Rain and temperatures of around ten degrees Celsius are what you would most likely expect in Scotland. Instead of our adopted country, however, we started on Italian soil on Sunday at the Milano21, in which a total of around 8,000 runners participated.

While for me it was my last half marathon of the year, Natalie had to run the 10-kilometre distance. The first four and a half kilometres were similar, then the half marathon runners turned left. Natalie showed what had already been indicated in training over the last few weeks: she is back to her old strength and to the form in which she completed the 5,000 metres in 17:10.89 minutes four months ago. Although she had to run several times over cobblestones and it was anything but windless in Milan on this day, she finished in 37:28 minutes - a time that can be built on and which meant fifth place in a first-class field on this day.

While Natalie was already having a good time at the aid station, I was still running for a fast time. The first kilometres went well, but on the second half it quickly became very lonely. At times there was nobody in front of or behind me for several hundred metres. So I had to fight alone over the up to two kilometres long cobblestone passages and against the wind. After 1:14:13 hours I had made it. I missed another best time by 46 seconds, but I could be satisfied with 15th place overall and my fastest half marathon time ever at the end of a not so easy race. So I didn't miss out on the after-race pizza either.