Written by Mark Fox - https://thegrandslamchallenge.wordpress.com

The First half.

The seed for doubling a centurion event had been in my head for about 18 months, but a combination of injuries and not being in the right place mentally last year meant that I just put it to the back of my head. This year tho that thought came back can I run 200 miles? I needed to find out and the Thames Path seemed like the obvious chance to answer this question.

I had only told a few close friends that I was going to attempt to double the Thames Path. I’d emailed Nici at centurion just out of respect to let them know of my intentions but that was it. I didn’t want to take away from anyones build up for their race as I know the TP100 is a popular race for people moving up to the distance for the first time and didn’t want to take away from that pre race build up on forums etc. So on Thursday night we set off for Oxford from Eastbourne with the aim of starting the first leg at about 11pm.

We arrived in Oxford at 10:40pm there had been torrential rain on the way up and I was thinking do I really want to do this, but when we arrived at the start the rain had stopped. Now obviously this had been planned to the finest detail I mean I’d 18 months of working on this. So when we went to turn down to the recreational park to the start after driving up and down trying to find the entrance, you can imagine how I felt when we realised that the gate was locked. We couldn’t help but laugh hopefully this wasn’t a sign of things to come. We walked down to a point where we could get on the Thames Path I asked a couple walking home if that was the way to London they said “yes but it’s a long way you know.” With that thought in mind I was off it was 11:30pm and I had 28hrs to get to Richmond.

I’ll introduce my crew now as I’ll refer to them a lot over the course of the two blogs and I really couldn’t have done this without them. Tony was my main crew he does all my events he knows exactly what I want and when I want it, and just ignores my grumpiness and always keeps me on track with food and water. I had Karen Webber as head stalker on the tracker she was supposed to be helping with the crewing but a broken shoulder meant she couldn’t drive so followed from home. I also had Jodie an old friend who was on the end of the phone if needed and then last but not least I had Gavin who was going to be pacing for a while on the return journey.

The opening 25 miles went exactly to plan. I wanted to take as close to 28hrs in total for the race. Normally in a race I get carried away, go out too hard and then hang on for the last 30 miles, but I knew I had to be disciplined if I had any chance of doing this. I got to Streatley in about 5 hours. The sun was up and I felt good. This was the first place I properly stopped to have breakfast and a coffee. Whilst Tony was frying up some sausage sandwiches in the back of the van I used this opportunity to have a cat nap. I’d planned in a couple of 30 mins sleep breaks in the first half. It makes a big difference even tho its not sleep, just that shutting of the eyes and resting does the body the world of good. I ate my food and was soon on my way again.

The next 25 miles also went to plan I was enjoying running at the slower pace and actually taking in the surroundings. I was sticking to the schedule and feeling quite good – I got into Henley at 11:00 am exactly the time I wanted. The original plan was to stop for food here. I was going to have a pub lunch and then push on, but I decided to push on to the next crew stop in Marlow and stop there for food instead. This was the first time I’d done something different from what I had planned. As I was leaving Henley I did wonder if I’d done the right thing but it was too late as I was on my way. Getting to Marlow seemed to take an age, for the first time my pace had dropped and I was staring to feel tired. I’d been up since Thursday morning and besides a couple of cat naps in the van I hadn’t really slept. Tony was also starting to feel tired as he’d been at work on the Thursday and then straight into crewing me.

I’d been keeping in touch with Karen throughout the day on messenger but this was the first time I was saying anything negative. I knew I needed to get to Marlow and have some food. Karen gave a few words of encouragement (we’ll call it that!) and I pushed on for what seemed like an eternity . Arriving in Marlow Tony was parked right next to a pub. I thought perfect we can go in and have a sit down and some proper food. When we went and asked for a table the waiter looked at me and sat us away from everyone else, I couldn’t help but smile. I have to admit the food and staff were rather good in there even if we had to sit in the corner away from the general public! It was good to stop for some proper food but I was fully aware that I still had 42 miles left to go just to get to halfway.

