Losing some weight

(Me on the scales before juicing on Monday the 2nd of March)


           I guess it happened a while back. My friend Dave Brett told me about this film called "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead". He said it was a documentary about a guy who tries to lose weight by just juicing. Consuming nothing but fruit and Veg in a liquid form for 60 days! I thought it sounded a bit psychotic to be honest. Anyway, a year or so later I come across that documentary on Netflix. It's a documentary by an Australian guy named "Joe Cross". He was suffering from some ailments and was in a bad way due to excess weight. The documentary was very touching and gave me hope and inspiration.

          I had been trying to lose weight since the new year but seemed to be putting it on. Last October I was just under 15 stone and running well. I felt at my fittest when I ran the Great south run and achieved  66 minutes in this 10 mile race. I ran an effortless 10k in 41 minutes during that race and i'll never forget how well and efficiently I ran that day. I wanted that back and also I have the London marathon to train for in April.

     Sadly, depression had hit me hard over the winter and the comfort eating took over. I was eating so much junk food everyday and drinking quite a bit of alcohol. I thought I was eating sensibly at the time but it was evident with my weight gain that I wasn't. I was fooled by low fat yoghurts and low calorie cereal bars etc..

         

 

(The first juice I ever made. Carrot-apple-Lemon from the Joe Cross Juice recipes)

 

 

            After watching the Joe Cross documentary I went into town and bought his book "The reboot with Joe - juice diet". I also purchased a juicer from Argos on the same day. I had done a little bit of research from Joe's website and it said not to buy the cheapest juicer as it will not juice as efficiently and you end up with wet pulp that needs putting in again. The more powerful the wattage the better! I spent £80 on a Braun juicer that was knocked down from £130.

 

           Now, I was reading Joe's book but wanted to try a juice at the same time and prepare for my reboot. I was planning on doing a 10 day reboot. That meant no food for 10 days! Just juices but it also said that you needed to ease yourself into the program by eating just fruit and veg beforehand. Me being me, I couldn't really be bothered with that and the reboot never really started. I just chose recipes I liked the look of and went out and bought the fruit and veg.

 

          I went to the farm shop to buy my stuff because I thought it would be more organic, locally produced and in the meantime supporting the local farmers. It was a bit limited to be honest but I bought what I could from there and then off to Sainsbury afterwards. I was buying stuff that I knew nothing about. This is a guy who lives off pasties, scotch eggs and pork pies! I had never bought things like lemons, ginger, beetroot and celery before. I also knew for a fact that I don't even like Celery or beetroot. I was starting to think I was losing the plot a bit here. Had I been brainwashed?

 

         Anyway, I made my first juice from Joe's book. Carrot-Apple-Lemon. Which uses 4 apples, 4 carrots and 2 lemons and would make 2 servings. I drank the juice and actually thought it was quite nice. I think 1 lemon would have been enough though and it was something that my stomach wasn't used to. I stored the other one in the fridge for breakfast the next morning and had that instead of cereal.

 

 

 

(Joe's mean Green: 2 cucumbers, 8 celery sticks, 4 apples, bag a kale, 1 lemon and 5cms of Ginger)

 

 

       So, as I was saying... The reboot never really started but what actually happened was that I was juicing once a day and making 2 juices. I would have one then (In the evening) and save the other one for breakfast. That juicer is a pain to clean and takes ages but that's pretty much the only hassle about it. So, I was having juice for breakfast instead of cereal then i'd have a sandwich for my first break at work (Tuna or Ham salad) and then another sandwich and some fruit for lunch at work. Come home and juice again. Sometimes I would have toast and peanut butter or more fruit if I was still hungry.

 

      Even though I was still eating I could feel myself getting weak and grumpy. I was tired and lethargic at work and would sometimes nap as soon as I got home. I was getting headaches and dizzy spells too. I read this may happen in the book though. My body was not used to all these nutrients and craved sugar and junk food. I ended up coming down with a cold on the first few days and I was cold all the time. I later read that feeling cold all the time was another symptom of the detox. It was weird!I only did this for 4 and a half days and then my friend Craig was down from Cornwall for the weekend so we got drunk and ate crap food all weekend. However, I had already gone from 16 stone 3 to 15 stone 4 in 5 days! That's a loss of 13 lbs. Incredible!

 

        

 



(Celery-Pear-Cucumber: Bag of Kale, 2 Cucumbers, 6 celery sticks and 2 pears)

 

 

         Monday soon came around and the guilt of the weekend had caught up with me. So it was back to the juicing. This week though I felt better. I was a little bit hungry to start with but there were no headaches or dizzy spells. It was much easier this week. I just followed the same pattern as the week before. Juice for breakfast, sandwiches and fruit at work followed by juice and a snack at home.

 

        Today was my last day of juicing before the weekend. I made another new recipe. There are lots to choose from in the book or they are easily obtainable online for free. Today's juice was called "Sunrise" which contains 3 beetroots, 8 carrots and 3 oranges. It was a little bit sweeter than I had imagined actually. I hate beetroot but it was fine in a juice. Although I have been urinating a sea of red all day! This is also something new to me.

I am now off the juicing for the weekend again as I need to carb load for my marathon on Sunday and will need Protein for my recovery which the juices will not produce enough of.

 

 



(Today's juice: Sunrise)

 

            I will be back on the juices again on Tuesday and i'm still enjoying them. I would love to get down to somewhere between 14 stone and 14 and a half stone as I believe this will benefit my running and skateboarding. London marathon isn't far away now either.

 

 

       Anyway, maybe this is a fad for me but it seems to be working and I am actually enjoying it now. I don't do anything that I don't enjoy! So, on Monday the 2nd of March I was 16 stone 3 and today (13th of March) I weighed in at 14 stone 13! A weight loss of 18lbs with only 8-9 days of juicing. I know the hard bit will be to keep this weight off me but i'm still gonna have that Cheese or Chicken burger after my marathon on Sunday with a couple of pints of real ale ;)

 





A link to the past...

        Last night I didn't watch the Brit awards, I watched a documentary on Netflix about Video games. I think it was called "Video games - The movie". It was great to be reminded of a past and affiliation that I had with video games and consloes over the years. The good memories came flooding back from my childhood. So I thought i'd write something about it. It's been pretty cool to witness all the various changes over the years up until the present day.

     I have a very crap memory but I do remember us having an Atari 2600. This was our first games console. I'm not even sure where it came from but it was our family entertainment system at the time.

We had Three games in total:

Pacman (My Mum's favourite).
Pole position (My Dad's favourite) and made famous in the film D.A.R.Y.L or vice versa.
Phoenix (My favourite). 

