still working out. ..

Well now the dust has settled, the clarity of our injuries are becoming more real. Brunt is already seeing a specialist and I've been told my running days might not be as long as I'd hoped. Fingers crossed they can get us patched up for next year. We'll be announcing fully next years event when we know if I need an opt and the recovery times. Brunt is still fund raising like crazy and we'll keep pushing in these final stages of this years event. - darren

Recovery

Well, well, don't injuries take ages to heal?
Bryn is still feeling the pain in his legs and I'm on the X-ray route at the moment with waiting to find out if surgery is needed.

Thankfully I think we are thinking of Cycling next year, I think our poor knee joints might be thankful we are!
We are now totaling up the final funds for the event and completing some more fundraising days and selling off kit.
-darren

Thank you, Thank you...thanks

As the donations keep rolling in, we are a'blush with respect for all the people who kept emailing, twittering and facebooking us as we covered the the many roads of the UK.

It's sinking in now, not only all the pain but what we did and the money we are still raising.



We still have much to tie up and we'll be posting updates right up until the 11th September cut off for donations.
-darren

Done!

It was hard, much harder than we thought. 10 huge peaks in 5 days was a task and a half, just completing Ben Nevis and Ben MacDui in the first day was epic. We've received the greatest words of support from people who have walked some of our routes themselves. They've understood the enormity of getting up them quickly as we tried. We are not ultra athletes, just two normal guys that pushed ourselves to reach our goal this year. It was tough, the logistics of traveling 1350 miles around the UK, drying kit, eating at the right time, setting up camp, taking down camp, checking routes and blogging took up more time than the running/speed hiking did! Thankfully a good distraction from the growing injury list we amassed in the first few days...

29 hrs seems such a long time to complete just 122 km, but when I sit down and think, it was either up hill, over tough ground, broken paths and in possibly some of the worst out door weather I've be training in. We dodged and got caught in a few MET office weather warnings for heavy rain and windy conditions as we pushed on through the north of the country.

It's opened my eyes to the shear scale of organisation needed even for a smaller charity event like this one.

I think everyone expected me to be broken at the end, but strangely 48 hours on I'm moving around fine. I did some stretches today, my shoulders and left knee are healing nicely and the blisters are only a 3 or 4 days away from being able to take a light jog or bike ride. My IBD held up long enough to complete the event, a worry I managed to not have this time.

I've still much to add to the final blog entries with questions and information on what we got up to. I'll get these online shortly.
Thanks again for everyone's support, it's been both touching and humbling. Thank you.
-darren

Pen Y Fan

Pen Y Fan

Bryn Posey

Our final peak yahooooooooooooooooooooooo

Darren had worked so hard on all our routes his distances where spot on his timings we managed to beat, all apart from Scarfell Pike, and us getting lost didn’t help.
Our last peak we had ran quite recently and so Darrens route card was not quite as polished as it could have been well. It was meant to be approximately a two hour run with around eight point four kilometres. As we breezed past the eight kilometre point we realised we still had about another five kilometres to go!!!!!

Our run started in the same place we set off a few months ago passing cyclists, hikers and day back packers along the way. We turned the corner that is the beginning of the climb to Pen Y Fan and it lasted for what seemed forever. At some points the trail was paved beautifully at others it was treacherous and horrendous. We summated and for once enjoyed an amazing view the first in five days, we could see for miles upon miles. Our little trot down lasted forever it was almost like the mountains wanted to keep us there and wasn’t going to let us get off. The descent off of the ridge was an ice skating session on mud which when your shins hurt, your groin hurts, your knees hurt was so painful we where laughing. I managed to do a couple of spins landing on my hand s and toes body balanced above the ground praying to not land in the quagmire of dirt and filth that was our path.

The last part passes the end of the reservoir and then follows a tarmac road for about a mile before cutting down into the car park where we knew Tim our legend third team member would be. Tim has sorted our food every day, sorted our campsites ferried us between mountains, washed our kit, helped us to the point we are under no illusions this was definitely a three man event. Big big thank you to Tim for all his help and support. As we cut in to the bottom corner of the car park, out the corner of my eye I could see two girls and a dog crouching in the long grass, my initial though was what are they up to? Then it dawned on me it was our girlfriends Gemma & Lottie. I hugged my missus and tears welled in my eyes. It was over we had finished the challenge Darren had dreamt up fourteen months ago. Wow what a feeling over one hundred and twenty two kilometres and around nine thousand meters of ascent in five days. Awesome absolutely awesome.

I would say thank you to Darren to for inviting me to join him on this challenge, but right now I ache in oh so many places. Truly this was a brilliant idea, now all we have to do is finish getting the final donations in count it up and hand it out as this was all for charity.

Magic...that's all I can say.

35 mins ago we finished our mini adventure, 29 hrs to complete 122 km. I've been up some mountains and out in bad weather but not for 5 days and not when the MET office issue two bad weather warnings.

The last run in from Pen Y Fan is a 1 km run to the top car park, the tarmac felt like sponge or jelly. It was an epic week and I'll pour more out when I get back about the trip and all the good and bad.

So, for next year I was thinking of......
-darren

Why does it always rain on me...

Ok, I 'think' I 'might' have made a mistake by putting the following on our truck "2 guys, 5 days, 10 peaks, over 16,000 mtrs of ascent & descent, 120+ Km on foot - England, Wales and Scotland...I bet it rains!" - right what I think I really meant to say at the end was, "...I bet it shines with glorious sun and we'll see wonderful panoramic views of rolling countryside."

Just been up and down Cadair Idris in the rain and oddly a new weather condition, HAIL!

Bryn & Tim think I've cursed the event, I personally feel the same bloody cloud is following us all over the 1300 miles we've done so far around the UK.

One more left, Pen Y Fan here we come....phew. So far 109 Km in 26 hrs, getting there.
-darren

On the go again

We are all up, packed, kit ready and on the road again.

YES! as always, it's raining as we wind our way towards Idris. Tim and myself had a better night sleep than Bryn, who has now found out that he's not ideally suited to sleep by a stream, looks a little punch drunk this morning but seems ready to go.

- darren

Snowdon, No.8

Just a quick update. We got up and back off Snowdon with a 14.5 km route, taking 3 hrs 9 mins. Not the fastest time we could have done. The path was really bad in places and stopped any real speed over ground. Bryn's poor legs were burning up and energy low. It's been a long few days and we'll be starting again at 6 am and heading off for our next mountains.

It was heaven after a cold and rainy Old Man of Coniston speed hike/jog this morning. We got all the kit dry [again] and it was really nice to get Snowdon less the pouring rain we have been having. It almost made it fun!

All the best, we'll try to update again one our last day as we travel.

-darren

Snowdon

Snowdon

Bryn Posey

Woah!! As we drove towards Snowdon it rose in front of us higher and higher. Oh and surprise surprise the top of it was surrounded in mist. The whole of Wales, the Lake District and Scotland had been given a severe weather warning. Joy of joy, pound to a penny it was going to rain, or be very windy at the least.

The trail meandered towards Snowdon with the steam trains criss-crossing in front of us tooting their whistles. We strode on towards the top and the winds grew and then the mists descended we crossed under the railway and turned towards the summit. The railway line ran along next to dropping out of view and then coming back in again guiding us towards the top. Then all of a sudden perfectly made steps with a lovely wall running along side and we where at the top the wind began blowing so hard that we had to crouch to climb the last few steps to the top, hanging on to each other we touched the trig point smiled and tentatively crawled our way down.

One amazing thing I have realised is that I remember more of the route on the way down than I do on the way, may because on the way up I’m Blowing out my A*se.