We’d arranged that the next meet would be Maidenhead at the crew stop there. We were running this to centurion race rules, so only meeting at the permitted places as on race day. Tiredness was well and truly setting in now, the mental fatigue was really playing around and I hadn’t heard from my stalker in a while. When I got to Maidenhead Tony had nowhere to park – we both weren’t thinking straight and instead of just pulling up down the road we pushed on. He did have time to tell me the tracker wasn’t working so having tried the switching on and off again I gave to it Tony to put on charge. I messaged Karen just to let her know, she was just about to get in touch to tell me to get my finger out as she thought I was still in the pub. I’d made my first big mistake here – I’d filled my water bottles but didn’t eat and as Tony went past I realised that it was going to be at least 2hrs before I’d see him again.

The tracker going down made a real difference because all day I’d been getting good luck message from friends and I had Karen keeping an eye on my pace and giving encouragement. But now I was the only one who knew where I was. For some reason I now had completely messed up my mileage count, my watch had added 10 miles on for some strange reason. So as I came into Windsor the sun starting to set I thought to myself only 22 mile from here and plenty of time I could be in bed by midnight which was well ahead of schedule. So you can imagine my state of mind when Tony said no you’ve 28 miles to go. I argued with him and said no its Windsor that’s mile 22 but then he showed me the sheet and yeah it definitely said 28 miles left. The tracker still wasn’t working so I sent a short email to Richard at Racedrone (my apologies if it was a bit snappy) and just thought I hope he gets it sorted for tomorrow. I was annoyed at myself for making such a mistake how could I be so stupid now all of sudden the clock was an added pressure. I set off running a bit too quick and really berating myself. Then my phone went, it was Richard from Race Drone. We went thro the I’ve switched it on and off stuff. He just said leave it with him. I thought wow great service at 7pm on a Friday and he’s not only replied but also going to get it sorted. At this point I went in my bag for my head torch but it wasn’t there. I stopped called Tony and told him where I was I couldn’t go any further without it I must have taken it out ready when I stopped and accidentally left it in my annoyance at myself for getting the mileage wrong.

The wheels where starting to fall off at this stage so whilst waiting I used my phone a friend. Jodie was out with family but answered my call anyway. I ranted and raved for a bit and she just laughed told me I was an idiot but doing well. I’d been on the phone for about 10 mins and still no Tony he said he was three minutes away . I started cursing him to Jodie when I went back into my bag for food and there at the bottom was my head torch. How had I missed it??! I said my byes to Jodie. I called Tony who had tipped the van upside down looking for it to let him know of my mistake and I was on my way again. Karen messaged me to say the tracker was back live and she was back in full stalker mode. Thing seemed to be back on track. Tho I was still giving myself a hard time for making school boy errors.

The next 28 mile where some of the hardest I’ve ever run. Running a 100 mile race is completely different to just running 100 miles. In a race you have other racers and maybe you do run big chunks on your own but you know there are others around. You also have the aid stations to look forward to and target and focus on. Now tho I was on my own, well into the second night of running and time running out even tho this clock was something I’d put on myself. As I arrived to what the next day would be checkpoint two, Tony was nowhere to be seen. So a quick phone call and he told me he couldn’t find the turn to take for the car park. I could tell he was getting frustrated and was very tired himself. We have done alot of festivals together and I know when he needs sleep. So I told him to go on ahead and get a bit of sleep.

For the next 22 miles it was me, the clock and Karen who by now was realising I was getting close to the time limit. Everything tho was starting to look familiar. Chris had been out marking this section up ready for the morning so I picked up the red and white barrier tape. As I followed the tape it went through a little wooded area. This is the alternative route from the river crossing – as I went through the woods suddenly I couldn’t see the next way to turn. I ended up running around in a circle and as I stood there lost I thought where is the the bloody tape. To be fair this wasn’t out for me and panic set in a bit, was I about to miss the time limit due to getting lost. Panic soon changed to taking control I always carry a map even tho I’d never used it. I know centurion say its optional but it takes up no room and now after 7 centurion events it was going to save my run, ironically on a run that had nothing to do with centurion. As I stood on the side of the road trying to find whereabouts I was a fight broke out not 20 metres away from me. It was a group of lads drunk fighting over some girl. This made me want to get out of there quickly, as a middle age guy in lycra may just become a target for some drunks. I found the road I was on pretty quickly – amazing how a bit of pressure focusses the mind! I knew I had to cross the river as the next checkpoint was on the other side. The fight was getting closer and it seemed to be escalating to a group fight so I quickly ran down the road hoping I was going in the right direction and thinking this is why I don’t go out in town anymore. I soon picked up the tape again to my relief and was crossing the river.