I guess this must have been the early 80's as Phoenix was released in 1982 after doing some research. The games were pretty expensive from what I remember, so we never did get any more but I did manage to play a few other games at friend's houses. Games like Pitfall and the abysimal E.T that made the Games systems crash in the end. I would spend as much time as I was allowed on these games. I was fascinated and hooked.

 

 

        We had a BBC Acorn at our middle school. This was the first computer I had ever been on from what I can remember. It was super slow and we used to type in basic commands to make our names flash all over the screen. Something like:

 

Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.Dean Jones is Cool.





 

 

    My friend Paul was the only person I know to have a home computer (A computer at home). It wasn't actually his though, it was his Dad's. His Dad used to use it for his accounts apparently. It was an Amstrad 464 complete with a green screen monitor. He had a few games like Horace goes skiing, Chiller and a Simpsons game. This was still the 80's at some point. I would sit there playing these games even when he went downstairs to eat dinner with his family. 

 

 



 

 

        I finally got my first ever Computer on xmas day of 1986. I remember sneaking down the stairs early on xmas day morning and dropping it down the stairs. Fortunately it still worked. It was the above Sinclair ZX Spectrum 128K+2. I have played on a friend's ZX81 and ZX48K which were earlier models. This was the height of technology in 1986 and I had the present most kids wanted at the age of 12. There was also the Commodore 64 though which was probably more popular at the time. I used to load the games and watch them crash sometimes and have to reload them but there were some great games on here. I would also buy all the magazines to see what games were coming out.

I would go into town on Saturdays with my pocket money and buy games from the budget range (£1.99 or £2,99). There were loads to choose from like the Dizzy games from codemasters. One man and his Druid, Atic atac, Odd job eddie, jet set willy, jetpac, spellbound, sabrewulf and various other platform games.

On birthdays though I could afford the pricier games such as Wonder boy which was an arcade favourite of mine at the time. I also had Sabotuer, 180, bombjack, Frank Bruno's boxing, Finders keepers, Hyper sports, paperboy IK+, commando, Green beret, cobra, Barbarian, Daley Thompson's super test and outrun. The list was endless. So many games were now availabe for me to play.

 

     I was now playing some of my favourite games at home that I used to play in the arcades. There was no age restrictions then, you could blow anything up and shoot stuff. My arcade favourites were Super mario bros which I got to play when I used to go swimming at the central swimming baths in town. Also the travelling fair would come to Southampton common at Easter every year where I could play such games as Space harrier, 720, Crystal castles, Marble madness, Ghost and Goblins, track and field, Rolling thunder, Pacland etc... I also got to play Dragon's Lair when on a school trip to Stubbington study centre. Hours of fun could be had if you had the money to spare! Kung fu master was my favourite of all time. I was addicted to this game and spent lots of money on it. I was also quite good at it, so it was nice when people gathered round to watch me play the later stages to see how far I could get. I also remember completing "Double dragon" in the arcade at Brighton pier with another friend. God knows how much money we had spent!

 





         The Nes was from Nintendo. This was a great console. You had Duck hunt with the gun, Ducktales was a favourite of mine as well and so was Bomberman.  You also had all the arcade classics like 1942, Kung fu master, Donkey kong, Super Mario bros etc.. I can't remember ever buying this but we had one in our house for many years, not knowing where it came from. It stopped working in the end as you'd have to blow on the cartridges to get them to work but one day it just gave up and then...

 

 There was another war going on in the games world. It was between the Atari St and the Commodore Amiga. I wanted both but was going to choose the Atari ST in the end. I never did get either of these computers as I couldn't save my money and spent it all on E.T Stickers for my album or maybe I choose that Raleigh Burner BMX bike instead! The graphics looked amazing at the time. It was an incredible step up from what we had seen before this. 

 

 

       Meanwhile.... I got a Sega Master system. This wasn't brand new but I remember get pretty bored of it, pretty quickly. I really wanted this as another arcade classic was converted "R-type". Unfortunately the gameplay suffered unlike "Hang-on" which was actually ok. There was also a really bad Snail game built into this system that was kind of a secret until the magazines told you about it. That was an anti-climax! Street fighter II was quite fun though and produced a few blisters. 

    

           In the end I swapped my Sega Master system for a Commodore 64 with a friend. I had always wanted one. For many this swap seemed like a step back. Consoles seemed to be replacing the computers now but I still preferred the computers. This gave me a chance to play some of the older games that I loved. Outrun, California games, After burner, 720, Chase HQ, Dig Dug, Kane and the list goes on... I had carrier bags full of cassettes with games on them. I had hundreds of them to choose from. 





      A friend of mine had a Sega Mega drive and we used to spend hours in his room playing Altered beast and Micro machines. Those two games were all we needed at the time. Hours and hours of laughing and fun. Then I got one and straight away got into Sonic the Hedgehog. We used to sit around a friend's house many years later playing Streets of rage and Golden axe for hours. Some would be drinking and some would be getting stoned but that all that seemed to happen in that house. It was a fun time with controllers being passed around after each death. Toejam and Earl and James pond were other favourites. We even had video game nights at the weekends and tournaments with the Fifa football games. 

 

        My real Nintendo obsession came about with the SNES. Couldn't wait to buy one and play the new Mario game. Cost me most of my wages that month. I think I was in my first job with the Agency working at Tomy toys for £2.45 an hour. Anyway, once I had it with that Mario game, not even food was important anymore. I would sit in my room for hours playing this game. I also loved Pilot wings, Donkey Kong Country, Fifa, Killer instinct, Lemmings, Mortal Kombat. NBA Jam was also played a lot when people came round but mostly Super Bomberman as I had 4 controllers connected for the first time in my gaming history, That was the most fun I ever got out of any game. 4 friends trying to blow each other up with bombs until you became Golden bomberman. Also multi-player action with Mario Kart.

 

 

 

       !994 saw the PlayStation arrive. It was the biggest craze in a long time. Everyone was getting them. I was still a die hard Nintendo fan though although I did play many of my friend's consoles with them. Lots of games got released overnight too whereas it seemed like I would be waiting for ages for new Nintendo releases but the Nintendo releases were usually of a higher standard whereas some of the many playstation games I thought were actually awful and unplayable.

I was pretty pleased as I had got a couple of letters published in Nintendo based games magazines which had one me free goodies. I got an N64 box (not the console) before it's release in the UK and it was filled with Snes games, a nice Pink Kirby t-shirt, posters etc... I was excited to show everyone my empty N64 box before the N64 had even entered the UK.