The views on the way down where stunning looking up at the Llanberris pass with it’s dramatic drop offs. As we ran down the valley the view that opened up was amazing. Eight down, only two to go by this point we had run nearly 100km my legs are tired. Me and Darren have started fantasising about real food steak and ale pie, Sunday lunch… oh only twenty four more hours to go and then I can relax in my own bed yeahhhhhhhhhh.

Scafell Pike.

All week this is the one peak that I have been nervous about. We where not doing the usual approach from the south, we where doing the east to west approach the longest route we had planned.

As we set off the weather was playing us as it has all week, light rain moments of brightness hinting that it may even sunshine. Then the clouds close in and you guessed it it started raining yet again.

The approach in was straight up a valley with Bow Fell growing on our right hand side and enormous wall of green and rock which we would have to summit before pushing on and over it to reach our summit. The path up zigzagged back and forth on itself crossing small gulleys, culverts and streams.and some points the path itself formed the bed of the stream. We made it over the top and dropped towards the tarn as we dipped down and climbed back up the track started to splay out becoming less obvious as people rambled over the open ground.

Things went ok even when we reached broad crag a moon scape of rocks and no other path the only thing that could actually guide us was the cairns built by others. The weather by this point had been driving rain for nearly two hours. At some point the rain and wind was driving so hard I could only see out of one eye. We managed to find the memorial and the trig point. looked at each othder bleakly and realised we had to get off and fast as possible. we turned and made our way back. Not far from the top the path split and unfortunately I took a wrong turning, the bad weather and the desire to drop down out of this the weather all culminated in us heading along the wrong path.
We realised that we had gone the wrong way the GPS had died. Darren turned it on one last time praying it was going to give us a known position. It did we had dropped down along below Esk Pike. We where just at Ore Gap. Luckily we had passed a trail heading due north that would connect path with our origonal trail and to help guide us Angle Tarn was sat at the bottom of it. We where on our way home.
Funnily enough, as we went along we passed people on the way up and on the way down for a few people we passed them twice on the way down, how confusing for them it must have been.

DON'T FORGET THE REASON...

I'm not one to preach, but ALL our beneficiary charities do a fantastic job in their respective fields of support. If you can give a few pounds to keep pushing our totals up and make this a worthy challenge event, please do.

Hit donate and keep pushing our fundraiser target ever higher.
Thanks for all the support, keep it coming, you don't know how much it's keeping us going...
-darren

Recovery, what recovery?

With tight times, we normally get anywhere between 4 and 7 hrs sleep a night in the last 5 days of traveling. But being the theme park, sorry campsite we were in last night, it was a LOT less!

Anyway back to the peaks. This morning we hot footed it up the Old Man of Coniston, once again in the driving rain. It felt colder today, but I think our bodies are still recovering from the day before, up and back in just 1:45mins, that ok for two soar old guys...

Yesterday with our routes of Scarfell Pike and Helvellyn we added another 28.4km.

So far we have covered 85.65km in 21 hrs of running/speed hiking [fancy name for falling over quickly], that might not sound fast, but unless you have tried to run up and off Ben Nevis and Scarfell Pike, jogging around a park for a few miles sounds great right about now.

OK!, eyes back on the prize, 7 down 3 left. The goal is just coming in to sight.
THANK YOU TO ALL THE TEXTs, emails and general support. We don't get much chance to chat so keep checking the blog as we travel.
-darren

Done...yes! I am...

Well not 'JUST' yet. Ben Macdui - DONE!, Ben Nevis, Ben [I'll rain on you all the way around] Lomond - DONE!, Skiddaw, Helvellyn, Scarfell [lucky to be alive] Fell & Old Main of Coniston - all DONE! Seven down, three left.

It's a heck of a journey, I've not only learned about what I've done, but what I am capable of doing. Stubborn is one of the first words in any sentence used to describe me, but I've added to that shear willpower. It's a real shame I never did this event in my early 20's, it really would have shown me what I am capable of.

Running, yes running up and down mountains? Yes!, we have to speed hike on parts of the hills, it's just not possible and for safety reasons not practical, but we do motor. A few people have told me I should be proud, maybe I'll feel that later as the event becomes more a memory, at the moment I can't help feel I've cheated myself. If there are any parents out there or teenagers reading this Blog, if you get the chance to send or take part in climbing several hills or outdoor pursuit centre week..DO IT! In the last 4 days I've learnt more about myself, than in the last 18 years.

It sounds so cliche, so out of one of those 'how to live you life' books people buy but never read. I just never new I had so much determination.

As we drive towards Wales the sky is clearing, the sun is poking its head out of the clouds and our blisters are getting a well earned rest.

-darren

Old Man of Coniston

Old Man of Coniston

Bryn Posey

A rough night, A rough camp site although they did have ham sandwiches for a £1, which after 4 days of dried food was legend.

The trail started up a nice track crossing streams bordered by ferns and wandering sheep. Then as always the clouds came in and the rocks reared themselves from the bed of the trail. All the way slate and rock made us side step and second guess our footing. The trail passed through an old quarry the remnants of the workers buildings and the ironwork they used to lift equipment and slate down the mountain side.

The pace was relentless and we kept the pressure on until as six times before the trig point rose in front of us, our seventh peak in the bag. I actually felt we could do this we could make it with out gaining any further injuries and without to much more heart ache.

Helvellyn day three and the half way point!

Day three and the half way point what a feeling one more hill and we have passed that pschycological barrier and we are on our way home.

Helvellyn started off by a lovelly stream crossed a pretty little wooden bridge and then another, then recrosses the stream. Then the path headed skywards, it felt like being on a stepper for an hour solid raise one leg then the other.

This sole destroying monotonous stride just kept us going. Then the wind began, and the it started to bluster and then blow and blow some more guessing the wind must have been up around the 40 mile per hour region. We manage to gain what we thought was the summit and the path kept going and going and going the track widened in to a highway the path kept gradually rising and again for the 5th time out of the mist the trig point loomed.

We shook hands once again and began the descent. Chilling out at the end I took a paddle in the stream to rest my sorry feet. Mentally preparing ourselves for Scafell pike the one hill I was nervous about. we'll know soon enough.

Bryn

Skiddaw, slippery all the way

Wow the last peak of day 2 as we go up some of the views are fantastic, then our friend the cloud closes in on us, blurring our view dulling our senses. The simple sound of the wind and the mist making it almosr seem like we where hiking in a dream.

The Forest leading up to Skiddaw allowed as an amazing view of longside edge looming over us. Then the climb began I haven't climbed walked in many places where my knees where almost touching my chest for majority of the way up. You reach a point we turned and looked back at the massive valley opening up behind and below us, it was beautiful. As we climbed we could suddenly see the clouds actually forming in front of us and the wind actually bending the cloud over the hill it was a perfect arc of cloud. We crossed the saddle and the ground began to climb but it was almost all shale and even more steep than the first two thirds. The clouds hugged us even more and the floor itself was almost black absolutely surreal. we climbed a ridge and then turned to right and headed for the trig point, it just never seemed to arrive then out of the mist it loomed ahead of us and we had made it.

A quick smile and a hand shake and we turned and began the ascent an hour or so later we where sat at the bottom with Tim eating our tea. Amazing

Bryn

I no longer have 9 lives...

I can, as anyone who knows me would agree - be a bit of a risk taker. Today however a stubborn object [me] met and immovable force [Scarfell Pike]. The MET office has issues a weather waring for the Lake District area, we can at first had confirm that yes it is dangerous to be on Scarfell Pike in the fog, hard driving rain [one side of my face 3 hours later is still stinging], fading light and very high winds.

