Written by Rich Cranswick - http://lejog2014.blogspot.co.uk
Saturday 20th - Tuesday 23rd June 2015
5am Saturday morning and the alarm dragged me from sleep. I had already checked, re-checked and packed my kit so all that was left was to tape the toes and drag my bags to the start at Goring Village Hall where I met Lindley, Maxine, Keith Godden, Martin Pether, Debbie Gibbins and my fellow doublers Ernie Jewson and Javed Bhatti.
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| Three Amigos - Ernie, Rich & Javed |
We took few photos, wished each other luck and at 6am started lap 1 heading out along the Thames towards London. The weather was perfect and we made good time, reaching Reading around 8am (too early for parkrun though I had brought my barcode just in case). As we got back out to the fields I was aware that I needed to maintain a 5.3mph average and so pulled away from the others as I was sticking to “the plan” to meet my night-time kit drops. Javed was running unsupported with just a credit card, a smile and the Force to see him through, whilst Ernie was being supported by Debbie. So 3 runners and 3 very different plans. It would be interesting to see which would prove the most effective.
Keeping the pace comfortable, I met Debbie at CP1 (Hurley 27.3 mi) after around 5 hours of running. She’d been following on the tracker and got there early to be able to provide me with food and water, which was very much appreciated as my original plan of using shops and stores to restock would have taken away valuable running time as I’d have to go some way off the track to find them. At this stage Ernie was about 10 mins behind me and Javed 7 mins behind him, so all fairly close.
The stage from CP1-2 went by fairly uneventfully and at CP2 (Chertsey 27.8mi) Jon Gillott, Rich McChesney & Paul Reader were waiting for me with pizza, sandwiches, coke and fresh coffee. This was definitely a high-caffeine day. I was on target for “the plan” with 11:19 for the 55 miles, though was now just starting to feel the effects.
I put on a base layer as it was starting to get colder as I crossed Sion Park and joined the Grand Union Canal for my trip up north. I’d been able to fill up with water pretty much when I needed it, though was carrying a lifestraw in case of emergency as one of my concerns was running out of water. I’d been a bit nervous of the London sections on the route after Javed told me about a couple of runners who were mugged in 2009, so kept my senses about me as I ran and jumped a couple of times as animals rustled the bushes or ran across the path.
Further on up the very boring lower sections of the GUC, I met Nina Smith at CP3 (Yiewsley 82mi) who’d waited on a dodgy canal bridge for hours with food & water. I took a brief rest in her car and then moved on with an Ikea bag full of goodies which I planned to have as a midnight feast before sleep
I’d stashed my kit behind a hedge at bridge 191 and thankfully it was still there. As I retrieved my kit two young lads walked towards me. It was past midnight and I’d taken off my backpack so was just dressed in black baselayer & leggings and on the ground were a series of large torso and limb sized objects wrapped in black plastic. They yelped and ran off back down the path. No idea why.
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| No Free Beer for me (pic by Keith Godden) |
After my first night’s sleep (where both Javed and Ernie passed me), I realised the race was going to be more about my mental condition than physical. I was going fairly strong, and knew I could stick to the 60-mile days as planned but the huge blocks of sleep were eating into my running time and I wasn’t speeding up after the rest as I’d expected. The problem I had was that I relied on my kit-drops which were at fixed locations, so I had no chance to change the schedule. I’d made my plans and had to stick to them.
I met Keith at CP4 (Berkhampstead 106mi) and by now I was walking at about 4mph. The pub had a “Free Beer” poster but I’d decided that beer was out of the picture for the race, so I had to decline. This was the one picture on the whole run that I looked sad, and for good reason.
At CP5 (Milton Keynes 130mi) I met Glyn Ramen who provided a superstar lunch of hot hotdogs and relish, pot noodles, deserts, coke and pretty much everything you could ever want to eat on an ultra.
Lindley 21-Jun 9am “All three amigos have left Milton Keynes a while ago all in good shape. Heading towards nether heyford with cut off there at 156miles of 11am I think. That allows for more rest time before pushing out the last 100. All well on target for 80 hour finishes which will give them time for a good rest before repeating.”
It was shortly after MK that the wheels started to come off. “The plan” called for me to cover the 18 miles to Blisworth at 4mph, a speed which I’d averaged all day, though the fast first 50 miles were beginning to tell on me as was the tiredness. I was finding it hard to stay awake and my pace was dropping steadily. The section from Navigation Bridge to Stoke Bruerne saw me staggering around like a Saturday night drunk. Around 1am I sent a text to Lindley to say I was sleeping for a few hours and curled up on the ground only to shiver myself awake 40 minutes later and feeling no better.