 

           The N64 arrived in 1997. I was hyped! Again I had saved my money and went out and got one. This was another great machine. The most memorable game and most played was easily Goldeneye the James bond game. 1080 snowboarding was sessioned a lot. Banjo Kazooie was played until completed. Fifa 98, Doom 64, Starfox, Turok and many more..  Meanwhile other friend's had things like Neo-Geo's, Sega Saturns, Dreamcasts and the PS2. 

 

      I later went on to buy a PS2, a Nintendo Gamecube, a Nintendo Wii and currently own a PS3 and a Nintendo WiiU. Still playing the WiiU and use the PS3 for watching films etc.. Enjoying Mario Kart 8 and the new Donkey Kong platformer. Video games sure have come a long way and it's been fascinating watching it all develop and I have so many great memories that I had even forgotten about until I wrote this article. This is one of the reasons I like to write, to remember the things I forget!

My first 10 miler of the year

        I didn't even think about blogging tonight's run until I was 5 miles into my run at the lakes.
I had stopped to take a picture of the bigger lake but it didn't come out too well on my phone. It was  dark but you could still see the water and it was so still and silent. I was the only person here at the lakes. It's was kind of magical and felt pretty special.

         I was trying to plan a different 10 mile route. In the winter I often run the same 10 mile routes due to the dark and the weather conditions. I'm not keen on busy roads with lots of traffic, so try to avoid Winchester road and Shirley high street. The plan was to run to Totton and through Testwood lakes, Nursling and then home in a circular loop. I figured from my running experience that this was probably only an 8 mile loop and that I would need to add bits on here and there.

     I started from my house in Maybush, through Millbrook and then Redbridge. I wanted to run 8 minute miles and get roughly a 1 hour 20 minute 10 miler. This would be the furthest I had run since the end of November, I thought a slow-ish 10 miler would be good for both burning some excess fat and to get some miles in with Stubbington 10k coming up in less than 2 weeks.

   I wasn't even sure i'd make 10 miles. It had been a while and my legs weren't feeling that fresh and I was on a diet. Excuses eh? Anyway, I took my rucksack with a spare t-shirt, hat, gloves, bus fare and phone, just in case I couldn't make the loop. Sounds a bit daft but the temperature can really drop just like that on the winter nights.

    I ran a couple of 8 minute miles around Millbrook and over Redbridge flyover and I was thinking about my new running socks that turned up today. What kind of idiot pays £26 for two pairs of socks? I really like these socks though and they're warm and very comfortable. Then I got to thinking that it wasn't so bad as I had run over 2600 miles in the last two years so £26 didn't seem so bad really. A small price to pay for keeping your feet in good condition.

     My thoughts were interrupted by a kid in Millbrook with his mates. He shouted something. It was a question but I couldn't quite make it out so I just ignored them and kept on going.
The clock at Redbridge read the temperature as 8 degrees. Unbelievable for January really! It was actually pretty warm out.

      I had failed to keep my third mile under 8 minutes and got an 8.01. Didn't matter though as I was only trying to get an average on 8 minute miles. I was now in Totton and decided to run the back roads to avoid all the people. I had finally worked out what that kid from earlier was saying: "Are you a policeman?". Yes, that's what he said. I had a bright hi-vis on and a headtorch but was also in running shorts with a rucksack and running shoes! Is this what the police do in Millbrook nowadays? Think the kid was probably just a little bit retarded maybe.
I kept thinking about Salisbury road that was approaching. It's a long main road. I usually find long main roads quite boring if there are no hills. However. There is a really fun bit by the dead end road bit where the path veers off from the main road into a residential area.
When it's dark you can run in the middle of the road and look at all the houses and if you aim the light of your headtorch at the security sensors on the houses they wil light up one by one as you run past. The faster you run, the better it looks :) See! Running can be fun and you get to annoy people at the same time..lol.
Anyway, Salisbury road just flew by but it is never easy taking in all the smells coming from the take away shops. I was soon running into Calmore industrial estate before I knew it. It was now raining slightly, not cold, just refreshing.

     I ran into the lakes cautiously. I knew how dark it was going to be as I used to cycle through here after work. The dark didn't scare me though. What did was an Owl. I could never see him but a couple of times he would hoot really loudly when I was nearby and it used to really startle me. He wasn't there tonight though. I heard a duck quack but that was it. It was just my feet shuffling on the gravel track and the sound of my breathing. I wasn't sure whether to do a loop of the big lake or just pass through. I decided to run that loop of the lake as I was only 5 miles into the run. It was here that I decided to stop and take the crap pics.

      I had stopped for a couple of minutes and my breathing was back to normal and I was no longer sweating. I was feeling good again. It was time to carry on. It was a bit muddy around the otherside of the lake and especially as I passed through the stile to get to the woodland by the stream. I couldn't really differentiate between the mud and hard soil. The headtorch was on but the only thing it really picked up clearly were the puddles, so I was able to avoid those. I was then reminded of something that happened on this bit before when I ran here in the dark once. I nearly ran into a Deer one day! That was scary. Freaked both of us out, like that bit when E.T and Elliot first meet in the film.

    Anyways, I was starting to really tire after 7 miles. The first 5 miles had been wonderful but my pace had slowed by about 30 seconds a minute. The legs were getting tired for some reason. Not enough food maybe? Been on a diet for 3 days now and always seem hungry even though i'm still eating quite a bit, just less calories and smaller, healthier portions. Maybe that I hadn't further than 10K for a coupe of months? Probably a bit of both I guess.

       Back on the lonely country lanes with just the light from my headtorch. I love it but was really suffering after 8 miles and just about got a sub 9 minute mile with a bit of effort thrown in. It's weird when you get runs like this but it does happen from time to time. I reckon this will probably be one of my toughest 10 milers of the year, if not the toughest! The worse bit is that just after 8 miles I know that I need to add in a diversion to make up the 10 miles before I reach home. At this point I am struggling mentally and tell myself that 9 miles will be fine.
I run on and a couple of minutes later I tell myself that 9 miles is not good enough as I had set out to run 10. This conflict in my head goes on for the next half a mile until I decide to man up and run the 10. I have to throw in a hill though. I climb slowly up a small hill through the Nursling estate until I pass a horse in a field and come back onto Romsey road.

       Even the last mile needs extending as I would reaching home at 9 and a half miles. I add on a bit on Lower Brownhill road which also seems like a tough climb on the slightest of gradients. I run down the final straight towards my house. I am going to do it. I will not do it in the 1 hour 20 which should be easy for me on most days but I will do it and I will have burned a good few calories running it slower anyway. Burning fat, getting fitter and losing weight as well as reaching my goal for the day. Doesn't get much better than that., I may be really achy and tired but I am content and I love my new socks. 10 miles never felt so hard!