We Started of on a longer route from a different side of the peak to the 3 peaks challenge, I wanted us to get a really feel for the mountain, not a quick up and down. After a slow leg burning climb, the cloud once again dropped a few hundred meters around us. As if the mountain had too enough visitors for the day and was shutting up shop!

I new the route, I studied it, I knew what we needed to do to get there, so did Bryn. It all went a little pear when the fog hit us and some of the worst driving rain I have every been in. The wind was so high my feet would push on to the other. All up the mountain, paths quickly turned to waterfalls and navigation points vanished. Bryn will update more on the Scarfell trip tomorrow,

We have to crash we have to be up in 7 hours to start the next one.

I think Scarfell took one of my 9 lives, I'm just grateful it was not all of them! That one was a little close for comfort it's the first time on this trip I have felt in danger.
-darren

Scotland or Canada?

"Amazing"," wow look at that", "that's a massive peak", "get the camera quick", is all you could here from our truck on the journey between Ben MacDui and Ben Nevis was not only breathtaking but the scenery was simply stunning. It was at if it was being painted for us by the gods.

All the films you see on TV of Canada and Alaska just looked like they were all filmed right here in Scotland. I just could not get my head around the shear beauty of it all. If you ever have the time to take out of your life to take the drive of the best views in the UK, do it, you will not regret it for a second.

The many bikers we seen passing us must have relished the challenging roads.

-darren

Ben Lomond

Ben Nevis

Bryn

Wow three hours roughly after summiting Ben Macdui we where setting off up Ben Nevis. We had already climbed over Seven Hundred metres and had another Thirteen Hundred Metres or so of climb and descent oh and about another fourteen kilometres. You have to laugh because if you didn’t you would have to cry.

The first Six Hundred metres of ascent contours you around Meall an t-Suidhe to be honest I do not remember the first five hundred as it was so hard and we hit it so fast I was in a bit of a daze. I do remember the brief waterfalls and crossing the run off and the metal bridges, oh and lot’s of very nice people who stepped out of our way to allow us to pass. At around six hundred metres the path cuts back on its self and heads away from the summit. After about fourty metres I started to realise where I was and what was going on. Daz at this point was heading the other way after motivating me all the way up. He decided to have his funny four hundred metres. Amazing we managed to push on until the track changed from mud and rock to rock and gravel. The going got very rough, all the way swinging the knees high when you didn’t your toe clipped the top of rocks pitching you forward forcing you to stride out, stretching the calf and thigh muscles to the limit.

We managed it all the way no stops a really fast hike constant pushing forward and in the only direction possible. We hit the summit at two hours seven minutes. The visibility was about eight to ten metres but very cloudy and slightly chilly a quick touch on the trig point and a photo and off we went back down as fast as our aching limbs would take us. The clouds had to around one thousand metres. As we traversed the long beautifully maintained path the wind suddenly lifted and blew the clouds back up the mountain the view below suddenly opened up and the view was stunning, I could finally enjoy the view, the glimpses I got on the way up where awesome but just that glimpses. I actually started to enjoy myself and had a little laugh with Daz.

Slight tweek on my left knee kept making me pull up but our descent was perfect we hit the stile where we started at one hour twenty four minutes up and down in around three hours thirty one minutes, amazing. Our admin guy Tim had not meals ready for us and had already set up camp less than thirty minutes later I was stood in a well deserved shower shaking my head in disbelief at what we have achieved today. The two highest peaks in the UK completed in one day, what an achievement.

Right I’m off to bed night night

Ben Nevis

Ben Nevis

Bryn

Wow three hours roughly after summiting Ben Macdui we where setting off up Ben Nevis. We had already climbed over Seven Hundred meters and had another Thirteen Hundred Meters or so of climb and descent oh and about another fourteen kilometers. You have to laugh because if you didn’t you would have to cry.

The first Six Hundred meters of ascent contours you around Meall an t-Suidhe to be honest I do not remember the first five hundred as it was so hard and we hit it so fast I was in a bit of a daze. I do remember the brief waterfalls and crossing the run off and the metal bridges, oh and lot’s of very nice people who stepped out of our way to allow us to pass. At around six hundred meters the path cuts back on its self and heads away from the summit. After about fourty meters I started to realise where I was and what was going on. Daz at this point was heading the other way after motivating me all the way up. He decided to have his funny four hundred meters. Amazing we managed to push on until the track changed from mud and rock to rock and gravel. The going got very rough, all the way swinging the knees high when you didn’t your toe clipped the top of rocks pitching you forward forcing you to stride out, stretching the calf and thigh muscles to the limit.

We managed it all the way no stops a really fast hike constant pushing forward and in the only direction possible. We hit the summit at two hours seven minutes. The visibility was about eight to ten meters but very cloudy and slightly chilly a quick touch on the trig point and a photo and off we went back down as fast as our aching limbs would take us. The clouds had to around one thousand meters. As we traversed the long beautifully maintained path the wind suddenly lifted and blew the clouds back up the mountain the view below suddenly opened up and the view was stunning, I could finally enjoy the view, the glimpses I got on the way up where awesome but just that glimpses. I actually started to enjoy myself and had a little laugh with Daz.

Slight tweek on my left knee kept making me pull up but our descent was perfect we hit the stile where we started at one hour twenty four minutes up and down in around three hours thirty one minutes, amazing. Our admin guy Tim had not meals ready for us and had already set up camp less than thirty minutes later I was stood in a well deserved shower shaking my head in disbelief at what we have achieved today. The two highest peaks in the UK completed in one day, what an achievement.


Right I’m off to bed night night

It's MacDui

MacDui

After the efficient de-camp, though I must say a big thank you to the lady working on the reception desk at Dailraddy camp site who, on her day off very kindly got up an hour and half early to let us out the camp site. Not to try and sell the campsite but I was impressed with the cleanliness of the facilities and for the size of the complex there were enough not to que.

As we winded up the road to the Corie car park, you could feel the temperature drop. By the time we were at the closed winter ski resort, the kit list had changed from base layer and outer to base, mid and rain outer. I’ve only ever seen reindeer’s in movies and Christmas cards so to see them chewing away on the car park edge, quite happy to carry on regardless of us fussing around with kit.

You can’t see MacDui’s peak from the car park, it’s hidden about 7 km beyond the ski lifts, nestled behind several folds of hillside.

As we left the car park and joined the the trail, I was good feeling to be finally out on the hills and 'doing' something rather than talking about it!

I enjoyed it, I hated the start as we'd spent the nine days prior to the event carbing up and relaxing. I actually put half a stone back on, I think I know where I lost it though...the first 4km of blowing like a fish up MacDui.

-darren

Stumble It!

Ben Macdui

Ben Macdui

Bryn

Along the way we have collected a number of pieces of important equipment from sponsors like our sleeping system Solo Tents, Sleeping bags and OMM Sleeping mats combined with Chocolate Fish Merino wool leggings and vest. An adequate system although the ground temperature last night meant I woke every few hours to turn to relieve the numbness in one side that was warm to allow me to warm the other side and let the blood flow back into the other. Definitely not the worst night I’ve had camping. A light shower in the very early hours meant we woke up to a nice morning slightly damp but none the worse for wear. We woke at 05.00 and had breakfast packed and left by 06.00 perfect.