As I wandered around Stoke Bruerne a car pulled up and I was very glad to see the concerned face of Keith Godden who had seen me stop in the middle of nowhere and had come to check up on me. I could barely string a sentence together but he must have seen I had enough wherewithal to get myself to Blisworth and so he pointed me in the right direction and off I stumbled.
When I finally crawled into my tent I was 3 hours behind schedule and a physical and mental wreck. I just wrapped my sleeping bag around me and fell off the cliff of consciousness into the welcoming pool of sleep, but all too soon my alarm dragged me back to the race after 4 hours of sleep. I stashed my overnight kit and started hiking out. A few minutes later I had a call from Keith reminding me that I had to get moving as I was close to the cut off for Nether Heyford. Not only was he supporting Javed but also providing alarm calls and checking up on me, for which I’m very grateful. (Going through the Facebook photos I realise he even walked down the trail from Blisworth to check I was OK while I was asleep as he took a picture of my tent – he really did go above & beyond looking after us on the first lap).
Lindley 22-Jun 10:30am “All three amigos still moving well. Javed still on for 80 plus hours and heading towards Fenny Compton well inside cut offs. Ernie cracking on well too and moving ok not too far behind javed. Rich a little slower bringing up the rear after another good sleep and a small wobble but cracking out the miles again and moving better.”
I only had 90 minutes to spare at where I’d planned to have over 3h in hand, and the previous night’s sleep-addled zombie march left me with very little left in the mental bank. Zoe was out at Fenny Compton to meet me, but I’d not managed to shake the apathy that had set in the previous night and as I joined the Oxford Canal things got worse.
My head got the better of me and I intentionally started walking slowly and taking breaks in an attempt to be timed out before I got to the next CP. I sat under bridges and tried to work out a plan.. My feet were too blistered. The old knee injury was playing up. I’d been in a to-the-death fight with a hyper-aggressive duck. But none of it washed. I was just fed up and my heart wasn’t in it. I called Lori (The Mrs) and told her that I wasn’t having fun anymore and that I was going to come home. Her response was to ask what I wanted for tea. Normality. That was what I needed. Just a small slice of the real world.
I asked a few guys on a barge if there was a decent pub nearby and after 170 miles of canal I hiked along a local A-road to the village, only to find the pub was shut. So after stocking up with pasties and drinks I planned a bus/train route home and called in my DNF to Lindley and Keith and told Lindley I’d come to pick up my bags on Weds and see the race proper start. I also let Zoe know I wouldn’t be coming through and she very kindly offered to drive me to Cheltenham to get a train from there. I was in fairly good spirits as we drove, as I never berate myself on my decisions. I’d given it enough thought and I was quitting.
Once I got home I showered, filled my face with chinese takeaway and fell asleep in front of my laptop watching the tracker with half a beer in my hand. That was it. I was out of the race and could relax and watch this and the main event unfold online.
The next day (Tuesday) I woke up before Lori and walked downstairs for a coffee, then realised I’d just walked stairs without any aches or pains. I’d quit because I’d given up mentally. Physically there wasn’t a thing wrong with me. So I sent a text to Lindley:
“Hi mate. Sorry to be a bloody drama queen yesterday. There’s nothing wrong with me that a few MTFU pills won’t sort out, so can I muck you around again and get my main tracker back online? I fancy going for round 2”
When Lori woke I was bundling my kit into the washing machine and booking train tickets back to Goring. I told her my plans and she didn’t seem surprised. She's used to the way my mind works, and she's promised she'll explain it to me one day.
Lindley 23-Jun 7am.” Javed Bhatti is about an hour out from the final CP at Abingdon. With about 20+ miles to go.
Ernie is a couple of hours behind him and Rich Cranswick has been home and had a plate full of man up pills for tea and has decided to start the main race again.
See you all in the morning.
Lindley”
Ernie is a couple of hours behind him and Rich Cranswick has been home and had a plate full of man up pills for tea and has decided to start the main race again.
See you all in the morning.
Lindley”
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| Javed finishing lap 1 |
Once I’d got back in to Goring I wandered down to meet Keith and a few others who were waiting by the Village Hall for Javed to complete his first lap in 81:03. With all the pictures and handshakes complete, we retired to the Miller for a few pre-race beers and then to the Swan to meet Javed for dinner before we all retired to prepare for the next day.