My Review of Running in 2014

              (The Flanders field Marathon in Ieper, Belguim. My 40th birthday weekend).



         So we come to the end of another year. I always like to reflect on my achievements for the year and what I had set out to achieve. You can see this posts on this blog from last December. A great year of running with no serious injuries or injuries that took me out for ages. This is a first for me!
I ran 22 races this year, that excludes club races like the CC6's and the RR10's and parkruns.

     I ran 4 ultra marathons, but only 2 marathons. 6 half marathons and various other weird races and distances. I achieved my 50th parkrun (although, i'm still waiting for the t-shirt). I got PB's in distances of 5k, 10k, 10 miles and marathon, although the 10 mile one is debateable.
19.06 5k at Southampton parkrun, 41.28 10k at Eastleigh, 66.48 at the Great south run (stopped my watch at mile 10 but when I crossed the line the course was quarter of a mile longer which gave me a time of 67.27) 3.29.30 at Brighton marathon.

             (Hills on the Camborne stormforce 10 mile race in Cornwall!)



         I decided to give Stubbington a miss this January and run a 10 miler in Cornwall called the Stormforce 10. This is part of the Cornish grand prix (league). Sadly, I hit my head the day before skateboarding and had to drink 6 pints of Tribute to calm me down. Not a great time but a great race with some nice big hills around country lanes.

        Then came the craziness! The Thames trot 50 mile race. I was going to pull out but I had talked Mike Mattingly into it and didn't want him to run it alone so I said i'd support him for the first 20 miles as I hadn't really trained for it. There was pressure from my running buddies on facebook of course. "You can do it Dean", "Good luck Dean" etc.. Well, we ran/walked it, got lost lots and had to wade through the icy cold Thames in February! The route was being changed a lot due to flooding and then my headtorch died in the woods. Great experience indeed but it took us 10 hours and 26 minutes.

       I then had a couple of bad half marathons in March. The Llanelli half. Very windy, bit of a hangover and then the John Austin half. Blew up after 5k and struggled to hold a decent pace after that.

I then rolled my ankle when I was drunk when I fell off a curb after my mate's 40th birthday with the Eastleigh 10k only a few days away. The ankle hurt like hell even on the day but I thought i'd try and run it anyway and got a PB :) See pic below for swankle:

             Getting that 10k PB gave me confidence for the Brighton marathon I had coming up in April. I was running for my little 10 year old buddy Thomas who has Type 1 Diabetes. I was raising money for the JDRF charity. Think I raised about £600-£700? The JDRF charity people were great. Out of all the charities I had run for, these were the best in the way they supported and treated me. Personal phone calls and emails, sandwiches and massages etc.. I felt like a celebrity ;)
Anyway, I had left my gels in the boot of Di Mattingly's car. Not a great start. I was running so well and hoping to get sub 3.30 time. I was hoping to run 8 minute miles but was running 7.30's quite comfortably. No effort at all! I was starting to feel it at mile 16 though as I still had no food/gels etc.. Just water and maybe a sports drink. By mile 18 at the lovely powerstation (worst part of the marathon) I was feeling drained but managed to get a gel from someone but I knew it was too late by then. It was a case of holding on. I was slowing down and was grateful for the earlier pace. I saw the 3.30 pacer but couldn't catch him up. He was turning round and beckoning me forward but I couldn't go any faster even with the support of the crowd. My hearing was going as well. I thought I might actually be dying here! I never did catch that pacer and he must have crossed the finish line about 20 metres in front of me. I was disappointed at first but later found out that I had achieved 3.29.30 on chip time so was really happy with it in the end.

(Me with Thomas a week or so before the Brighton marathon)



         There were other various races like the Southbourne 10k (Windy as hell!) Netley 10k (Very boring) I then did the Ox Ultra race in Tollard royal. It was a very hilly 35 mile race (36.5 in the end)with a love station (Vodka and locally produced cider). This was to be Rob Kelly's first ultra and I was more than happy to tag along for a fun 7 and a half hours of running, walking, eating, photo taking and piss taking. The views were absolutely stunning. It was a very tough course but it was worth it cos Rob gave me his cheeseburger voucher which meant I could eat two :)

          June: The Braishfield Romsey beer race is a 5 mile race. It was my first ever race and I did it in a time of 42 mins and 12 secs getting beaten by 60+ Derek Goodchild from our club. I was hoping for a course PB on this day at least! It was so hot though and like all races, even when I ran it, nothing at all was familiar to me. I got a PB though and was really happy. It was a lovely sunny summer's day sat on the grass with the others from my club. Andy Griggs wanted his money back though as the competition was weak and he nearly won the race by 2 minutes. Ben Pitman was 2nd though.

          

 (Me and Rob Kelly somewhere in Wiltshire on the Ox Ultra)


                 Next up was the craziest race I have ever done and probably ever will be. Man V horse which is sometime in July I think. Set in Britain's smallest town of Llanwrytd Wells, Powys, mid Wales. You run just under 24 miles of massive hills whilst racing next to horses. It sounds completely mad and it is! I thought I was going to get trampled a couple of times but managed to dive out the way. You also get to run through streams to cool your legs down which is very refreshing. I was up over 1000 ft at one point and I was looking down on the Red Kytes flying over the tree tops.
I took no gels and no food or drink. There were water stations but I thought as it was only 24 miles i'd be fine. Those hills will destroy you no matter how fit you think you are! I beat around 10 of the 60 horses anyway and finished around the 4 and a half hour mark. I am still trying to decide whether or not to do it again in 2015. You can also have relay teams of 3 but this will sell out on New Year's day when entries open probably.

         I did the Summer plod with my friend Adam Sizer who had never run further than 13 miles at the time. This was a hilly 21 miler with Butser hill at the end on the South downs way. Great views but more brutal hills. I ran it slowly with him and watched him go through all the emotions that a runner does when they're pushed to their limits. He finished it and i'm super proud of him :)

 (Nearing the end of Man V horse)


                 I did the Indian Queens half marathon in the first weekend of August. Not a great result but another great race with things like inflatable crocodiles hidden in the woodland course and inflatable parrots in the trees. One of the flatter courses in the Cornish Grand prix.
Salisbury 54321 came along again. Thought i'd try the 50k distance again and wanted a sub 5 this time around. This was the first time that I actually raced an ultra and found it horrific. I hated it so much, it just went on forever as I ran it on my own. I was in a bad place mentaly on this one. Think I got 5.03 and ended up in the back of an Ambulance because I was really dizzy and close to passing out and I couldn't slow my heart rate down, which was really scary for me. St. John's were brilliant though and gave me a lovely blanket to keep.

