Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. Everyone knows someone who has been affected by Alzheimer's, either directly or due to a close family member being struck down by such a cruel illness. Last year, while riding across Wales In A Day (Caernarfon to Chepstow) I was struck by the passion of the Alzheimer's Research -Cymru Team who were there for every rider and vowed that in 2022 I'd be running for them. So here we go...

In 2022 I planned to take on the Race To The Castle 100km Ultra-Marathon on May 28th. Previously my target has been to complete such events, this time I'm going to treat it as a race, and I hope to finish in as close to 12hrs as I can. (Winner's Time 2021 was 9hrs25mins - Winner's Time +30% is my target). Unfortunately storm damage has meant this year's event has been cancelled so instead I have transferred to Race to The Stones - 100km along the Ridgeway.

As part of my training I'll also be running Boston Marathon UK (my first road Marathon), and later in the year will take on RatRace Santorini Circuit a 50km race around the Caldera of Santorini with two sea-kayaking legs.

Other events will get added on the way, and if I reach the £500 Target then I WILL DO A TRIATHLON! despite saying "Never!" previously.

Schedule (confirmed in bold):

19th March - Ashridge Boundary Run 16.5mile Trail Run. First test of the year and the weather was perfect. It was a hilly course on the northern edge of The Chilterns with over 500m of climbing to be done, including up and over Ivinghoe Beacon. So I was targeting getting round in around 2hrs30mins, with each 5km done in around 30mins. 5k came up in 25:52, 10k 51:41, 15k 1:19:27, 20k 1:47:28, 25k 2:17:58 and finished the 26.24km in 2:23:49. So very happy with that and onto Salcey Forest for 50km+ next weekend.

27th March - BigBear Salcey Forest 50km. A Practice 50km Race that fitted perfectly with my Training Schedule. Plan was not to race too hard as it was the end of my Peak Training Week of my 4-week block. This was more a kit & nutrition check but... Got started and about 1km in I was in a bit of no-man's land with 4 runners ahead and the majority falling behind. Gradually I started to gain and by 3km there were only 2 ahead. At the road crossing and aid station I found myself in 2nd as I had supplies with me and didn't feel the need to stop. At the end of Lap1 I stopped to refill my water bottles and slipped back to 3rd and decided to push the pace a little to try to recatch the other runner but at each straight when I was sure I should be able to see him, he was out of sight. Towards the end of the lap I caught a 50mile runner who had started 30mins earlier than us and she said I was in 2nd place. I realised then that the other runner must have taken a toilet stop. Refilled my bottles and had a snack at the end of the lap and as I set off he finished his lap. I stayed ahead on Lap3 but noticed I was being chased down and tried to pick up the pace again. As I was refilling for the last lap, he passed me with a splash and dash. Set off again in pursuit and almost caught him at the aid station but when I lost sight of him in the twisty woods section it became obvious that I'd burnt my last candle in the chase and that the cumulative distance of the weeks training came back to bite me. I'd originally targeted 5hrs but finished in 4hrs42mins and claimed a 3rd Place Trophy. Really pleased with that. Lessons learnt; hydration vest rubs slightly on my neck (sorted by tying a buff around it), new shoes put a bit of pressure on the top of my big-toes (could lead to black and lost toenails! Might need to change), need to lose less time in pit-stops.