We arrived at the Ski Centre Car park that we had chosen as our starting point of our ascent to Ben Macdui. 07.00 A brief navigation check and some last moment admin and we where away the views where stunning valleys filled with Blankets of clouds flowing over the top in to the re-enterants and dissipating as mist. As we climbed our initial pace was slightly fast and we slowed naturally as the ascent grew. We climbed the spur summiting the first hill and headed towards Miadan Creag an Leth-choin, the view to our right the side of Sron na Lairig dropping down to Lairig Ghru was stunning it was so steep that I couldn’t quite focus on it’s slopes giving me a slight sense of vertigo.

We continued on past March Burn and a beautiful pool of still mountain water heading across a open scree field in between a slight saddle as we continued we notice a row of cairns leading us along our path taking us towards the peak the cloud cover was drifting in and out varying from 100m to ½ km we still at this point had not yet glimpsed the trig point. To the right the clouds cleared and started pulling back we could see all the way to Carn na Criche stunning views enough to take our breath away and eye of the floor a stubbed toe for me back to concentrating on the route I was on. The landscape opened up to a massive boulder field looking like the moon the clouds pulled back and for the briefest of moments we could see the trig point. A few moments later we where standing on top of Ben Macdui the second highest peak in the UK.

A brief stay, a quick video and a photo or 2. We admired the view, I shook hands with Darren checked our watches and Sat Nav and we where off. The route down was slightly easier on the way up. A few of the trails vanished and had to run a on general compass bearing. We found our way with no real problem. However we motored home the views on the way back where amazing as we ran back the valleys opened up and the clouds had lifted what a memory. As we hit the final stretch we started encountering the first of the days walkers coming up who politely stepped to one side for us. Two hours fifty eight minutes and fifty seven seconds awesome. One down nine to go, come on Ben Nevis…

...and breathe...

Apart from a Bryn 'where's my wallet?' moment we left without a hitch. Well all the training, pain, sickness, bad days, good days and the respect I have for the amount of work that go in to charity events, we are now on the road.

We can't do nothing now but relax, read routes and prep for a 5am tomorrow morning, when the first run/hike/crawl starts.


-darren

Stumble It!

So it begins, Everest or bust!

Updating the blog via an IPhone as we cruise along the highways heading north.
Well 14 months of planning, 12 months of fund raising, 10 months of training, the 12 hours of travelling has arrived before the 5 days of running all begins. It seems quite strange this whole event has been based around some huge numbers
the scary thing now is the huge numbers are the meters of ascent we are climbing followed the miles we are running.

I guess the next thing we're going to be counting is aches, blisters and memories.

-Bryn

Well this is it...

When I wake up in 7 hours our long trek to our starting point in Scotland. I feel like I did when I was little on Christmas eve...

All the packing is done, all the worry is over. Now it's just get our bodies around the routes as fast as possible.
Night all, and bring on the morning.

-darren

Easy to forget.

It's easy to get wrapped up in all the hype and stress of setting up an event of this type. You drift off planning and training. The emails we get however ground us.

When some gives you £10 donation, a discount or a bit of kit and then explain why, those thoughts will stay with me whilst I push back the thousands of meters of the UK great peaks. Some of the ones that stick out was a discount given to me whilst buy some kit in a local army & navy store, the chap behind the counter knocked of £20, then told me about his wife passing away with Cancer and "fundraising for Cancer research, young or old it's worth its weight in gold".

Another guy donating, reminisced about his son that had died of Cancer at a very young age, heart wrenching, but certainly inspiring. A few days of pain in our bodies, verses some of the conversations with people who have lost loved ones is incomparable. Even Bryn himself understands what it's like to lose a parent to Leukaemia, it sure puts perspective on life when you see it through others eyes.

Bryn and myself are not saints or do gooders, we are just normal guys with goals in life, this challenge being one. But I have to tell you it's certainly changed me, opened my eyes to what goes on outside of my box. It's very weird to see yourself under a microscope.

To all those people who have emailed thank you.

-darren

Stumble It!

B-I-G thank you to Outboundfirstaid.co.uk

We'd very much like to thank outboundfirstaid.co.uk, who helped dig us out of a last minute issue with main event food shortage. The kind directors jumped in and aided our short fall, thanks guys - REALLY appreciated.

They also support and run a web page called www.summitsclub.com which organises charity climbs and provides sponsorship. A great example of an enterprising company giving something back hands on to communities and charity causes.


-darren

Stumble It!

The quiet before the storm

Today has been a normal day, walking the dog, popping into to town to get some final bits and pieces chilling with my girlfriend. The whole day has had an air of stillness quiet almost like wandering through clouds, for those who have walked in the hills and mountains when the cloud base decides to drop and sit around your shoulders it adds a whole new aspect to where ever you are. And that is how my day feels.

It is kind of peaceful also slightly disconcerting as I cant see the peak's I'm heading for how ironic!!

Well folks 60 hours and counting....

Sweet dreams

Bryn


Stumble It!

Training, training and oh some things about saying YES

I've spent so many weeks training thinking about training sleeping dreaming about training. Finally I have a few weeks off and all I can think I is have I trained enough, have I , have I really!!!!

You know what as far as I can tell, I think "Yes I have". Obviously next week will be the real tell when I'm breathing out my derrier wondering why oh why I said Yes all those months ago.

On that note saying yes has led to some fairly weird situations, i.e.;

My ex boss "would you want to run the London Marathon?" My reply Yes
Caro from Children with Leukeamia "would you like to run dressed as Mr Tickle?" My reply Yes
One of my girlfriends best mates Boyfriends AKA Darren "Would you like to run up some British mountains to the height of Everest" My reply Yes
Yeah when some one opens a sentence with "Bryn whould you ..... " I do get slightly nervous, but you know what it ain't half fun try it some time!


Bryn oh 3 days aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Stumble It!

How much checking do you do?

I now wish I'd bought a bus, the amount of kit seemed to be swelling, but after various amended kit lists we are on track to be able to pull out the car pack and leave for Scotland early Sunday.

The protein, carb gels and isotonic drinks are being packed, apart from a lot of admin and bit of logistics today and Friday, the main bulk of the kit is sorted.

I had a good fly around the mountains we are climbing with Google Earth, quite dramatic. Three days from now we'll be on our way, weird these next two days in-between will feel like lead I just want to get started.

-darren

Stumble It!

Cotton wool and plasters

A strange thing has happened over the last few weeks, I've become a scardey cat!

Normally I bound round like Tigger, gamely unaware of the dangers that surround me. In my day to day job I am aware of health and safety related to outdoor events and in a previous job I also dealt with general health and safety so I'm not a complete idiot (I think). However you dont usuallly think these dangers are going to effect you, you assess them you put the neccessary precautions and actions in place, jobs a good one!
I'm nervous about the mountains and rightly so any sane person should be. Strangely though I'm also nervous about twisting my ankle jumping around in the garden with my dog, tripping over whilst out walking on the beach may I say more. I have this in built panic trigger and find myself double guessing myself. I could think of nothing worse than than hurting myself a couple of weeks out and not even being able to start running in the mountains.
I'll be happier in 5 days time when I'm running up that first Mountain. Then if I need cotton wool or a plaster at least it will be worth it!!

Sweet Dreams yall Bryn

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Issue's 101...

I thought the training was hard enough, let alone all the small details of the last week. Our main event truck failed it's MOT on silly things, it should be fine again today [phew!], missing maps, missing kit, broken kit and nail-biting waiting for final kit from our sponsors.

In one year Bryn's right from his last post, it's all been about the changes. I was a slightly overweight guy at 16 stone [and a bit] with a pair of trainers, that had never seen dirt and a job that sucked all the living daylight hours out of me. Now as I look at my kit that somehow has to fit in to now what looks a tiny 33L ruck sack.