            I did the Vale of Pewsey half the day after trying to run the Avon valley path from Salisbury to Christchurch. The route is 36 miles but I had got lost so much that I was already at 36 miles when I reached Ringwood. So, a 36 mile slow run on the Saturday and a sub 2 hour half marathon the next day! Surprising what the body can be put through.

In Septemeber I got a parkrun PB of 19.06. Not sure where that came from as my previous PB was around 19.46. The day after, I did the Overton 5 miler. It didn't go well due to the PB the day before. I was hoping to do a double PB weekend. It happened to me a couple of years ago!

(The start of the Flanders field marathon in Ieper, Belgium with Roger, Patrick and the Mattinglys)


         I wanted to pick a good race in Europe for my 40th birthday. One I would remember forever. There was a race in Austria that I was interested in but we decided on this one in the end. Wasn't easy to sort out with the payments etc but we have Di Mattingly for that... Thanks Di :) x  
I drank way too much on the Friday night (my birthday) and was really sick and too ill to even collect my race number on the Saturday. I spent the day sleeping in bed and feeling rough. On race day I decided to not race it but just enjoy it. This is the only marathon on the grounds of the first world war. It was good to remember them as it was the 100 year anniversary. We passed many fields where soldiers would have fought and lots of graves.
It was a pancake flat course with lots of canal river and cycle paths. The route was fairly boring outside of the built up areas etc.. It was great to run through the Menin gate though and see supporters including Laure from our running club. I ran most of the marathon with a guy called Keith from Kent or Surrey or somewhere. We chatted for half the course and kept a fairly good pace. It was his 113 marathon, it was only my 7th! Although I have done 7 ultras too.
 We finished together in a time of 3.37 which made it my 2nd quickest marathon so I was very pleased.

(A stolen photo from the Ely Ultra)


     The Ely ultra was my next race at the end of September. It was a 45 mile race from Ely to Cambridge and back when I first entered. There was a Triathlon on the same day or something so they had to shorten the course slightly. I had heard it was 38 miles, someone else said 40, others said longer. So we really didn't really know the exact distance. I got a train up and booked a hotel on my own. I was a little scared of running this ultra on my own after the darkness of the Salisbury 54321 but here I was. The route pretty much followed a cycle path once you got out of Ely. It could get a little confusing sometimes on route and we had heard people had run the wrong way in the previous year. I ended up running it with two others. A guy who had previous got lost and was wearing the number 13 (Bad omen) and a dude from Essex who had just completed his 4th Ironman in Sweden. We lost the bad omen as he had slowed after 10 miles and the rest I ran all the way with the other guy.
We exchanged funny racing stories and encouraged one another to keep going when things got tough for us. It was a fairly flat course but pretty well organised with good support and food stations. It was just over 41 miles in the end and we did it in under 7 and a half hours which I am most proudest of, of all my ultra times.
I went back to my room. Showered, had a pub lunch and then went for a walk and the race was still going. I think there was a 12 hour cut off time. I got to cheer in the last man as I stood there with his wife and she was telling me how he had DNF'ed last year and he didn't finish in the cut off time. This year he was going to do it and I was so happy for him.

              (The Ely Ultra details)


I had a bit of a break from the races after that but was still running. I did the Denmead 10k a while after and was hoping for another 10k PB but this course was hilly. I actually walked up part of one of the hills, not only that but we had missed out on winning the club team prize by 20 seconds because of me not beating Southampton AC's Paul Johnson. I was a bit gutted but the others (Rob Kelly and Jeff Scarle) took it well and humoured me with the blame..lol.


End of October:
The great south run I really enjoyed this year. Think I may do it again next year too. A nice local 10 mile race with lots of our club runners. A nice fast, flat course but a bit of wind on the last mile or two. No official pb but really pleased with my 6.40 average pace throughout the race. Felt really good for the first 10k. Awesome goody bag but a very expensive 10 miler.

Gosport half was another dark race for me. I was going for a PB and wanted 1.27 even though my PB is 129.26. I thought I could do it. 1.30.48 was what I managed. It was the best half I had run for a couple of years but at the same time I was slightly disappointed and really didn't enjoy the race at all.

(Not sure where this was or who took it but it's from this year)


    Downton half was to be my last race of the year. This is my favourite half marathon course out of the 20+ halfs I've done. Cardiff probably comes second. A great race with some nice hills. I got a 1.32.29 a few years back and wanted to try and beat that. Not really a PB course but it's possible! Anyway I ran a 1.33.33. 1 minute and 4 secs off of my previous time but was proud of my efforts as I was at least a stone lighter then and I was struggling to run a 1.36 half in the spring of 2014.

My only other noteworthy achievement I think is coming 3rd at Chichester parkrun and it was only a 20 minute 5k! I also enjoyed parkruns at Llyn Lech Owain, Colby, Brockenhurst, Winchester, Southwick, Eastleigh, Andover, Southampton and my 50th at Netley.

Hopefully next year will be just as good for me. Thanks for reading and a big thanks to all those who take the photos and give me lifts to and from races. You know who you are, too many to mention. Thanks :)


Below are my running stats for the year:

The Denmead 10k

At the finish. A big thanks to Nicole Kelly for the photos. (Kim Kelly, Rob Kelly, Jeffrey Scarle and Myself).


       The race didn't start until 10am so we had plenty of time to get there. The weather was fine, if not a little warm for the time of year. I was quite excited about this 10k and a possible pb was on my mind. I was wanting 40 minutes something. I would aim for an average pace of 6.40 minute miles. If I blew up, it would still be great training for the Great South run the weekend after.
We knew that this was a new course (not that we had run the old one). There was no profile or elevation to be found but there was a map and a written description on the course. So there were going to be undulations and a big hill.

    Anyway, Rob, Kim and myself get to the scout hut and pick up our numbers. We then see another Lordshill Road runner's vest. Who's that? It was Jeff Scarle. He had entered late on the Thursday night and why not at the bargain price on £10. There were only 200 places in this race and there were only 17 left from what their facebook page had said.
I joked about a team prize as there were now 3 Lordshill men running. We saw Paul Johnson from Southampton AC and had good banter with him while we were putting on our race numbers and getting ready.

   I was quite confused in the toilets when I came out of the cubicle and saw a women there washing her hands. She also looked puzzled by my presence. We both scanned the toilet door for a sign and I was relieved to see it say "Men" in big, bold letters :) Sorry, she said. No problem I said.

