Every night, the nation is full of people bitching about insomnia while drinking endless cups of coffee and chain-smoking cigarettes. It's good to know we are some way above all that!

I had a lousy night's sleep before the marathon, presumably worrying about getting there (and making the distance). Then a worse one after! Went to bed too early, full of food, not enough wine, ok, so my legs were hurting constantly but that's no excuse. Actually my head was really stinging from the sunburn too

I have (or had) a chronic fear of insomnia, rather than the insomnia itself, for many years, thanks to late nights and self-medication. It's only when I go to bed early for a special occasion and lay off the wine that I still have serious problems. But a long stint in bed can be as good as a shorter sleep, so long as one is sufficiently relaxed about the experience.

Losing sleep, getting stressed about not sleeping, it's a tedious nightly vicious cycle.