The biggest plus is having the time off from my work to prep this week, I don't think it would have been possible otherwise.

So far this week I've ticked off, Route Cards [check], Truck MOT [check], optional nervous nail biting [check], kit and sponsors final collections [check], GAS [not me the camping stove's]. So looking good, still much left to do, but just like the peaks we'll be climbing is one foot in front of the other.

-darren

Stumble It!

Kit, stuff, bits & bobs..

In the services there is a saying;

"All the gear & no idea"

A year ago I had some road running trainers and a pair of walking boots, a few pairs of walking socks and trousers, a nice helly hansen and some running shorts. It all seemed enough. I've walked a few miles and run a few aswell. Wow how things have changed We've had some awesome support from Logo for polos, with wiking running tops and shorts to name a few items they have supplied. Hilly for more running and walking socks of such technical standards than I knew I could use. Hydrate for Health for bladders and hydration systems the list is endless.

I started gathering all the kit together on our bed, then had to move to the spare room, now I have the joy of trying to pack it all in to my kit bag (thanks again logo for polos). All the gear and I have used every single last piece of it!! We have to be strict as there are four of us sharing one vehicle, all our water food and camping gear!! It is going to be a squeeze.

We have trained with the kit trialled new bits of kit and broken quite a few bits of kit along the way, I'm now pretty sure the only bit of kit I'm now worrying about is the one I got issued at birth my own body!!

bring it on going by Darren's clock we have 5 days and counting...


HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT US, in the next few days.
If you are reading this and have not yet donated and you think £1 or more is worthy for our 4x charities please donate via our paypal link on the top of both our Blog and Main Website. Tell a friend or two or just email us say hi.

-Bryn

Stumble It!

I feel I should be doing something...

Because for the last ten months the training has had to be pretty tough, so we got through the five days in one piece. Anyone will tell you that if they have got up and off Ben Nevis in under five hours - they know what pain was in their legs, add that to going up Ben More and Ben MacDui in the same day, I understand the emails we've been getting about "good luck & I'm glad it's you not me!".

So it feels strange that after so many training sessions, getting back to fitness three times in the last years from my IBD kicking in and out, I REALLY feel odd in the mornings, I wonder around the house...a little lost! I should be out on my bike, running, doing sprints or on the home gym machine, but these last few days the tension can be felt in both Bryn and myself. We just want to get stuck in, crack the first hill and see if we really are there fitness wise.

I guess it's the same as being in the forces, you train, you train, you train, then one day you need those skills you've learnt. You now need to use them. That's where we are mentally right now.

HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT US, in the next few days.
If you are reading this and have not yet donated and you think £1 or more is worthy for our 4x charities please donate via our paypal link on the top of both our Blog and Main Website. Tell a friend or two or just email as say hi.


-darren

Stumble It!

The Heart Beats a little faster....

Wow 7 days from now my thighs will be aching my back a little sore and i'll be smiling....

We will have completed day 1 and will be well on our way what a challenge. It feels similar to London Marathon week, I'm nervous but excited in the pit of my stomach is a little flutter ocasionnaly it starts disco dancing like 15 year old on his first date. I'm sure of my self one moment and then second guessing have we trained hard enough, have we planned well enough do we really need to do this? Only time will tell about the first two. The last question though is, 'does anyone ever need to do something for somebody else?' and the answer I believe is YES! if you can and why not.

Right folks I should be in bed, sweet dreams....
-Bryn

Is it Christmas?

SIX DAYS!!, just six days left, this now feels like a kid waiting for Christmas.

Today I packed everything, then unpacked, then weighed it, then ditched some stuff, then re-packed it, then adjusted it...three hours later I realised I'm just fussing about. To take my mind of the next six days I've started to strip down my mountain bike to re-spray it, this I'm hoping should take me a few days to sort out. So I can stop buggerin' around with my kit until Friday!

A week today we'll be on a mountain somewhere in Scotland, a nice lady I spoke to at the campsite we are booked in to in the highlands said 'I can't promise you rain, but I can almost guarantee it', ah well at least she was honest.

Roll on Tuesday.

-darren

Stumble It!

8 DAYS UNTIL WE LEAVE...wow..

Now the hours and minutes are REALLY dropping off the days. With 8 days to us packing up and going, it's odd to sit down and think, "in 9 days I'll be on top of a mountain and running off back down it". It is hitting home the huge task of running and speed hiking up Ben Nevis, Ben MacDui, Snowdonia and 7 other peaks in just 5 days. Apart from the large milages between them, I'm hoping my battered body and my IBD holds out.

The support has been massive, people off eBay seeing our sales and donating, bloggers linking to us, donations from people looking at our site, people who see our truck whilst shopping for kit talking off large discounts to help us out, sponsors, friends and family all supporting our causes. I never thought this experience would have so much impact on me, it has. I'm quite touched by all the effort others have also given to our event.

Here's to 8 days and counting...

-darren

Stumble It!

Back on track...

We have a HUGE week this one coming up as we head for our charity fundraising evening on the 26th July, in Dawlish. I hope the weather plays nice!!?

I managed to train lightly this weekend. On the bike and some hill sprint, so feeling less locked in the house and feeling more with it now.

Just think less than 28 days and we are on the first hill...
It's very real now.
-darren

Still counting down...

Having Colitis [IBD], I can't actually tell if I'm nervous about the event or having a bad day?

The days are frighteningly dropping off my little desktop calendar. When Friday lands, it'll just be one month and we are off! More kits is arriving daily, roof racks - check, roof box - check, water [thanks GanicWater our sponsor] - check, the list goes on. When you see all the stuff we have to take, I think a bus might have been a better shout? I think we have some kit whittling down to do...

Bryn and caught up briefly yesterday, quick chat about planning and the last two weeks. We both think we peaked training wise too soon, by about 6 to 8 weeks, so the next 3 weeks will be about getting back on track and quickly.

If you are reading this and care about the charities we are working hard for please, donate, it does not have to be much. We've had many people donate just a £1 or £100 via paypal - it all counts towards or total, thank you.
-darren

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Countdown...

I looked up from my desk at work today, only for a moment, and my eye caught the little flip over calender I have on the window ledge. In four weeks we'll be rushing around sorting out all the final items, packing our kit within a few days of leaving for the challenge.

It's both exciting and thought provoking to have seen the 12 months from little light bulb moment to full on legging it up mountains shoot passed.

One month and three days to go.

-darren
Stumble It!

Alright out there

Firstly to thoseout there who where following us on a weekly basis. I do apologise for the drop off in posts over the last 6 weeks.

It has been an odd time for both of us it's Darrens second summer in his new job and my first summer in my new job. Honestly I dont hink either of us realised how busy life was going to get. During the winter it was great everyone else was sleepy and we where out bounding around the hills and mountains feeling fantastic. Then summer arrived and the world has exploded.

We're still ontrack I've been out fundraising 4 times in as many weeks so the donations are still rolling in. Thank you to every single person it still amazes me how much people give.

Training is still happening as Darren has menioned we have had to change our training location to enable him to do his thing. But we're still managing 11 minute miles constant up hill and down dale regardless of the inclines.

I'll make sure I keep you all up to date with whats happening over the next few weeks as well.

Take it easy..

Bryn

Don't worry...

I have received a few emails from concerned supporters, as this blog been quiet for a couple of weeks. Let me update you:

Bryn has been working very hard at fundraising [as always] and taking up the sharp end of the organisation for our fundraising day [FETE?] at the end of July.