We warmed up and headed for the start. We made sure we got right near the front but not too near Julian Manning who would obviously go on to win the race (in a time of 34.55). Off we went! I would try for my 6.40 minute mile. Don't go to fast Dean. Stick to the pace. But I feel good. Damn, first mile 6.32. This didn't last long though as we started climbing and I managed a feeble 7.28. Damn! What was that!?!
 This course was no good for averaging your pace. Jeff, Rob and Paul were out of sight until we got to a very long, steep downhill. I managed to pass Paul and another Southampton AC guy as I just love the downhill. I glanced at my watch and noticed 2.5 miles in I was running at a 4.40 something pace. Obviously this wasn't going to last with the uphill in sight. 6.18 for my third mile. That will make up for my crappy mile 2 but I had worked out that I still needed to make up roughly 40 seconds.

Coming into the finish.


     And then it definitely all went wrong for me. There was this monster of a hill. I was slowing, my breathing was so laboured and out of control. Paul from Soton AC had long passed me. I came to the decision to actually walk for a bit to get my breathing under control and not only that but I thought I could walk as fast as I was running at the present time. I blame this on the ultras! Walking on a 10k race? It may have been no more than 15-20 seconds but it's still being a pussy and giving up.
A Stubbington runner urged me on and I thanked him for his kind words as he passed me.

Mile 4, 7.47.
Kiss that pb goodbye. After this I didn't really pay much attention to my watch and my miles. The last 2 miles were pretty much on a downwards slope though. I soon picked up the pace again and passed the same Stubbington runner. I could see Paul from Soton AC in sight for the last 2 miles but just couldn't gain on him. I pushed and pushed. Mile 5 was run in 6.43 and mile 6 was actually my quickest in 6.29. I had finished with a time of 42,22. I wasn't disappointed with my time on such a challenging course. I came 23rd so that was pretty good I thought. Jeff came 11th with a time of 40.24. Rob came 20th with a time of 41.46 and Kim came 170th with a time of 1.12.16. A great day was had even though we weren't prepared for such a tough course. We got Denmead striders shoe bags with our medals inside, some food and water. The marshals were really supportive and encouraging on the course. A lovely race around country lanes. Such great value and good spirited people. Denmead striders also got to race this course a few weeks before us. What an awesome idea. They even had a list of results. I wish our club did this as I have never run in our 10k or 10 mile races and don't know the courses. I would love to do this race again, especially now I know the course and have a time to beat.


Sadly, due to my slower pace, we missed out on the team prize. Southampton AC had won it and Paul was their third runner. When I later checked the results, I was 24 seconds behind him. I had let the team down by eating too much chocolate during the week ;) Better luck next time. A big thanks to Nicole for the photos and support as well.

Muddy legs. My walk of shame as I had let the team down (Jeff seems to be laughing still so it's all good ;)

     


               

The Ely Ultra

       It's hard to know where to start with this story. I guess that one day I woke up and decided that I wanted to run another ultra. After a bit of searching I found the Ely ultra. It sounded perfect. No need for navigation or a compass. In fact, they said it was idiot proof. I couldn't really get lost! The other thing that appealed to me is that it is flat. 45 miles from Ely Cathedral to Cambridge and back. Most of  the route being on paths.

     I paid £35 to enter this race. £6 cheaper than the Great South Run but an extra 25 miles and a much better long sleeved technical running t-shirt, medal and free food and coca cola :) There was a limit of 75 runners which meant no congestion and a very friendly bunch of people. some of them I would get to know quite well. The thing that scared me the most was running 45 miles solo. I don't think I could do that mentally. But I had paid and no-one else I knew was interested.

     I got the train to London, changed on tubes, got another train to Royston, bus service to Cambridge and then another train to Ely. It was a long day and dark by the time that I got to my hotel room. I ate well and got an early night as registration was at 6.30. It was still dark when I registered and couldn't even see the faces of the event team.

    As it got lighter I spoke to the other ultra runners. some told me they had got lost the previous year. Some told me about the route. We joked and laughed about our own stupidity of running 41 miles. I was told that the course had to be cut short due to a Triathlon happening at the other end. I was a bit disappointed by this obviously. We had a nice briefing and I had prepped well.
We were told that we needed to run with two things or we would be disqualified: A rain coat and a fully charged mobile phone. I had my running backpack with waterbottles, enough food for a week, a change of socks and a t-shirt, written instructions and money were also in my bag. I had also downloaded the course onto my phone in case I did get lost. A lot of prep goes into some of these ultras!

         I chatted to a local man named Robert who got lost the previous year. (Idiot proof remember!) After speaking to him, we thought we would run together. He did 8 hours 15 last year and managed 51 miles somehow, he also had the race number 13 this year. Maybe he was just a bad omen..lol.
He wanted about 3 hours to Cambridge. I wasn't sure and said 3 to 3.30 hours and slower on the way back. Off we went at 8am. The streets of Ely were still deserted. We went through the Cathedral and downhill into a park and before we knew it we were onto a canal path. We were all chatting with excitement and still joking about stuff while taking in the views.

     I got talking to a 29 year old school teacher called Pete from St. Albans. I thought he looked and sounded a little bit like Danny Dyer and was a very nice guy. He had recently completed his third Ironman in Sweden. He decided to run the same pace as Rob and myself. We were now a trio. We swapped race stories and experiences. Pete told me about Ironmans and Mountain marathons, Rob talked about races he'd done and as always I talked about Man V horse and parkrun.

    After a short while we came onto cycle path 11. Most of the ultra is on cycle route 11 with the odd bridge crossing and village visit. There wasn't really much to see to be fair so I was glad not to be running alone.
"What time are you going for?" That question came up a lot. I was thinking sub 7 hours to start with and then I thought sub 8 hours and then I just wasn't sure. We were running consistent 9 - 9.30 minute miles. Ah, let's just see. There were waterstations at midway of the half marathon point, halfway of the marathon point and halfway for us at mile 20 something. (There was also a half marathon and marathon starting at later times.)

