Yesterday I ran a marathon with my sister. By which I mean we both did the Great North Run, so between two of us we ran a marathon, or a half marathon each for the pedants of this world.

So how was it? In short, awesome. I did the Royal Parks Half Marathon last year and didn’t train for it (furthest I’d run in preparation was three miles – I do not advise this approach. I really felt like I wasted the day and didn’t make the most of it, as I was pretty much dying the whole way round.

This year though my younger sister talked me into GNR as there were space available via Breast Cancer Care, who she works for. I didn’t do as much training as I’d have liked in the run up but was regularly churning out five or six miles and did eight and a half miler a couple of weeks back. Sis meanwhile was training like a demon – nothing like the prospect of thrashing your elder sibling to get those legs moving….

The day of the run dawned and we awoke in our, ahem, luxurious (Travelodge) room in Newcastle. Pot Porridge (like Pot Noodle, but with oats) had cunningly been purchased the day before so we had a first breakfast and tea in bed. Second breakfast was consumed on route to the start and by the time we got to our section (via a 25min wait for the loo!) we were raring to go. Conditions were good – overcast, not too warm. We watched the Red Arrows zoom overhead and then we were off, high fiving Olympians Ellie Simmonds and Greg Rutherford over the start line.

We ran the first couple of miles together to warm up. It then started to rain and we hit the first hill so I shooed sister off and plugged myself into my iPod. The support around the course was incredible – despite the deteriorating weather conditions the Geordies were out in their thousands, lining the course and shouting support. I don’t think I’d have got round were it not for all the jelly babies, ice pops and orange segments kind people were dishing out on route.

I alternated listening to music and not – sometimes it was nice just to soak up the atmosphere, and it’s great running past people you know as they roar their support. My favourite sign of the day was a station where beer was being distributed, under the banner ‘Newcastle Drinking Club (we’ve got a problem running habit)’, closely followed by ‘Turn left- It’s the Sea!’ when we hit the last mile and ran along the seafront.

In the end my lil’ sis beat me by exactly ten minutes – I made 2h21min and she smashed it with 2h11. We’re both very happy with our times, and both had an amazing race. Miles 10-12 I was really starting to struggle with legs like lead, but without wanting to sound too clichéd the amazing crowd carried me on. We were reunited at the Breast Cancer Care tent where we stretched and then promptly ate all the crisps and chocolate we could lay our hands on.

So in summary the Prout sisters had a great day out at the Great North Run. The event is huge, the atmosphere carnival-like and I’d recommend it to anyone. Today we’re feeling a little stiff and a little sore, but very proud of ourselves.