Yes sadly however I have taken a turn for the worst in the last four weeks and have been very ill. It's generally odd I admit it, as most of the time I quite good at just saying "I'm fine". Training has got tough, really tough. With some new stronger meds and a slight up turn in how I'm feeling, we push on!

Luckily getting back in to training has been easier as I have 10 months of core fitness to fall back on. The two stone plus I've lost, the 25 mile runs and hikes on Dartmoor, the 30 mile cycles and short training sessions. Having an IBS that's leaning towards Colitis and Crohn's is proving my biggest challenge, NOT the change of lifestyle, the training days, the long hours at work...they have not been the problem, the diseases has. It's very frustrating when you get yourself in a good shape for such a compact endurance event like ours, only to spend most of your time trying to find a loo!

One of our charities is NACC - National Association for Colitis and Crohn's Disease - I might be feeling the burn right now, but there are others with IBS that can't do anywhere near a 10th of what I still can do. It's a tough, misunderstood and often frustrating disease, that is unfortunately seeing a surge in reported cases in the last few years. Personally I know at some point it's going to get worse, I'm going to have to make changes in my life again and the possibility of an operation is a question out their looming large. It's not all doom and gloom, I have my goals, limits and expectations and intend to use my energy wisely.

SO for now, don't worry we are still here, still busting [our now slimmer] butts and keeping our eyes on the challenge, all the best.

-darren
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Loosing Ireland

We have had to make the tough choice of dropping the Irish leg of our Challenge. The cost of the flights and land based travel with a tight schedule to boot was proving to be a step too far, we had after all insisted our focus stays fixed on collecting funding for our charities not wasting our efforts and funds.

We have opted to increase the hight, length and endurance of our event with two more peaks in either Scotland or Wales, that we will announce shortly.

Both Bryn & myself felt we could raise more funds and reduce the financial burden on ourselves.
-darren

Amazing how fast things can change?

I new this was going to be a challenge event, in more than one way. My IBS has kicked in big style and at the moment as Bryn gets the fundraising event rolling ever bigger. I sadly have had to rest it out again.

Very frustrating, I'm not a back seat type of passenger guy, so this resting is driving me mad.

With 7 weeks of training left, organising and planning our count down, it's all go.

We have quite a bit of news to publish over the next few weeks so, keep checking back as we push towards our event launch.
Keep on running...
-darren

Back as we should be.

Testing, difficult, painful, sporadic, clumsy, inefficient and misguided. Some of the words I'd use to describe our training even in January. We had the will, the determination but lacked the guidance.

With the efforts of Southampton Solent University's Dr Bruce-low, we can now see the reward and the effort required. It's not just about effort but training smarter. We have four years of this type of event, each one getting bigger and more challenging.

It looks like I am back in to remission and I can train again, it was a bit touch and go in the last four weeks if my IBS was going to go full blown and knock me out for three or four months again. But I hit it with strong meds quickly and rested up, sticking to my diet plan and luckily I'm on the mend. I now have a huge admin task of getting back on track with UKEC emails and contacts...but it's nice to be back in training and to not have really lost any momentum.

It's been very odd. the first week back and I've knocked two mins off three of my to date fastest runs? The rest seems to have done me some good and Bryn too.

11 weeks to go, wow that sounds scary!

-darren

Stumble It!

Time waits for no hairy men....

Since the Marathon and our testing day at Southampton Solent we managed to fit in a session of hill sprints, I managed to fit in a couple of Tempo runs keeping to my newly identified heart rate zones to maximise the efficency of my training.

I had a weeks holiday coming up and was planning a big training push to try and run at least ten to fifteen miles every day for five days. The the car broke and I was offered a weeks work in London and Darren's IBS kicked in and all our plans had to change.

I took a week off to actually recover from the Marathon and to prepare for my visit to london and a revamped training plan.
After nearly two weeks we finally got back to training it was a beautiful Sunday Morning the sun was high in the sky pouring on the heat, Darren had set his Garmin to thrash the living day lights out of us, and we did we managed our traditional four miler of around Haytor to Hound Tor and back in about fourty two minutes give or take the seconds. This might not seem much but when you consider 6 months last september when we started the same distance took us eighty minutes!!!

We finished our run each time marking our small success actually running eighty five percent i.e. all the hills bar the last one which still defies us it will be conquered!! Once we had recovered enough which was about ten minutes we cracked a set of hill sprints, why not if you can, you should!!

Onwards and upwards eleven weeks to go....
-Bryn

Stumble It!

Recovery

For me it's been a roller coaster over the last eight months. Loosing weight [all two stone of it!], changing diet, life style and the training. At some point it was going to come and bite me I was sure.

At the moment I am recovering from a small remission of the IBS I have. It's knocked me out for a few weeks, whilst I get back on track with taking all the meds.

Training is starting up again, it's also just another reminder to me why I'm doing this event and more after it for one of our charities; The National Association for Colitis and Crohn's Disease.

-darren

Test this! - PART ONE

Doctors generally make people nervous, but when you are in a room with one that has a running machine, several assistants and a harness!?! You can't help feeling under the microscope.

Ok, I'll wind back a bit.

Wednesday the 29th of April, Bryn and myself dragged our weary legs down to Southampton Solent University for another of our training assessments. This knowing what was to come we both spilled out our excuses as soon as we entered the room. Having both run marathon distances on a few days before, this I felt was going to be messy.


[The team on the day who supported us - thanks guys]

Dr Stewart Bruce-Low our BASES Accredited Sport and Exercise Scientist told is in his best manner to basically 'stop moaning and lets start!', quite right, so we did. Bryn went off for lower back testing, I went for a round of getting my fatty bits being measured. We swapped then the REALL fun began.



After checking we were fit to be tested, we were once again strapped in to the running machine.



...and this is where I'm going to leave it for today. I have an early training session in the morning, so enjoy the pics and the video for starters and I'll add more info about the day and what we felt like PLUS what we have taken away from the day. It's been enlightening.
-darren



Stumble It!

Tickle tastic London Marathon 2009

What a day, a years worth of training, managing my diet and managed to shave 53 seconds off my finishing time.

Sunday the 26th March 2009 the last ever Flora London Marathon, last year was my first marathon which just so happened to be the one hundredth year of the official marathon distance (set by the London marathon). I was honoured to run both this and last year dressed as Mr Tickle for Children. A lot of people are amazed that not only do you volunteer to run the London Marathon but then to do it it in Fancy dress costume! My answer when asked is "why not" it's going to be hard anyway so you might as well make it as hard as you can?

Last year the temperature was around eigtheen to nineteen degrees celsius an nice spring day, this year it was in the mid twenties a swealtering hot summers day. The temperature inside the costume was five to ten degrees hotter inside on both races.

It was a beautiful morning, my preparation had gone well training hard since September even completing a twenty one mile run across Dartmoor in five hours and twenty minutes. I was physically feeling strong mentally very well settled. The race started I managed to literally bump into Mr Bump and Little Miss Giggles and as we crossed the start line together after twenty minutes of shuffling closer and closer to the start. The first seven miles felt good and I was running well, until I passed the Cutty Sark I felt myself getting hottter as the day started to really warm up as it approached mid day. The Next five miles around Rotherhithe and along Jamaica road to Tower Bridge definatley felt slower and hotter. I hit the bridge and slowed to Striding walk, as I crossed the bridge I remembered being interviewed last year which felt really positive I picked up the pace and started runnning again down past the St Catherine Dock towards The Docklands and Canary wharf the miles stretched ahead of me then you pass the half way point that felt good I had go to the Half way point in two hours and forty minutes that felt positive. The race continued under good spirits I managed to catch Peter Andre and Katy Price I managed to muster the energy to give Peter some words of encouragement for Katy, the look on his face was a beauty, it was " a man dressed as Mr Tickle has just ran past me cheering Katy on???????".