As I approached what would be checkpoint 1, I recieved a not so friendly message from Karen basically telling me to get a fucking move on as I was now falling behind the plan. Sometimes you need someone too be brutally honest with you and this certainly made me concentrate on the job in hand. The next 11 miles I had a mixture of emotions. I had some amazing friends staying up willing me to finish which is very humbling, and I was just about to complete 100 miles on my own without other runners and aid stations to help. It really is a different experience just going out for a mile run rather than a 100 mile race. As I ran into Richmond it all seemed a bit surreal I’d made it to the start. No one else was around, no medal, no hug from Nici – just a VW van with Tony asleep in the front seat and I’d completed it in 27h 37m. I woke Tony up and we made our way to the hotel. The only question now was how would I feel after only 3 hours sleep and more importantly how would my legs feel ?……….. to be continued.

The Thames path 100. The second half.

7:15. That was the time on my watch as I switched the alarm off. By the time we’d booked in to the hotel and I showered it was 4:15 when I was setting the alarm. So, with just three hours sleep, it was time to get ready to go again. Surprisingly my legs felt fine as I got up and started to move around. I’d left everything in the van earlier on, so I headed to the carpark to get my stuff ready for kit check. It was a beautiful morning – a fine day for running. The taxi came at 8 to take me to registration. Tony wasn’t going to meet me until mile 22 so he could catch up on some much needed sleep. Richmond town hall was a completely different place to how I’d arrived only a few hours before. It was a hive of activity; the amazing volunteers with big smiles directing people to the correct places for registration, bag drop.etc. The usual mix of new faces nervously getting ready and the more experienced going through their pre race routine. I know quite a few people now from these events and it’s always good to catch up with each other. People who knew me were asking how I felt and wishing me luck for the return journey. Most people tho didn’t know what had happened only hours before which is exactly how it should be as this was their day. I went thro kit check and got my number, and there I saw Nici Griffin – I told her then that I’d see her in Oxford for my well deserved finish line hug. I was feeling good, excited to be part of a race and after James’ race briefing at 10am exactly the horn went and we were off. Over the next 28 hours I was going to have my question answered – could I run 200 miles?

The opening 10 miles I felt really good. I settled in to a good pace, probably slightly faster than I’d planned, but it felt ok. I ran for a good few miles with Paul Mason. We know each other thro Facebook and I knew this was his first 100 mile race. He asked about the cause that I was running for. I told him about my friend and her aim of getting a new hand and how inspiring she was as a person (see the link at the end). Paul also asked for some advice for later on. My best advice was that later on in the race you have to be selfish. By this I mean its quite easy to start walking with someone you’ve spent maybe hours running with. It can be hard if your legs are feeling fresher to leave them. You feel guilty for pushing on because you’ve gone through so much together but you can’t sacrifice your race. It’s different if they’re injured then yes, stay with them, but if it’s just general fatigue then politely say good bye and push on. Just after this advice I started to feel this slightly fast pace in my legs so I made my excuses of needing a toilet break and wished Paul luck on his journey.

The first checkpoint came quite quickly, certainly faster than I’d thought it would. When I first started to plan this double attempt the cutoffs early on were the ones I most worried about as I didn’t know how my legs would react. I was well inside cutoff at Aid Station 1, I had 1h 20m in the bag and was feeling really good considering. I grabbed a handful of food, thanked the volunteers, and went on my way again. I was soon crossing the river to the point where hours before I’d got lost and ran away from the fight happening not 20 metres away from me. How different it all was now, the sun was shining and I was feeling good and wondered how on earth I missed the Thames Path signs. I did have a little smile and thought well next time i’ll know the way. As I continued I saw my first ice cream van – I get a real craving for orange ice lollies during ultras for some reason so I just had to stop.

I ran on my own to aid station 2, I had runners around me but I didn’t have the energy to chat to people. As I got into Wraysbury Tony text to say he was waiting in the car park he couldn’t find last night. I quickly gave my number to the aid station crew and made my way to Tony. He was back in full crew mode with a coffee ready and porridge made. He was back after a good nights sleep. As I made my way towards Windsor Karen got back in touch – she’d slept and was now back in full stalker mode and told me that she’d be there until the end. Everything was feeling ok, I was in a good place mentally and the team was well rested. I ran thro Windsor after quickly filling the water bottles as I knew I had to keep pushing whilst I felt good. As I ran into Dorney I had a brilliant reception, Karen had sent messages ahead to people she knew volunteering. So I had a hug waiting for me and some very nice words of encouragement. I also got told that I looked a lot better than I had the previous year. On last years TP100 I couldn’t keep food down from about mile 15 and really suffered throughout the race. Amazingly today tho I was still within 24h pace.