      We were lucky enough to meet Ironman, Spiderman and the green lantern. As if running 41 miles wasn't mad enough in the first place! It was a very humid day even though the sun was mostly obscured by clouds. We were very grateful for this. I thought we would beat these guys easily but I was wrong.
There was a uneven grassy area that we had to run on for a mile or two at about mile 15? This was tough as you were having to think about your every footstep and climb over a couple of stiles. This would also had to be done on the way back at around mile 25-26.
We had just passed some horses who were blocking the whole path but managed to walk through them without getting kicked and from then it was all canal path again into Cambridge. We could watch the barges on the canal and the rowing teams practice. Passersby would ask me about the event and looked shocked when we mentioned the 41 miles. It was very amusing to watch their facial expressions and reactions to this. We were mental..lol

      By now, it's just me and Pete running together as Rob had dropped back. Pete didn't really want to waste time at waterstations. We walked while we ate and then just ran again. This was a great idea and worked really well for the first 20 miles. When we reached mile 16, the leader of the race was already coming back the other way! He was 8 miles ahead of us. He smiled and said well done to us. What a lovely guy. the next runner was about 5 minutes after him. Then there were more runners. It was good to see the other runs as we wished each other luck and exchanged well dones.

   

Me, Pete and Rob


      We managed to get half way in under 3 hours 30. I changed my socks and t-shirt, while Pete refilled his bladder pack. We ate and chatted to others for 5 minutes and when we set off again were still under the 3.30 mark. I knew we weren't going to go sub 7 hours, in fact I was now worried we may not go sub 8 hours but that was my new target.
We struggled more on the way back but kept each other going with positive things to say. Walking was becoming more frequent after mile 25. The legs were really aching already for some reason. By this time Ironman and Spiderman were nowhere to be seen ahead of us but the Green lantern had dropped back behind us somewhere.
About mile 30 onwards there was hardly anyone to be seen. I thought we had paced quite well and was expecting to pass people who hadn't paced so well. We were obviously the ones who hadn't paced so well..

      We were told at mile 27 or 28 that this may be the last waterstation. I thought that this was very poor as it was such a humid day and we were consuming lots of fluids. I drank plenty and filled my two bottles. I also made sure I wasn't wasting too much water but it was nice to pour over my face to cool my face down as my body temperature seemed pretty high by this point.
We continued to tick off the miles. We celebrated at Pete's first ever 50K achievement. We cheered and ate some food. We were glad to discover that the final waterstation was still there. There was a lovely old man and a very helpful young girl. They said they weren't going anywhere and would stay until the end of the event. There was a 11 hour cut off time! They must be out there for a good 12 hours volunteering for free. These people are an inspiration to me. I love them especially when they're so happy and accommodating.

      Mile 35 and onwards, no-one in sight in front or behind. It was just us two. Few words were being exchanged now as we dragged our tired bodies closer to the finish. The miles were taking longer and feeling much, much longer to reach. I kind of woke up a bit and got a little excited as I pointed out the sight of Ely Cathedral to Pete. It felt like my pace had quickened a little and it looked like we may be able to get under 7 hours 30 if we kept on going and walked less. I don't think Pete was too bothered about the time but I wanted that sub 7.30 so bad now. it gave me a new sense of purpose and another goal.

   People had been telling us different mileage. 6 miles to the finish, 5 miles to the finish etc..
We just didn't know. Was it 40, 41 or 42 miles? We managed to navigate pretty well between the two of us and didn't get lost. The Cathedral seemed to be getting further away as we ran on twisting tow paths. Eventually it was getting closer and bigger. I told Pete we were going to get under 7.30 if we pushed a bit. We ran through and under the Cathedral and into the finish together with a round of a applause from everyone there.

     We congratulated one another with our time of 7 hours and 27 minutes, Grabbed drinks, goody bags and medals and laid upon the grass gasping for air and gaining relief. We applauded others coming in and enjoyed the much welcomed rest and conversation of others too. Great race and lovely people. 51 people managed to finish but one of them had to be rushed to hospital with chest pains.
I came 23rd and Pete 24th and I still had 2 uneaten pork pies in my backpack! The winner easily got a sub 5 and I watched the last person coming in after my pub meal and shower in a time of 10 hours and 32 milnutes. He told me that the previous year that he had DNF'ed due to not making the cut-off time. So much for the raincoat!

Man V Horse 2014

      As the sign says, Llanwrtyd Wells is the smallest town in Britain. I had travelled by train on the Friday from my family in Carmarthen and had to change at Llanelli. The scenery from the train window was incredible. Massive hills, tall trees and low flying birds of prey when we got to Llandovery. When I had reached my destination, I really did feel like I was in the middle of nowhere. I was the only person to get off the train and there was no-one on the platform either. The song "ghost town" came into mind. It wasn't long until I saw life though as I followed the signs into the town centre. All the people were smiling and super friendly but I couldn't stop thinking about the Simon Pegg film "Hot Fuzz".

     So, Man V horse is a race I read a bit about but didn't really know a lot. I knew It was a weird town with a population of just over 600 people. I knew they held strange events like the "World bog snorkelling championships" and was home to the "World alternative games". This includes bizarre events like "Gravy wrestling", "Worm charming championships", "space hopper racing" and "wife carrying" plus many, many more crazy things. In the nature of things, Man v horse sounded just as insane!
To me it sounded like they were calling it a marathon even though it was just under 24 miles. You would be racing horses and running through streams and a bit of mud. That's what I knew...

    At the start of the race and my hotel.

         I booked in to my room at the Neuadd arms hotel. I managed to get a last minute cancellation thanks to Bob the race director who emailed me to tell me so. What a lovely guy he is. Obviously being the smallest town in Britain, I guess news travels fast there! There is also a free pasta party at the hotel for the runners. Didn't matter if you were staying the hotel or not. Free food is always good. Went to collect my number from the hall on the Friday evening and asked for directions. I couldn't have asked a nicer guy either. His name is Melvin and he was so friendly and welcoming. We walked down to race collection together with a few others from his running club (Collingwood). Everyone was joking and laughing. This was great and exactly what I needed as I was here on my own, getting nervous about the race and being trampled by horses. Melvin asked me if I was a virgin and I said yes, so he filled me in with lots of course details and gave me some very useful advice which I would remember on the way around. He also told me about the time he was lost and had to be rescued. Like I wasn't worried enough already..lol.

          There was a list of running clubs in the hotel foyer that said people had travelled from all over the world for the race. I was pleased to see my club Lordshill Road Runners on that list.
There were a lot of relay running teams too as well as 60 horse riders who had entered. A last minute look at the course profile made me wonder if I should have done the relay. Was I mad to do this solo? What I had thought is that it's only 24 miles but I had later realised that the elevation was in units of 500 feet and not 100 feet! Some big hills then. I would soon find this out anyway.
All runners start at 11am and the horse riders/horses start at 11.15. We had to get a move on before we got trampled, the start was quite congested but we had chip timing for the first time on this race. I managed to run my first mile in just under 8 minutes. This race wasn't so bad afterall! :)

        Not long after the first mile, hills like the above one started to appear. That sub 8 minute mile was to be my only one. What makes it even tougher is that it is mostly off road trails with mud, streams and the occasional track, but all hilly. It was either up or down but I seem to remember a lot of up.
The thing that annoyed me a little bit was that you couldn't tell the difference between a solo runner and a relay runner. I think different colour numbers would be a good idea.
A bit later on in the race I could tell the difference as the solo runners were covered in mud and flies and the relay runners had shiny clean legs and lots of energy. Even so, it was not nice watching little girls fly past you and wondering if they were doing the solo run.