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| Ernie on his way back to Goring |
We'd been following Ernie on the tracker and Debbie had been with us at the Miller. He was progressing very slowly due to injuries and though he'd complete the first lap, it wasn't looking good for lap 2. I met them on the bridge after Ernie completed (taking 8 hours off his previous best time) and he was wiped out. I wished them both a good night's sleep & recovery and said I'd see them at registration tomorrow.
So that only left Javed with the chance of the double, but it meant I was in the main race, and was feeling strong with a couple of days R&R behind me. The next part was going to be exciting..
Wednesday 24th - Saturday 27th June 2015
Same B&B, same room, same bed. The alarm woke me at 5am and I had a Groundhog Day moment. I had to face the same challenge as Saturday, but this time I knew the way out of this cycle. I had to complete the race.
After my now traditional full English with toast, coffee, muesli and fresh blueberries I packed up my race vest and snack pouch and made my way to registration. Everything had been put together to allow me to move forward at all times. Eat and run. Constant forward motion and all that.
As I entered the hall I said hello to several familiar faces, and picked a seat next to Brian Robb, a fellow Bristolian who I'd met at several events recently. We discussed our approaches to the race and it became apparent I was the tortoise to his hare, though I do prefer to go slow and use the cut-offs to pace myself (something which I hadn't done on leg 1 and paid for dearly).
Lindley gave a briefing to the assembled crowd, presented medals to Javed and Ernie and we made our way to the start. Some of the elite runners already had their chauffeur ready, but I was happy to walk, as one extra mile wasn't going to make any difference. We lined up just off the side of the bridge and then had to move as an aged driver attempted to mow us down at 2mph. Luckily an accident was avoided and we set off along the river and over the fields once again.
The run in to CP1 was very much like the first day, though the temperature and humidity were higher and I found I was out of water by Reading (11 miles). I made a mental note to fill up my bottles at every opportunity and also drink 500ml before moving on as I tend to perspire freely and didn't want to end up dehydrated. I'd also switched from peanuts to cashews for their slightly sweeter taste, but ensured that they were salted which made sure I was replacing the salt removed through sweating.
I passed CP1 in 5:16 at an average 5.2mph and realised from a Facebook comment by Zoe that once again I'd gone off too quick, so decided to walk the next section to Chertsey which I did with Bob Wild and Dave Fawkner. Dave was having trouble eating due to D&V through the night, and was looking for somewhere on the route where he could get pizza as Bob had already ordered a delivery to the Chertsey CP. I grabbed 2L milk and a couple of packs of sandwiches from a shop at Windsor and pressed on.
At CP2 Bob had ordered an additional pepperami pizza which he shared around the group of runners. Exceptionally kind and it was gratefully consumed to fuel the next night-time stage. Kate Hayden had reached the CP ahead of me and had been having problems with vomiting throughout the day but was keen to press on, so I quickly packed up my drop bags and joined her for the long trek through London and on to the next CP at Yiewsley.
Kate is an exceptionally tough runner, and held a special position as the only British woman to finish the race. We hiked out an impressive 3.5-4mph though as the night progressed we were having to take more and longer breaks as she vomited what little water and food she'd managed to consume over the last 30 minutes. I was becoming increasingly worried and it was lucky that Javed caught up with us, as he knows Kate's condition well. He talked to Kate and made sure she sipped at her water, while I carried her backpack to give her some relief from the weight and constriction.
We carried on this way for a couple of hours and she did seem to improve, even breaking out into a run at points, though it all ground to a halt at Hampton Court as she rapidly deteriorated. We decided to call Lindley and meet him further up to get his opinion on her condition, and so walked slowly to Kingston Bridge. I'd like to say a huge thank-you to every runner that met us during that time, as every single one stopped and offered help. Luckily Javed and I had things under control and were able to get to the meting point without any further incident.
It must have been fate or something in the air, as just on the other side of the bridge Knut Kronstad had collapsed and was in convulsions. As we'd already called Lindley we directed him to the other side as Knut's condition was far worse and with 30 mins of rest and warming up Kate had improved considerably. Lindley took Knut off to the CP and we agreed that Javed and I would look after Kate and keep going so long as she continued to improve.
Unfortunately this wasn't the case and around an hour later Kate was vomiting and close to passing out. Again I called Lindley and we sat on a bench with Kate laid across our laps and a foil blanket over her. He arrived after around 45 minutes and pretty much carried Kate to the van, saying that he'd take her to Berkhamstead and we could meet her there (as we were both very concerned about her condition).