I left feeling really good, the volunteers had given me a real lift. They do an amazing job and have a real knack of making everyone feel special. I messaged Karen to say thank you for everything she was doing. She didn’t realise it but she was becoming an important cog in this challenge and the little things were making a big difference. The run to Cookham went pretty much to plan, I was moving well tho my feet were starting to feel battered and sore. I got to Cookham and had the same excellent reception at the aid station. They took my number and I continued on my way.

As I ran thro Marlow, Tony was waiting in the same spot next the the pub we’d had lunch at the day before. There was no time to stop tho today – I needed to get to Henley. Tony said that Gavin was on route to pace me and hopefully he’d meet me at Reading. I pushed on to the Hurley checkpoint after running down into someones garden. I think a few people must have done this. He just said oh another one and held his back gate open and pointed toward the path! I said thanks and went on my way. The reception at Hurley was amazing even thinking of it now makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. You’d have thought someone famous had just arrived instead of me. Again Karen had messaged a couple of people and told them how I was doing. This was a real lift. I was also way inside cutoff to my surprise, and still not that far off 24h pace. I was asked if sub 24 was on but I knew that unless a miracle happened then just finishing was the only thing I cared about.

I left Marlow knowing that the next stop was half way. Peter (my mums husband) had sent me a text to say they would be at Henley to see me. They were up seeing Peter’s daughter in Reading so were in the area. I really don’t know what happened on this section. Mentally I lost it, I just couldn’t keep my pace up and although I know this section quite well I just kept misjudging how far I’d gone. I was looking at my watch wondering why the mileage wasn’t moving very fast and why wasn’t Henley coming into sight. I really started to hate the Thames Path now – it’s never been my favourite race but this very section cost me in the other direction. I was cursing the straight boring hard paths. It seemed to be never ending and the 6 miles felt more like 12. Eventually I made it into Henley. I went and checked in – my language was a bit blue here. I apologised to them all and told them if they ever saw my name on the start list again for the Thames Path to just shoot me and put me out of my misery. I asked how much time did I have before cutoff. 40 minutes was the reply. I’d lost so much time the clock was now really not on my side. I ran over to Tony a bit pissed off with myself and still cursing the Thames Path. My mum was there and I had to apologise for the language she was about to hear as well. I was broken with 49 miles still to go. Gav was here, he’d come early and was dressed in a tiger suit (as you do if you’re pacing in the middle of the night)! I was just grabbing food and water when suddenly Jodie was stood behind me. It didn’t click to start with but after speaking to me the night before she’d thought I could do with a pickup so drove Gav up to surprise me. She offered me a calypso, as when she’d asked Tony was there anything I’d want he’d told of my craving for ice lollies. So you can imagine her face when I replied “the last thing I want right now is a fucking ice lolly ” fortunately Jodie knows me really well so took it in good spirits and just said “fine I’ll take them home in the brand new ice box I bought to keep them frozen.” Talk about how to make me feel bad for what I’d just said. I really didn’t have time to hang around so I said my byes and set off with Tiger towards Reading.

Having one of my best mates running with me was a real boost. Suddenly we were running at a good pace. The chat between us was making me forget about the pain going through my entire body and we were pulling back time on the clock. We arrived in Reading in what seemed no time at all and as I made my way up those steps I was told we were 1h 20 inside cutoff . This was music to my ears. Again the reception here was amazing, Roz gave me a hug that again Karen had asked to be passed on. I had time to have some soup here as I hadn’t eaten in Henley. I knew I had to keep on top of the basics to have any chance of finishing this race.

