Buckingham Palace. The Finish.
The only thing that is slightly annoying about the marathon is that you cannot stand at the finish line. But with over 30,000 runners taking part, it would be a crowd nightmare.
Instead, the spectators can head to Horse Guards Parade to meet the finishers.
A little tired with aching feet, but feeling okay
But once again a London Marathon finisher that we are all extremely proud of!
'That was the hottest race I have ever done' was mum's summary of the race, 'but I felt good all the way round!'
'No more Lucozade or porridge though, I need a cup of tea!'
We made our way out of Horse Guards Parade and out onto The Strand into a crowd of celebrating friends and family, and headed to Trafalgar Square to find a cup of tea for the marathon finisher.
And a glass of wine for the spectators.
We found this cafe right in the heart of Trafalgar Square, but I completely forgot to take the name down and it isn't online. However, it is right by the fountains, so we grabbed table and sat back looking over Nelson Column and watched the other finishers make their way back to normality.
We ran around London, cheered and cheered and cheered, and now it is all over for the runners. What an accomplishment, and well done to everyone who took part!
Well done mum, I am a very, very proud son!
I know it seems like a daunting thing to do, but running a marathon is something anyone can do. The 2015 Ballot is opening soon, but keep checking their website here for when it does.
If you are not lucky in the ballot, then you can always run for charity!
It's dads turn next. Four weeks until we fly abroad for Ironman!
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