I have chosen to raise money for Cancer Research UK partly for very selfish reasons of not wanting to lose any more family or friends to cancer, partly for self preservation because if I ever find myself in a position where I have cancer I'd like to think I've done my best to support the research that will save my life and thirdly because it's a killer that with your support we can hopefully one day stop dead it its tracks.

 

Having lost family members and seeing friends suffer from cancer I have choosen to do the 3 peaks challenge for the last 2 years to raised money for Cancer Research UK (£728.20 in 2011 & £673.50 in 2012).

 

But this year I'd like to do something more challenging which is why this year I'm taking on 3 challenges:

 

 - Yeovil Half Marathon - 24th March

 

 - 3 Peaks Challenge - 21st - 22nd June 

 

 - Kilimanjaro - 26th - 3rd July/August

 

 

Yeovil Half Write Up:

 

On the morning of the Yeovil Half it was a barmy 1-2 degrees before wind chill! Was I excited, raring to go? No, not even close, it was the challenge that I was looking forward to the least or I should say dreading the most!

 

The furthest I had run before the event was 10 miles so I knew I could do at least 10 miles without to much trouble so knew it was achievable however as I had already convinced myself that I wouldn’t enjoy it I was not think particularly positively and it stopped me from achieving a time I was capable of!

 

The first 6 miles were good, cold but good and we were averaging 10 minute miles, then there was “The Hill”, which we decided to walk up and got over taken by pretty much everyone we had over taken during the previous 6 miles! However strategically it was the right decision because once we got over the top we steamed past all those that had over taken us on the way up as they were in rag order in comparison.

 

Mile 7 – 8 was fine though we didn’t actually see the 8 mile marker. At the 9 mile marker I was ready to cry and go home, moral was at slug level and I struggled to bring it back up for the remains of the run. Having lost what was left of my positive attitude, which wasn’t much to start with, and had a real sulk on. Dave my partner in crime for all of this years challenges was going strong and could of easily have finished in under 2 hrs but chose to run with me which was appreciated.

 

At the 10 mile marker Dave turns round and says “right I think we can do a full marathon next year” my response started and ended with an F. To say I was struggling was an understatement, sense of humour was most definitely AWOL and all I want to do was cry and be at the finish line already!

 

At the 12 mile mark I nearly did burstr into tears it was a close call but managed to drag myself back together, the last time I wanted to cry like that was in 2011 the first time we did the 3 Peak challenge, driving between Scar Fell Pike & Snowdon I could of quite happily by-passed Snowdon and gone straight home I was that tiredness and sore. The only benefit to the cold weather on the day was that nothing hurt no muscle pain and my knees didn’t hurt at all which is unusual as during all my training runs my right knee at least used to ache after a few miles.

 

The last mile was a real struggle just to keep my head up but eventually I saw the 13 mile marker and that was it, it was like someone put a rocket up my butt, I saw the finish point and nothing was getting in my way to get it all over and done with, it felt like a very long sprint.

 

813 runners started the race, all finished though 3 were later disqualified, not sure why. Dave and I came in 718 & 717 respectively with a joint time of 02:20:03 after our sprint finish for the last 0.1 of a mile. To be honest that fact that I could sprint the finish means I didn’t give my all over the course so must do better next time IF I decide to ever do it again again.

 

Will I do the Yeovil half again? – NO! I didn’t enjoy the route, needs better scenery to distract me.

 

Will I do another Half Marathon again? – I’m not saying yes yet! It’s still all to clear in my head.

 

Will I do a full Marathon? – I’m considering thinking about it! Dave that is not a Yes!

 

3 Peaks Challenge Write Up:

 

The day started with about half a metre of zinc oxide tape and 2 feet, and having suffer not a single blister it was a well spent 20 mins taping each toe individually and both heels!

 

We started Snowdon at 19:20 on Friday night 21st June. Surprisingly it stayed dry up until the last 5mins but what it did do in rain it made up for in wind power, very nearly got blown off the path about a dozen times, there were quite a few "brace brace brace" moments! Lol We reached Snowdon summit in 01hr 55mins in time for a quick photo and then high tailed it back down to complete the whole mountain in 3hrs 29mins, the target being 4hrs! Usually I've hated Snowdon but doing it first made it a much more enjoyable mountain an dots now my new favorite.

 

The rain has pretty much set in for good at this point and is coming down heavy but we set off for Scarfell undeterred just before 23:00 and our driver (my dad) took us up over Wrynose & Hard Knot passes scattering sheep and frogs every which way! 

 

We arrived at Wasdale Head at 2:35 and set off up the highest peak (hill) in England, Scarfell Pike, at 02:45 at a steady but slow pace as the weather was continuing to be typically "British"! Good news my waterproof jacket is waterproof! My trousers however are not which wouldn't have been a problem if it wasn't for the fact that when very wet they acted as drain pipes funneling the water straight into my boots. I could of raised tadpoles in my boots for all the water sloshing around my toes. It took us 2hrs ish to reach the peak, snap a few quick photos and leg it back down to complete Scarfell in 3hrs 45mins at just gone 06:30 on Saturday morning.

 

Not long after we set off to Ben Nevis and the promised fish and chips reward in Fort William arriving about 11:45 ish for a quick toilet stop then started from the Fort William youth hostel.

 

11:55 ish we started up Ben Nevis and it was very slow going for me having pretty much left all my energy at Scarfell, or at least that's what if felt like! It was a long, hard, slow slogg and having always started with Ben Nevis previously it used to be my favorite mountain, it's not anymore, I now hate that mountain because it just goes on and on and flipping on! It felt like an age before we reached the summit those 7 zig zags seem to be longer than I remember and for once there was very little snow so for the first time ever I actually saw the path pretty much all the way to the trig point. When we did finally reach the top I made a beeline for the trig point and photo op then without even looking around headed back down because for the 1st time in 4 attempts we finally had a chance at breaking the elusive 24hr barrier! Going down BN was painful, a lot quicker than going up but my feet were not happy neither were my legs but it felt good to be heading down and passing all the people going up with miles to go! We made a good pace and completed the challenge in 22:50:58!!!! Oh yeh at last we nailed the 24hrs and with plenty to spare and I never have to do it again, I can tick it of my bucket list and look forward to Kilimanjaro in July!

 

 

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