I’m getting to that age where it’s time to face facts: there’s a strong possibility that I may not actually ever become a rock star, accept an Oscar or win an Olympic gold medal. But that’s OK because I pretty much know how that would feel. I have heard crowds of people applauding me and shouting my name and it was pretty damn good. And I can get that any time I want – all I have to do is run.

So it’s time to put your hands together people and show some support for the supporters. The people that turn out to watch you race, giving up the best part of their Sunday to clap and scream your name, sometimes accompanied by snacks or even holding an amusing sign.

If there’s one thing I’ve learnt from Dean Karnazes book ‘Ultramarathon Man’, it’s that you can never be too old to have your parents cheering you on from the sidelines. So as well as the hundreds of strangers that have made some noise for me, I have my own support crew of two. They cheered me through Nottingham marathon last weekend and will be at my half back in the home town next month.

However, there’s a fine line to be walked between ‘supporter’ and ‘enabler’. A supporter says: ‘Yeah, you can do it’. An enabler says: ‘Hey, why don’t you do this. Those people are and they’re cool. Go onnnnnnn’. At 17 miles last Sunday my mum supported me with this very useful advice: “Just focus on that gentleman’s lovely arse and follow it to the finish”.

But by the finish she was starting to show signs of becoming a marathon enabler. She’d seen the Venice marathon 2012 advertised while booking her annual trip to Italy and thinks “it sounds lovely”. I hadn’t even taken my compression socks off yet and she was already trying to sign me up for marathon number four. Anyone know the Italian for ‘Come on Laura’?

Please vote for me in the Cosmo Blog Awards. I’m the only runner in the ‘Health, Diet and Fitness’ category.