I got through Canary Wharf and things where getting harder at the seventeenth mile water station they had run out of water at eighteen so few people where giving out water I ran past without getting any, then nineteen no water and at mile Twenty I hit a wall. I reccomend the water for the marathon comes in smaller sizes and more of them it was a very hot day. The wall I hit was massive I arrived at mile twenty at around four hours thirty, I had only six miles to go it took me a full seventy nine agonising minutes to complete the last six point two miles, they are possibly the hardest miles I have ever run (coming close to the commando thirty miler. I managed to dig deep running the last 385 yards with my all coming in at five hours forty nine minutes and fifty seven seconds. What a day, emotional as last year close to tears and a very tired boy.

I have managed to reach my target of Two Thousand Five Hundred Pounds for Chidlren with Leukaemia. Thank you to all those of you have donated sponsored helped and encouraged me along the way. I simply hope my briefest moments of suffering can help prevent others from suffering a whole life time?

GOOD LUCK

Today as Bryn wakes, just like I would be, he must be a mix of excitement and nervous energy. Running the http://www.london-marathon.co.uk, dressed as Mr Tickle with the rest of the guys for http://www.runleukaemia.org, must be a great feeling.



I spoke to Bryn in the last few days, he's been downing the fluids and more concerned about how hot it'll be in his costume. He's also set himself an admirable target of aiming to run 11 minute miles which should bring him in at 5 hours 6 minutes and 40 seconds approximately!!

Good luck buddy, do Mr Tickle proud

-darren

Stumble It!

Busy, busy

With Bryn still turning in to one great big Carb ready for the London Marathon, I've training by myself foe the last few weeks. I've managed to run and hike about 65 miles on my days off. About half of that is running, so quite happy things are ticking along.

I also managed a 18 miles in under four hours yesterday, I was ok, but I had to walk in the last 2 miles as my left foot is still blistered, so thought it best to ease off the gas a bit.

Today Tim and myself are going to go find a few Tors and a couple of more long running routes across dartmoor. I'm sure Bryn will be updating with his London run as Mr Tickle this week.

-darren

ISSUES WITH FACE BOOK

Seems facebook did not like the fact we were growing very quick in a day with 60 odd new friends. A real pain as all our friends and admins of the pages we were contacting people to join us said 'do it get some support, well done guys' then facebook, took us down? We have now fully read their Terms and built a different page for non-profit event.
Such a shame we had lot all our friends listed and now have to start all over again, JUST BEFORE THE LONDON MARATHON and fundraising efforts, it could not have come at a worse time.

Facebook's customer support is absolutely appalling, no contact number, no UK specific contact, they don't reply to emails and just blank all out friends who emailed them to help us.

Sad really, that they could not even email us to offer help.
Find us now: http://www.facebook.com/pages/UK-EVEREST-CHALLENGE-for-Charity-2009/34004754949?ref=s

PLEASE all come and join us again, you now have to become a fan not a friend, but the basic facebook principle is the same.
-darren

Thanks FACEBOOK'ers

BIG Thank you to everyone joining our facebook site in the last few days. Roughly 40 people have joined up and spreading the word. As you'll no doubt know by now we are trying to give £10,000 to each of our four benifeciary charities over the next 4 years to support their efforts.

Help for Heroes, Children with Leukemia, NACC & Skill Force.

If you feel you can spread the word or offer any support PLEASE DO! - have a look at this years event on our main website, we have some ex-forces guys in the team driving us on, http://www.ukeverestchallange.com – all the best and thank you again.

-darren

Marathon men

Well Bryn is in the build up for the London Marathon, so he'll be one big Carb come this Saturday. To all those going look out for the guy dressed as Mr Tickle that can talk, run, dance, hop and collect money for the full 26 miles?

As for me I'm happy I ran / hiked 23 miles on Dartmoor in just under 5 hrs 15 min, including losing one shoe in knee high mud [jumping in after is was not a highlight], getting slightly lost [10 mins, but I found the stream, literally, hence losing the trainer] and also I took two pairs of shoes with me to try out, so swapped them midway around. I have to admit the North Face Rucky Chucky's were excellent and really great on the mixed terrain of Dartmoor. My Inov-8 MudRock's, were comfortable to the terrain but with less support they were better suited on the paths, rather than the open moor or the poor mile I ran on the road at the end, my knees are sure feeling it today!

There will be plenty of updates over the next few weeks as we have so much going on.
-darren

Couple of big weeks

With Bryn running his little legs around London getting ready for the Marathon next week and my self running / hiking 25 miles this and next weekend. We'll be upping our training miles this month, that's for sure.

We have had some exciting ups of late, Bryn's training more again - he also did very well in the recent 10K Endurancelife.com race. My left foot is healed and I'm back running in the mornings. We have made so interesting connections with people who can offer us more covered and support for our event, ultimately leading to more reward for our charities.

Thanks to all those readers still donating, please keep spreading the word - it all helps.
...and if you see the truck on the road - give us a honk!
-darren

Just two miles.

The whole UKEC camp has been training, working on logistics or generally getting our plans in order for the main event. I mean with just FOUR months left until we kick off, times a ticking!

I personally had a huge boost this week with a personal message from none other than Dr. Ron Hill MBE and basically living running legend. Wiki states he's '... run three Olympic Marathons (Tokyo 1964, Mexico 1968 and Munich 1972), and has a personal marathon record of 2:09:28. In 1970, Hill won the 74th Boston Marathon in a course record 2:10:30. During the 1970s, he also won gold medals at the European Championships and Commonwealth Games'.

So here's the deal I open my mail on Saturday and in with my new padded socks to assist with these damn blisters, there was a tube with what looked to be a bit of odd card stick in it from Hilly Clothing. I pull out the said bit of card and find it's a picture of Ron Hill running in the 1970 Boston Marathon, next to a sign saying 'do not pass'. Underneath were the words "To Darren, Bryn and the team, keep up the good work!", brilliant, the guys taken the time to send us a note and it's much appreciated. Then I notice a little further down it says "Darren, when things get tough remember 2 miles is better than nothing". Referring to my previous comments of only being able to run a mile or two then stop in pain. After I collected my jaw off the floor, the hair stood up on the back of my neck.

Today I awoke at 5 am, I was in pain, I'd forgot my stomach tablets after a night away with my girlfriend and contemplated going back to bed, but those words "...2 miles is better than nothing!" is now etched firmly on the back of my eye balls. Tying my laces and bracing myself for the cold morning air, I ran my 2 miles, then added 3 more on for measure. Along the Dawlish Warren beach and surrounding coastal paths although uncomfortable, it puts this event in perspective. I'm in a privileged position, our nominated charities need our support and fundrasing far more than I need to be grumbling about my blisters.

Thank Dr Ron, you summed it up perfectly.

-darren - defiantly still moving...!


Stumble It!

Run, run, run

I think the readers of this blog, a few sponsors and people who know me, know the last five or six weeks have been a nightmare for training. I get repaired and something else gives way.

Sadly I know my IBS, by whatever form it's morphing in to these days, plays a large part in my daily life. Training can become tense and complicated affair, but still necessary. There's no way I'm slacking off, hiding or contemplating calling it a day. Each obstacle means I need to find a new route around it!

My feet are s-l-o-w-l-y repairing and I'm still running with light strapping. Time is the only way I've been healing, but it has not stopped my running the last four days. Mixing up trail, city and beach runs to keep my mind off the pace I've felt I've lost with all the draw backs of recent weeks.