So now we were possibly last in the race, but neither of us were tired and we'd benefited from several hours rest, so we ran. And talked. Lots. We talked about running, about life, about our families, about dancing and about the Force. I listened and I learned. We ran through the night and through the next day, making up perhaps a dozen places, our feet dancing out many steps to many tunes.
After a while I started to slow. We had been running with Phil Smith and David Allan and had also caught up with Chris Edmonds, but the pace was beginning to tell on all of us, so we switched to walking while Javed continued ahead. By now we'd made CP7 and were all exhausted, so we took 2 hours to sleep and woke at 1am with 1 hour left on the cut-off. We packed up, had a meal of potatoes, beans and sausage and headed off into the dark once again.
I was feeling increasingly weary and struggled to keep up with the group. I had to concentrate hard on keeping my walking pace high and I was constantly dropping off the back and having to jog to keep up. Chris soon joined me and we split into two as Phil and David marched on ahead, always keeping the pace high and pushing on. Through the morning Chris pulled away from me too and now that I was alone I was walking slower and slower. I took a break on the shaded side of a bridge and started to think. I thought about the pain I was getting from a few blisters, about how much further I had to go, and then I though about dancing.
Javed had explained to me that when things get tough, imagine you're not running but dancing with the person you'd most like to dance with in the world. Waltz, Tango, Maddison, it doesn't matter, but the act of converting the slog of getting from A to B into the joy of dancing changes your whole take on what's happening. I changed my Hokas into ballroom shoes and I started to dance.
And it was superb.
I caught up with Chris just before CP8 and I was grinning like a cheshire cat.
"Chris. I've got a mad plan. We're going to run it in from here. If we make it by closing time I'll buy you a pint".
"OK, let's do it"
So we set off at a flat out sprint. I'd told Tim we were going for it and as he'd seen me sprinting in to Nether Heyford with Peter Bengtsson (England 1 - Sweden 0) he took a picture of the start.
Shortly after I screamed, jumped in the air and hit the floor. It felt as though I'd been shot in the foot. A series of blisters under my toes had all ripped together and burst, making one long raw wound on the ball of my foot. I patched it up tightly with gauze and tape and started to hobble on, but with the blisters gone, the pain had eased and I found I could run again shortly after.
Then it was Chris' turn. He'd been overheating as we ran and eventually had to slow to a walk, so it was just me and the last 40 miles. I had plenty of water, food and energy, and no reason not to run it in, so I kept running.
As I passed Phil and David saying Hi as I went, then a couple of others who were also walking, I started to work out the pace difference. Depending on how far other runners were ahead I thought I was probably running at double their pace, so long as they were within 20 miles, I could catch them. I checked the tracker and was amazed to find that all but the front 2 guys were within range, so that was my mission. 4th place.
I also had an ace card to play. Due to the time we had lost looking after Kate, Lindley had given me and Javed 2 hours credit. Meaning that as long as I finished less than 2 hours after another competitor, I would have beaten them on time. Afterburners on. Time to fly.
My average pace from CP8-9 was 3.8 mph. I didn't catch any more runners but I got closer to those ahead. Not wanting to waste any time I grabbed some fruit from the last CP and pretty much sprinted away. #5 was in my sights and I was closing in. I passed Ellen Cottom about 4 miles from the CP and again said hello, then chased down Anne Green, catching her 5 miles out from the finish.
I'd realised the leaders Andy Horsley and Pete Summers seemed to be walking, as they had left CP9 at midday and hadn't finished when I checked at 5pm. I began to have thoughts about catching them close to Goring and upped the pace again, diving through gullies and pushing on across the fields, I was now averaging 4.4mph. It doesn't sound a lot now but I felt like Usain Bolt compared to my previous sub-2mph walking pace.
As I approached Goring I checked the tracker and saw that the leaders had sped up and crossed the line, so I slowed. Their finish time meant that I had 90 minutes to cover the last mile. I jogged it in with Ian Thomas and gratefully accepted the half-ton finishers medal from Lindley. It was all over, and after nearly not starting the race I'd finished joint second.
Glyn "guardian angel" Raymen handed me a cold can of lager and I finally relaxed after 420 miles on an emotional roller-coaster. Job done.
