"Experts thought running would make a woman's uterus fall out..."

To celebrate the London Marathon, writer and journalist Sophie Haydock shares her own experience of crossing the finishing line after 26.2 miles. Amid the sweat, aches and exhaustion, Sophie tells of her joy at being free to go the distance, when many women before her were prohibited from doing so.

Sophie Haydock is a journalist (Sunday Times, Guardian, Financial Times) and food writer, as well as associate director of the Word Factory short story organisation and digital editor of the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award. Her love for short stories has led her into an ambitious project to read a short story from every country in the world (suggestions welcome). She is currently working on her first novel, and was a finalist for the Spotlight First Novel Award 2018. In November 2016, she ran the New York City marathon and in September 2018, she'll be running the Berlin marathon. She tweets at @SophieHaydock