The next section to Pangbourne has to be the hardest section of this race and the Autumn 100. Its the one part everyone moans about. It’s 8 miles but it’s a really boring 8 miles. Once you’ve run thro Reading on the hard tarmac paths dodging the drunks going home, you end up on a path with the railway fence one side and not a very good view of the river on the other. No matter what time I’ve run this there is always the drone of engineering works taking place in the background. Gav was in fast walk mode which I knew meant we were still doing about 13 minute miles. My sense of humour had definitely left me now – I think I’d left it at Henley. We eventually came out at the station where Tony and Jodie were waiting. I quickly replenished my supplies and pushed on. We went thro the housing estate and on to the fields. The temperature suddenly dropped and as I layered up the mist and fog descended and we couldn’t see anything all of a sudden. I took my head torch off and held it at waist height as this stopped it just glaring in the mist, and although I could see a little bit more it wasn’t enough to be able to run. The path was nowhere to be seen so all I could to do was keep the river in sight on my right hand side and follow it around. I could feel the time slipping away and for the first time I was starting to question whether I could do this or not. We ended up walking this section and when we finally got to the car park before the bridge Tony was there waiting – even he was starting to get concerned about the time. We made our way up to the aid station and stood in Hi viz was another amazing volunteer with a big smile in the freezing cold. We went up to the church hall and again I asked the question of how long inside cutoff – again 40 minutes was the answer.

We left straight away after saying my thankyous, I now knew I couldn’t afford for anything else to go wrong. I also needed a bit of luck that we’d have no more mist and fog to deal with. I can only ever worry about the things I can control and the weather isn’t one of them. So I knew that the next 4 miles to Streatley were very runnable. Also this was the last section for Gav as he had to be back in Eastbourne for a surprise party for his mum’s 60th. We started to pick a few runners off in this section and got to Streatley in good time. There were a few people sat around in the Aid station hugged up to radiators trying to get warm. We had pulled back another 10 minutes on cutoffs and so had 50min in the bag. I said my goodbyes to Gavin and Jodie, they had made such a difference. I apologised for being grumpy twat. I think Jodies answer was ” you’re a grumpy twat anyway, just now you have an excuse”.

I like the next section to Wallingford, I was well into my 3rd night of running and was looking forward to the sun coming up. I was starting to pass people at regular intervals which meant my pace couldn’t be all that bad. I got into Wallingford having not lost any more time but also not gaining anything. The day was starting to break tho and the birds song was starting to sound out although they sounded far too happy for this time in the morning!

I was now just putting one foot in front of the other – I tried texting Karen but couldn’t see the keypad as tiredness took a grip. I couldn’t really type a conversation so just said I could do with a chat. I don’t know why I didn’t just phone her but before the last couple of days we only knew each other really thro facebook. I’d run a few runs she’d organised in Dover, and I knew her well enough to ask for a hug at races but then so does everyone! But now I needed to talk to someone who knew me. Karen phoned straight away before I’d had a chance to go through my contacts. We had a good chat, she made me laugh even tho I was in so much pain. I think her answer to me saying it hurts was something like “what do you fucking expect you loon” my answer was “yeah but the SDW100 would be easier as I hate the Thames Path”. Karen’s experience of working aid stations and crewing before meant she knew when to be a cow (in the nicest way) but also when to give kinder words. I got off the phone feeling pretty good, everything still hurt but Karen just saying she was proud of what I was doing made me feel good .That one phone call had changed our friendship I think, or at least from my point of view. She was now not just some friend from Facebook but someone who I could class a friend and I could rely on when my back was to the wall.

The sun was well and truly up now. The path here winds around with the Thames and I could see runners scattered about in the distance. I just kept the runner in front of me in sight and used them as a target. I knew I had to be selfish from here on in, I couldn’t stop and chat I just had to keep going. I apologise to anyone I ignored along here my only focus was to get to the checkpoint. The river seemed to go on a bit, I could hear runners moaning ( as we all have at some point) how the distance markings were wrong and this was more than 8 miles. The truth is when you’re that tired everything seems further away. It wasn’t helped by early morning walkers saying “2 miles to the next checkpoint well done”, then not 500 metres down the track the next walker saying “its about 1k down there”. I eventually made it to the bridge and walked up the road to the checkpoint. I was back in a good place mentally and I had pulled back a bit of time so had 1h 10m inside cutoff. Tony had breakfast ready here as I’d text him to get my porridge and strong coffee ready and also to dig out my road shoes and fresh socks.