      So where are these horses then? After 3 miles I could hear one approaching and approaching at lightning speed. I looked around and there were 2 of them. I said the mantra back to myself which I had read in the manual. "Runners to the right, Horses to the left". Now these 2 horses were running side by side. One of them had a rider and the other i'm guessing had lost it's rider so it was just a crazy horse galloping towards me. I really hadn't expected them to run with such speed as I have never seen a horse racing before. I must admit I was a little bit scared. I just stopped running and stood back and prayed a little bit and this seemed to work as they flew past me.
Later up the hill I was using my ultra skills to walk up the bigger hills. Then I got chatting to this girl from Brecon, so we slowly ran up the hill together while we talked about races, life etc.. She was a lot fitter than me and obviously did a bit of training as she later left me at a water station but I didn't cry.

     After only 9 miles, my legs were feeling trashed already. This hills were ridiculous. I had never seen anything like them. I was beginning to think that maybe Snowdonia marathon was pretty flat now. I also thinking that I might not finish this race, I was less than halfway and really struggling. I was already having to dig deep within my soul and push myself.
 The most stupidest thing of all was that I didn't bring anything with me. There were water stations aplenty but that was it. I didn't bring any gels, food or energy drinks. Well I thought it's only 24 miles, i'll be fine. The miles were passing by slowly and by mile 12 I was offering out the promise of free beer to anyone who had an energy gel I could have. No-one seemed to have any until I got to my 15 or 16. I asked this guy who looked like he was off to Butlins for a week. Turns out he had loads and was more than willing to give me a gel and even offered me a second one. I just took the one and said i'd buy him a drink tonight if he could find me. He was a fell runner, so this wasn't really that hilly to him, just kind of the norm. I was meeting some really interesting people now and that's the great thing about distance running.

      There was quite a bit of mud in places and the horses that passed had obviously made the mud even worse. About 15 horses or more had passed me by the time I had reached mile 16. There was probably more.
How the course works is that there is a runner's route and a horse's route but they both overlap and join up at certain times. Some of our course through the narrow woodland downhill would have been impossible for them. Slate was slipping from underfoot as I ran. It was hard enough for us.
I think I may have been close to getting trampled twice. Once was about mile 7 on a flat and rare bit of road where I decided to pick up my pace while the surface was good to firm. I am running where I think is probably leg 2 of the relay and I look behind me and there is a horse literally about to run into me and going really fast. I managed to dart to the right and let them pass. The lady said sorry afterwards. The second one was on a narrow wooded area and the path had only a bush and about a 6 foot drop. I had to jump into the bush and luckily I didn't fall down the drop. I was really annoyed with this rider as most riders would normally slow down a bit or shout when they are coming. Most riders were friendly and cheery but a couple were not so nice. A lot of the times though if I saw a horse coming I would simply shout "Horse" to the runners in front and many others did this too.

       A picture of the finish line that I took the day before the race

          About mile 18 I was getting cramp in my right hamstring, so I did some stretches and ate a couple of jelly babies that a kind marshal offered me. I was walking more and more now as the hills got bigger and bigger. At one point I was running at 1600 feet and was watching the Red kytes hovering and cycling above the trees below me. What an amazing and breathtaking sight that was. I pointed this out to some other runners as well. No matter where you were on this course, there always seemed to be someone around which was weird but there were a lot of runners in the relay I guess.

      I battled on and found the cramp fading away the more I ran. I was now running with an iron man dude. He loved it. He was such a calm and relaxed man. He told me about his next iron man and also told me about this 100 mile bike ride the day after this race and there was me wishing I had booked the Monday off for recovery! We ran for a few miles together but he said he was gonna wait back for a friend for a while. I pressed on, just wanting to finish. The water from the stations were mostly being poured over my head now, just to cool me down. It was hot but we were lucky that it wasn't too sunny. I had put on suntan lotion but instead of a tan, all I got were dead flies covering both arms.

      I didn't see anymore horses for a while until I got to mile 22. Then 2 passed me at once. I remember being proud earlier in the race where I actually passed a horse running downhill but managed to kick a rock really hard with my big toe as I was descending... But I passed a horse.
    At mile 21 I was chatting to another guy when I routinely said "Just one more parkrun to go!".
He laughed and then we compared times. My marathon time sub 3.30, his marathon time 4hrs. Yes! My parkrun time 19.44, his parkrun time 19.04. Bastard!

Photo by kind and supportive volunteer, a lady named Katie Page. Thanks Katie.

      It was then time for the deeper stream near the end that my new mate Melvin had told me about. He wasn't wrong, it was thigh deep and even deeper if you had managed to slip and smash you knee on a rock. It loved it though. The water was nice and cooling. The marshal asked if I was okay. I made some stupid joke and grinned as I ran on. My knee had a cut with blood seeping out, I was 23 miles into a race and I was racing horses. I couldn't have felt any more manlier! This was bloody hard but I was glad to be doing it and finishing it. Despite all my conversations, I can honestly say that I ran as hard as I could and even had stitch for nearly 2 miles at the end.

    It was still bloody uphill even when I got near the end but as I was told there only 300 metres to go I picked up the pace and the crowd cheered as I ran onto the grassy area and over the loud speaker I heard " And here comes number 659. Dean Jones of Lordshill road runners". The crowd cheered even more and the hairs stood up on the back on my neck. I felt euphoric. I knew there was a reason for running this race.

    I collected my medal and queued for free sandwiches and a drink. Who wants a goody bag with a load of crappy flyers and a two year old mars bar when you can have ladies making you fresh sandwiches there and then. Although after running 24 miles it's tough to make decisions. Cheese, ham or egg?

Check out that elevation! Official chip time of 4 hours 20 minutes and 56 seconds.
I also beat at least 10 horses. Anyone fancy the relay next year? 3 people, roughly 8 miles each.
I think this race was only about £20-£25 to enter as well. A weird and wonderful event and they have already bribed me back next year by giving me 3 free jars of peanut butter, Hope to see you next June for another crazy day with some awesome and inspiring people.