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In the book, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", it was discovered that the meaning of life was forty-two. Well, if forty-two truly was the meaning of life, it would be synonymous with my first ever marathon.

The day began at an even more ungodly hour with the alarm went off at 3:30am. Strangely, I felt remarkably alert in one of those rare moments where only a blue moon could be more extraordinary. With a breakfast of Powerbar, I obediently traded the morning coffee for two glasses of water. Five minutes to 4am and I was on the road, cruising to the beat of "Godskitchen".

On the way down towards starting point, I had to thank my Powerbar breakfast. I was like a lamb heading for the slaughter but I was still decidedly peppy. There could be no other reason than the fact that I was delirious with energy. The race had yet to begin and I had already woofed down two bars and contemplating my first Powergel. A person could really get high on this stuff.

They say you can run a marathon and either "enjoy it" or "survive it". Now I understand the difference. I clearly belonged to the second category. The following is an account of a runner who survived a marathon with a minimalist training regime, and a maxed out carbo-diet. Warning: please consult your doctor before attempting this program.

I remember reading up about marathon trainings the day I signed up. The majority recommended, at the minimum, a year of solid running. The shortest training program I found required at least twenty-one weeks of preparation. Having only a month to train, I decided it was time for more drastic, scientific measures. I researched about carbo-loading and marathon diets, and foods to eat before, during and after a marathon.

Regrettably, I didn't make the most of my one month's training. In week one, I ran twice. In week two, I ran once. Most of my runs were about five to ten kilometers, no more. In week three, I went for my honeymoon in Japan, where all I did was "carbo-load" and walk until my feet fell off. I spent much of week four on my behind and about the most I did was rock climb once.

On race day, I took with me a bladder of water and an MP3 player filled with "inspiring" songs to keep me going. One thing I definitely did right was pack about five Powergels for the run, because I felt I was fighting fit up until the 20km mark and then some. It was somewhere from the 25km mark and onwards before I felt the decline in my form. Instead of running half an hour and walking five

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