18th April - Boston Marathon UK. The cancellation of Race to The Castle and transferred entry to Race to The Stones gave me a 3-week window in which I could treat this as a Race rather than a hard training session. The plan was a week of Marathon Speed Sessions, followed by a mini-taper week into the Race and then a week of Recovery before repeating the last three weeks of my Training Plan and continuing through to RTTS. Except on Monday 4th I finally succumbed to Covid! So 48hrs of flu-like symptoms before starting to recover and no running or training. Started running the following week and gradually felt better although unsure of how well I might cope with 42km. Race day came 2-weeks on from my positive test. I'd originally thought I could manage 3hrs30mins by maintaining 5min/km and gaining 1minute along the way, but was now unsure if I could hold that pace for the full distance. Weather was sunny and dry and close to perfect but a tailwind out and headwind home could become a challenge. We started well and first 5k came up in 23:16, way faster than anticipated but Heartrate in the low 130s and feeling ok so decided to go with the flow whilst the wind was on my back. Next 5k took 23:26 but still feeling good. Next 5k in 24:10 but included some time turning back into the wind. Another 5k in 23:51 took me close to half-distance and over 5mins ahead of schedule but I knew the wind was going to be in my face on the way home. Next 5k took 24:03 followed by 23:58! My challenge now was to stay under 5mins/km for as long as possible! 30-35k took 24:06 and 35-40k took 24:43 but the 39-40k was a 5:03 as the headwind really began to bite and was followed by a 5:07 and another 5:07. I managed to pick up the pace for the last 300m on seeing Sarah and Edie and crossed the line in 3hrs23mins19sec. I totally astonished myself! It was the longest I'd ever run non-stop, I halted for around 10seconds while I helped a lady up who fell ahead of me a quickly checked that she was ok, other than that I just ran. 

28th May - Race To The Castle - CANCELLED DUE TO STORM DAMAGE!

18th June - Farthingstone Foot Fest Trail Marathon. A low key local event run under the Long Distance Walkers Association, which meant effectively self-navigation with a cue sheet, similar to Audax on a bike. Luckily plotting and downloading the route to my watch wasn't too much of an issue and the second loop from Farthingstone was all on my home patch so no chance of going wrong there. The weather was forecast to be wet all day but thankfully the rain held off until I was about 10k from home. At the last but one Checkpoint I was told I was the fourth runner through and being as I knew 2 friends ahead had started around 30mins before me things were looking good! I arrived back at the finish (after climbing far too many stiles for one day) in around 5hrs and 2mins and was told I was in first place but after I'd checked that they had my start time (around 8:45) correct, rather than 9:00 I dropped to second finisher. I was really happy with that, as it was a final kit-check more than anything else.

9th July - Race To The Stones. Well that didn't end up the way I wanted. I decided I was really going to go for it and try to get under 11hrs. I had a plan of 1hr/10km to halfway and that would allow some slippage in the second half but should still get me home in under 12hrs. At 30km I was around 5mins ahead of pace and feeling good but at Check-Point 3 at 35km I'd slipped back to "On Pace" at 3hrs30. It was at this point I should have realised things weren't ok when I couldn't swallow any solid food, only fruit but just thought it might be the texture of the flapjack that I was chewing for ages. By the time I reached the halfway point in 5hrs30 I was still hopeful of a decent time despite my legs and feet starting to cramp. Stopped and tried to eat again but was nauseous and managed about 4 salted crisps in 15mins. I could eat satsumas and that was about it. Hoped some flat-coke would help me feel better. Managed to run/walk to CP5 but was really struggling in the heat. Halfway to CP6 I stopped to fill by bottles from a farmer's tap and messaged Sarah to say I was struggling and quickly put my phone away in case she said "Stop". At CP6 I really was finished and took out my phone again to message Sarah, this time hoping she would say "Stop", but then I saw I had some emails and a string of "You've Received a Donation" messages from Just Giving. I was on the verge of crying and it was the kick I needed to carry on. I couldn't run any longer but found I could just keep marching and actually passed a number of Run/Walkers as I wasn't noticeably slowing for the hills. At CP7 it was 12km to go and after a cool down in the shade hit the trail again and managed to get into the finish just after sundown 15hrs6mins. I was gutted and so disappointed in myself. My medal chucked in the boot of the car. Having been so ready for this race, I blew it by not taking care of myself. On reflection now, 36hrs later, I'm glad that I didn't throw in the towel despite knowing that I had 4&12hrs of marching in the baking sun ahead of me (My watch recorded a maximum of 36C during the afternoon! There isn't much shade over much of the Ridgeway). Perhaps that medal will end up being framed as a reminder to never take anything for granted. I have a shredded cycling shirt framed that is a similar reminder! Right better buy some swimmers and put some work in!

11th Sept - Daventry Sprint Triathlon.

8th October - Santorini Circuit.

16th October - Great South Run.

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. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.