North

The Great North Run was over a week ago now. We knew it would be tough, knowing that Gina would or should have been there running - if not there, then she'd have done other runs by now and we'd have been there to support her. This time we had to be there to support her cousin and boyfriend instead, who ran in Gina's name and raised money for the Beatson charity.

We were on the edge of an emotional precipice all day. Normally, seeing young women in running gear, is difficult but oddly, having literally thousands of them didn't seem to have the same impact. Personally, speaking it was unexpected things which had me fighting back the tears - a child with a T-shirt saying "I'm here for my Mum" - a band of teenagers playing behind us. Things which wouldn't normally scratch the surface of an unemotional person like me, that nevertheless were enough to push me right to the edge.

The stress of trying to get home, tired and drained at the end of a very long day, finally broke me - briefly - until P me down, as she has done on other occasions throughout our 25+ years together. Knowing she reads this, I won't get too mushy, but... thanks.