If it wasn't for the herculean efforts of Lindley and Maxine in putting on this event, the support from Keith Godden, Debbie Gibbins, Glynn Ramen, Jon Gillott, Rich McChesney, Paul Reader, Zoe Thornburgh and all the exceptional volunteers at the CPs, I'd just have been sitting in my pants watching TV and drinking beer, so thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to spend a week seeing it it was possible to do the double. It wasn't for me, but it was for Javed.
He's superhuman.
And so is Karen Hathaway who won by 12 hours !
See you all in 2017 for more dancing.
Rich.
Same B&B, same room, same bed. The alarm woke me at 5am and I had a Groundhog Day moment. I had to face the same challenge as Saturday, but this time I knew the way out of this cycle. I had to complete the race.
After my now traditional full English with toast, coffee, muesli and fresh blueberries I packed up my race vest and snack pouch and made my way to registration. Everything had been put together to allow me to move forward at all times. Eat and run. Constant forward motion and all that.
As I entered the hall I said hello to several familiar faces, and picked a seat next to Brian Robb, a fellow Bristolian who I'd met at several events recently. We discussed our approaches to the race and it became apparent I was the tortoise to his hare, though I do prefer to go slow and use the cut-offs to pace myself (something which I hadn't done on leg 1 and paid for dearly).
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| Maillot jaune |
Lindley gave a briefing to the assembled crowd, presented medals to Javed and Ernie and we made our way to the start. Some of the elite runners already had their chauffeur ready, but I was happy to walk, as one extra mile wasn't going to make any difference. We lined up just off the side of the bridge and then had to move as an aged driver attempted to mow us down at 2mph. Luckily an accident was avoided and we set off along the river and over the fields once again.
The run in to CP1 was very much like the first day, though the temperature and humidity were higher and I found I was out of water by Reading (11 miles). I made a mental note to fill up my bottles at every opportunity and also drink 500ml before moving on as I tend to perspire freely and didn't want to end up dehydrated. I'd also switched from peanuts to cashews for their slightly sweeter taste, but ensured that they were salted which made sure I was replacing the salt removed through sweating.
I passed CP1 in 5:16 at an average 5.2mph and realised from a Facebook comment by Zoe that once again I'd gone off too quick, so decided to walk the next section to Chertsey which I did with Bob Wild and Dave Fawkner. Dave was having trouble eating due to D&V through the night, and was looking for somewhere on the route where he could get pizza as Bob had already ordered a delivery to the Chertsey CP. I grabbed 2L milk and a couple of packs of sandwiches from a shop at Windsor and pressed on.
At CP2 Bob had ordered an additional pepperami pizza which he shared around the group of runners. Exceptionally kind and it was gratefully consumed to fuel the next night-time stage. Kate Hayden had reached the CP ahead of me and had been having problems with vomiting throughout the day but was keen to press on, so I quickly packed up my drop bags and joined her for the long trek through London and on to the next CP at Yiewsley.
Kate is an exceptionally tough runner, and held a special position as the only British woman to finish the race. We hiked out an impressive 3.5-4mph though as the night progressed we were having to take more and longer breaks as she vomited what little water and food she'd managed to consume over the last 30 minutes. I was becoming increasingly worried and it was lucky that Javed caught up with us, as he knows Kate's condition well. He talked to Kate and made sure she sipped at her water, while I carried her backpack to give her some relief from the weight and constriction.
We carried on this way for a couple of hours and she did seem to improve, even breaking out into a run at points, though it all ground to a halt at Hampton Court as she rapidly deteriorated. We decided to call Lindley and meet him further up to get his opinion on her condition, and so walked slowly to Kingston Bridge. I'd like to say a huge thank-you to every runner that met us during that time, as every single one stopped and offered help. Luckily Javed and I had things under control and were able to get to the meting point without any further incident.
It must have been fate or something in the air, as just on the other side of the bridge Knut Kronstad had collapsed and was in convulsions. As we'd already called Lindley we directed him to the other side as Knut's condition was far worse and with 30 mins of rest and warming up Kate had improved considerably. Lindley took Knut off to the CP and we agreed that Javed and I would look after Kate and keep going so long as she continued to improve.
Unfortunately this wasn't the case and around an hour later Kate was vomiting and close to passing out. Again I called Lindley and we sat on a bench with Kate laid across our laps and a foil blanket over her. He arrived after around 45 minutes and pretty much carried Kate to the van, saying that he'd take her to Berkhamstead and we could meet her there (as we were both very concerned about her condition).