I left the aid station feeling refreshed, and I asked my body to please just give me one more final push. It responded – I was back to running sub 10 minute miles. I was not only passing people but running really freely. I’d done the previous 185 miles in my Hokas and now with trusty road shoes on I felt like a newish runner. I was about a mile out from Abingdon when a dog suddenly appeared from nowhere barking and jumping up. I’d been bitten a few weeks before on a run so this made me jump out of the way awkwardly. As I put my foot back down the pain was unbearable. I’d pulled something in my ankle and suddenly I couldn’t run. The dog owner was very apologetic but I was gutted – was this going to be the end of my race? I hobbled into the Aid station and shouted Tony to get my ankle support that I always have in my kit but had never had to use until now. As I sat there I could see the ankle starting to swell. I put the support on, laced up the trainer, and just set off hoping it would last. Fortunately I had pulled some time back so just focused on the next Aid station.

This next section goes through some woods and fields so the ground is very uneven. I suddenly found myself thinking what I’d do for those hard paths of Henley that I’d slagged off earlier. I was still passing some people so was hopeful I wasn’t going to get timed out. As I got to Lower Radley checkpoint there was the welcome sight of the Medics sat in their ambulance. I hobbled over and said can you strap me up to get me to the end of the race. Whilst I was sat in the back of the ambulance one of the Volunteers came over to take my number – again they were brilliant they took my bottles and filled them and brought food over to the ambulance for me. The medics were brilliant we had a laugh at the generic questions they have to ask like “on a scale of 1 – 10 how is the pain” and ” have you taken any recreational drugs in the last 12 hours” . I couldn’t help but laugh as I gave my answers . They strapped it up and said “you probably shouldn’t run on that but we know you’re not going to listen” I smiled thanked them and went on my way. As I crossed the bridge leading out of the checkpoint Naomi one of the volunteers came running over and she said “I can’t let you go without your hug.” I’d had a hug from pretty much every aid station now, tho there was only one person I wanted my hug from and that was waiting at the finish line. The emotions started to get the better of me along this section and as Oxford came into sight a small tear or sweat or something got into my eye. I’d done it – the question had been answered. This had been one of the hardest things I’d ever tried and my body had held up. As the blue finish gantry came into sight I could see the three amigos stood at the finish. Nici, Natasha and Jon, they always had such a nice welcome for everyone. As I crossed the line in 27h 05m and 11 seconds. I looked at Nici and as she gave me my medal I said to her ” I could marry you right now” I knew by her answer that it had been a long night when she said “that’s not a bad offer” as she gave me my finish line hug.

I’d made it – 200 miles in a negative split as well, that is the first time that has ever happened. As I sat there a glass of prosecco in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other, it started to sink in what we had achieved. I’m nothing special as a runner, just a bit stubborn! But I have some amazing friends. Without them none of this would be possible.

I could never thank the following people enough: Tony, you are the best mate anyone could ask for. You never question my challenges but always crew for me and are there when needed. Gavin, it’s your fault I run, you should have never talked me into doing the Hastings half marathon all those years ago! But you always come out in the middle of nowhere at daft o’clock to run with me. Karen, I really don’t think you know how much you helped from the sofa at home but when I needed someone at whatever time you were there and I look forward to you crewing the SDW double attempt with Tony. Jodie, not many people would have jumped in their car and driven for 3hrs just for me to be a grumpy twat all because I sounded a bit down on the phone. And to Centurion staff and all the volunteers it’s a total privilege to be part of this running family – I’ve made some great friends and your support out on the course was amazing. I could never thank the volunteers enough and all I hope is that when I volunteer if I’m half as good as you guys then I’ll be happy. Also to everyone who messaged during or after the race the kind words are very humbling and very much appreciated.

Before I finish if you could support my good cause that i’m trying to raise money for this year then I know Nici would really appreciate it. She is one of the nicest people you could meet and a true inspiration – please google her name Nicola Wilding and you can donate here.

Finally I’d like to finish with this:

My  Mum and I for one reason and another have never been particularly close and aren’t the best at communicating with each other. I haven’t been the easiest son to have but as I sat in the chair beer in hand my phone went off with a text message and it was from my mum. It simply read:- By my reckoning you must be nearly finished. I know I don’t tell you but I am very proud of you xx

That brought a smile to my face – it had been worth it for that one text.

Thank you for reading I’ll see you all on SDW100 where the finish is only a mile away from my house so would be rude not to start there