A cold and overcast day on the Walton-on-Thames tow path.

This was the second weekend in a row that I was doing a back-to-back marathon. Hmmm. . . I can do it! I was intimate with the race route and knew I just have to take it slow and easy to complete the challenge with no injuries.

We took the train after work to Brussels Midi station and boarded our 18:56 Eurostar train for London Saint Pancras International Station on Friday, February 8, 2019.

By 20:00, we were waiting for the Victoria line underground to Vauxhall in the direction of Brixton. It helps to have a re-loadable and reusable Oyster card in hand. You won’t have to line up and get a ticket every time. From Vauxhall, we switched trains to catch a train bound for Woking and got off at Walton-on-Thames.

A cab took us to our usual accommodation, The Weir Pub and Hotel, where we quickly settled in for the night.

We were up early the next morning. The owner forgot that we had breakfast that morning so we had to wait until somebody arrived to cook for us. Consequently, we barely had time to pick our bibs up before the crowd started en masse to the starting point in front of the pub.

The One Run to Rule Them All Marathon was a new themed Phoenix race. It drew probably more than 200 Lord of the Rings fans and runners with its promise of the Precious.

We started off at 09:30 in the direction of the blue bridge. Some people cheekily started calling it the blue bridge of doom for its narrow width and slope.

The aid station setup at the start of the race.

Richard completed four laps to make a half marathon distance while I did eight laps to finish the marathon distance in 6:17:55.

The race director Rik Vercoe presented me with the 12 Marathons in 12 Months medal and certificate at the end of the race.

We made our short way back to our hotel room to recuperate and have an early dinner of my favorite Thai Chicken Curry and crab cakes for Richard.

The following morning, the owner himself woke up early and cooked us a delicious breakfast of chicken and cheese omelet to energize us for the day. Richard saw me off at the start line for the Doughnut Dash Marathon.

Same distance but not quite the same route. The runners were divided into the chocolate and strawberry groups. The chocolate group got to run in the direction of the Hampton Court while the strawberry group had to take on the blue bridge of doom again. As you can see, I had a strawberry bib so I had to run the same route as yesterday.

I finished the Doughnut Dash Marathon in almost the exact same time as yesterday’s marathon: 6:17:20.

The owner very kindly allowed us to do a late checkout so I can take a shower before we made our way back to London.

Once on board the 19:34 Eurostar train back to Brussels, we ate the cold light meal they served and relaxed. We also ate the fresh mango cups we bought at the M&S convenience store beside the departure area.