So now we were possibly last in the race, but neither of us were tired and we'd benefited from several hours rest, so we ran. And talked. Lots. We talked about running, about life, about our families, about dancing and about the Force. I listened and I learned. We ran through the night and through the next day, making up perhaps a dozen places, our feet dancing out many steps to many tunes.
After a while I started to slow. We had been running with Phil Smith and David Allan and had also caught up with Chris Edmonds, but the pace was beginning to tell on all of us, so we switched to walking while Javed continued ahead. By now we'd made CP7 and were all exhausted, so we took 2 hours to sleep and woke at 1am with 1 hour left on the cut-off. We packed up, had a meal of potatoes, beans and sausage and headed off into the dark once again.
I was feeling increasingly weary and struggled to keep up with the group. I had to concentrate hard on keeping my walking pace high and I was constantly dropping off the back and having to jog to keep up. Chris soon joined me and we split into two as Phil and David marched on ahead, always keeping the pace high and pushing on. Through the morning Chris pulled away from me too and now that I was alone I was walking slower and slower. I took a break on the shaded side of a bridge and started to think. I thought about the pain I was getting from a few blisters, about how much further I had to go, and then I though about dancing.
Javed had explained to me that when things get tough, imagine you're not running but dancing with the person you'd most like to dance with in the world. Waltz, Tango, Maddison, it doesn't matter, but the act of converting the slog of getting from A to B into the joy of dancing changes your whole take on what's happening. I changed my Hokas into ballroom shoes and I started to dance.
And it was superb.
I caught up with Chris just before CP8 and I was grinning like a cheshire cat.
"Chris. I've got a mad plan. We're going to run it in from here. If we make it by closing time I'll buy you a pint".
"OK, let's do it"
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| Sprinting out of CP8 (Tim Mitchell) |
Shortly after I screamed, jumped in the air and hit the floor. It felt as though I'd been shot in the foot. A series of blisters under my toes had all ripped together and burst, making one long raw wound on the ball of my foot. I patched it up tightly with gauze and tape and started to hobble on, but with the blisters gone, the pain had eased and I found I could run again shortly after.
Then it was Chris' turn. He'd been overheating as we ran and eventually had to slow to a walk, so it was just me and the last 40 miles. I had plenty of water, food and energy, and no reason not to run it in, so I kept running.
As I passed Phil and David saying Hi as I went, then a couple of others who were also walking, I started to work out the pace difference. Depending on how far other runners were ahead I thought I was probably running at double their pace, so long as they were within 20 miles, I could catch them. I checked the tracker and was amazed to find that all but the front 2 guys were within range, so that was my mission. 4th place.
I also had an ace card to play. Due to the time we had lost looking after Kate, Lindley had given me and Javed 2 hours credit. Meaning that as long as I finished less than 2 hours after another competitor, I would have beaten them on time. Afterburners on. Time to fly.
My average pace from CP8-9 was 3.8 mph. I didn't catch any more runners but I got closer to those ahead. Not wanting to waste any time I grabbed some fruit from the last CP and pretty much sprinted away. #5 was in my sights and I was closing in. I passed Ellen Cottom about 4 miles from the CP and again said hello, then chased down Anne Green, catching her 5 miles out from the finish.
I'd realised the leaders Andy Horsley and Pete Summers seemed to be walking, as they had left CP9 at midday and hadn't finished when I checked at 5pm. I began to have thoughts about catching them close to Goring and upped the pace again, diving through gullies and pushing on across the fields, I was now averaging 4.4mph. It doesn't sound a lot now but I felt like Usain Bolt compared to my previous sub-2mph walking pace.
As I approached Goring I checked the tracker and saw that the leaders had sped up and crossed the line, so I slowed. Their finish time meant that I had 90 minutes to cover the last mile. I jogged it in with Ian Thomas and gratefully accepted the half-ton finishers medal from Lindley. It was all over, and after nearly not starting the race I'd finished joint second.
Glyn "guardian angel" Raymen handed me a cold can of lager and I finally relaxed after 420 miles on an emotional roller-coaster. Job done.
If it wasn't for the herculean efforts of Lindley and Maxine in putting on this event, the support from Keith Godden, Debbie Gibbins, Glynn Ramen, Jon Gillott, Rich McChesney, Paul Reader, Zoe Thornburgh and all the exceptional volunteers at the CPs, I'd just have been sitting in my pants watching TV and drinking beer, so thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to spend a week seeing it it was possible to do the double. It wasn't for me, but it was for Javed. He's superhuman.
And so is Karen Hathaway who won by 12 hours !
See you all in 2017 for more dancing.
Rich.