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As I like running thought I would challenge myself by doing three in a row (it is a theme on my age) and thought it would be a great way to raise money for a worthwhile cause. The Sutton Support Centre does a lot of good things for people with cancer and as it is such a pernicious disease I thought it would be good to try and raise a bit of money for them. FIrst run report. Wye Valley Run - 4th September Distance 26.5 miles. Time 4.36. Terrain: Up and down; cross country The run started on time with a nice slope upwards which was rather indicative of the terrain to come. It was quite a small field (obviously elite with my presence in it!) of 60  marathon runners and 120 half marathoners. The first mile was straight up the hill back towards Symonds Yat. This was made into an extra climb by the first marshal who was supposed to be directing us left being too busy on his phone to actually get us to turn. Hence the call to come back after about five minutes of running. As I had nobly decided to let the other runners go first this meant that not only was I competing in my first ultra (surely anything over 26.2 is classed as this) but I was leading elite club athletes (anyone getting a time under three hours is elite to me!). This did not last too long as the half marathoners and stronger runners overtook again. The first 16 miles of the route were spent traversing through the forest with lots of relatively short climbs and downhills. There was one bit which went by the river which was actually a sheer climb which saw lots of walking. There were some nice views of the surrounding area but it was not until hitting the footbridge at the 16 mile mark that you got to see more than forest trail as the route took you along the river bank in glorious sunshine with some nice hills and cliff edges in the background. I had a bit of a speed spurt at this point and passed quite a few runners which always feels good during this part of the race. It was then onto Monmouth for the bridge crossing and another loop around the other side of the river back to the end killer hill. I was given encouragement by my parents driving besides me at this point (there really were not an abundance of competitors) which did make me speed up a bit. Getting to mile 24 meant back on the climbing trail as the route took an uphill turn back to the start. This was not a nice climb which resulted in some alternate run/walk strategies. At the top though with the realisation that the finish was in sight I carried on with my slow trot towards the finish which was another half mile of track.  On on to next weekend and the Nottingham Robin Hood marathon. Happy days!   Donating through JustGIving Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity. So please dig deep and donate now.

3 in 3 weeks. Doing the Wye Valley marathon, Robin Hood Nottingham Marathon and the Farnham Pilgrim's Marathon in three weekends for Sutton Cancer Support Group. Idiot!

3 in 3 weeks. Doing the Wye Valley marathon, Robin Hood Nottingham Marathon and the Farnham Pilgrim's Marathon in three weekends for Sutton Cancer Support Group. Idiot!

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