Like Bryn I've checked my progress lately, it's been a long road and getting longer, each month we have to push that bit more. When I snapped my Achilles Tendon six years ago, I never thought I'd be here, running, hiking and learning new skill sets like this. It has however still left issues I can't easily resolve, the lower scar tissue of the operation rubs against any shoe I stick my left foot in. Padded socks work well, but strapping is still needed. I guess the worst part is a nine inch scar, or more so, what's under it. I still get pain after a few hours of training, hiking or running. I can't help thinking "...I hope I'm not pushing this too hard?". My left leg always pulls back from a longer stride, hitting the ground slightly harder, I guess that will never leave me. If anyone wants to buy less used right footed trainers, drop me a line as my left shoes only last half as long!

Both Bryn and myself have highs and lows whilst training with each under such intensity, then a short break then back on the hills and trails again. It works well, each of use working his own corner.

I'm learning to focus on breathing and trying to push my running distances. Also more importantly I'm learning to enjoy what I'm doing, after all this is not some kind of detention or forfeit.

-darren - keeping on moving...

Stumble It!

Training days... and not so training days

At the begining it was all about fitting training around our lives, it has for a few weeks been about fitting our lives around training.

Now and again life throws you a rope.

Darren and I have often commented how different our training regimes have been to achieve the same goals. Some weeks training for me has been six days a week, I know some will say to much but it has been varied 3 days in the gym alternate days, and working from upper core then lower whilst also pushing some cardio and endurance training each time. The days in between Tuesdays" has been long endurance swims a mile and a quarter to a mile and a half, then on Thursdays training early morning swims with a local club fast and lung aching. Then finally on the weekend Darren and myself have been hitting the hills long hard and really seeing the benefits.

As I said now and again life throws you a rope I've been dragged kicking and screaming back to london on a short contract. Money is a constant demand in all of our lives in this current climate. The rope is the short break from training it has given me a chance to put all my our training into perspective.

It has been really really good, I could make sure I have some more direct definitive goals when I am training and desired results. I love what we are doing and could not be happy where we I am right now.

Loving life loving training.

Bryn

Stumble It!

Could someone please give me back my energy!

As Bryn has said the Endurancelife event was set in a stunning location, staffed with people who actually wanted to be there, were motivated and supportive. A very well organised event.

For me though it simply heaps more pain on the injury I already have. Bryn kindly left out in his post that at about 3.5k I was already suffering with the pace having not been able to muster any real runs in two weeks. I came in to the event off the back of the injury picked up on one our 26 mile run / hike / jogs. By 7k I was in a lot of pain by the 10k mark I just had to somehow carry on, I pulled up twice on uphill sections as I could feel the taped blisters cutting. Being a country mile race the total distance by my Garmin was 12.1k.

The competitors were great and I was motivated to run in the last half a kilometer with a guy who pushed me on.

Mentally I know I'm strong, but I just wish physically my left foot was stronger!

This all aside, you can't take away the day. The people were friendly and competitors from all over the place dropped down to the cornish coast for an epic day of trail running. The last view snaking past the coast with all the historical remnants of the tin mine era, will stick in my mind for years to come.

It was also great to see our wing man Dan get stuck in.

We have reached another benchmark and now once again we'll springboard forward.

-darren

Stumble It!

1st Endurance Life 10km St Just

A few months back we where presented with a rare oppourtunity to enter 'real' races as part of our training. Gary Jolliffe kindly sponsored our places as part of the coastal trail series;

www.endurancelife.com/event.asp?series=1

As Darren mentioned in his last blog - all systems were go!. This was the first time the three of us where going to be running together Darren, Dan and myself. We where meant to meet up at 06.30 a.m unfortunately my mobile decided to die and I woke at gone Seven. I entered into a flat spin became quite upset as I believed that Darren would have had to set off without me. It was not until this moment that I realised how much I have invested in this emotionally. Fortunately Darren was only moments away, we arrived at the Golf course in St Just Cornwall with plenty of time to spare.

It was fantastic, we met Gary and the team from Endurance Life, they where massively accomodating the venue was perfect and it was a beautiful day. The sun was shining the cloud cover was big fluffy white clouds and a light breeze coming directly off the sea.



We started off together in a blaze of huffing, puffing calves screaming, arm's pumping the course dropped off the road onto part of the coastal path down a very steep hill. I was thinking we're going to have to run back up this in about an hour!!!

We became fragmented after the first mile or so and eventually, just after the water stop we where all running solo. I Locked my eyes on a fellow competitor several hundred meters ahead and tried to gain on him, after about two miles I managed to catch said competitor on a very large hill, I spent the remainder of the race him passing me, me then passing him, a very motivating challenge in itself. I had negelected to take a watch and was running purelyon the theory that if I kept catching people and kept pushing as hard as I could I would finish in a reasonable time.

I had to constantly keep reminding myself that I had put myself here, that I actually wanted to be here and to make the most of it. The last mile or so of the course retraced it's steps, I tried to open my stride but all I could do was to keep striding out and keep pushing the final corner came into sight, the last three hundred metres.

We all fininshed in under one hour eighteen minutes, a fantastic effort from Dan, Darren and myself.

Crazy as it is Darren & I want to now compete in a series of race called "The seven X seven X seven" check out the Endurance life site to see the future of our training and events!!

An Absolutely fantastic day.

Regards Bryn

...and relax...

Well here we are, 24 hours before our first race. Today is a matter of checking kit and checking kit again, prepping the truck and trying to stay relaxed!! Much easier said than done.

In four and a half mouths time our main event takes off! We'll be attending the extremely well organised Coastal Trail Series in Cornwall;


I know it is a bit self indulgent, but we would not be able to train the way we have been without the support of our sponsors, they hall all contributed, equipment, training or time to get us ready for Saturday.

THANK YOU

Endurancelife - for giving us the places to compete on Saturday.
Hilly Clothing - comfy hats, gloves and specialist trail socks.
Logo4Polos - for their continued running kit & clothing support.
Hydrate for Health - brilliant products, built for the right reasons.

Special thanks to; AG Signs for helping me get the vehicle branded in super fast time and to the guys at ACS/Chip'n'trace for so efficiently helping us get our event security sorted.

We I best crack on, both Bryn and myself will update over the weekend out take on the day, all the best.
-darren

Stumble It!

This is it

I managed a run today, only just, fast jog MIGHT BE A BETTER DESCRIPTION - but it still counts! I am not completely healed yet but confident I can get around a course at Endurancelife.com Cornwall Coastal event on Saturday.

We'll be taking pics and of the new truck so check back soon.

-darren

Stumble It!

If I rest anymore...I'll scream!!

This last 10 days has simply been about 'resting', something I don't do very well. In that time though the main event vehicle is here with us, it's not ideal, but at the moment squeezing more MPH out of and tweaking it here and there. Plus the all important - getting the truck branded with all the sponsors and supporters, which was a huge task in itself. I ran out of space twice and ended up getting more cut!

It very much looks like I'll try to run this Saturday, with basically two weeks rest from running / hiking at the levels we have been used too.I am hoping my core fitness with drag my sorryfull butt around a fell / cross / trail route and not make too much of a fool myself or my team mates.

I've been in a terrible mood all week. I'm not so sure of 'prepare to fail' is a correct term, it was more like 'when your body says stop, then stop!'. Both Bryn and myself are competitive and fully focused on this years event and the training. I think at the time we both wanted to get in under 5hrs 30 mins, slow on a road, but over moor, marsh, bog and map reading on the go. That's moving over rough ground, through streams and up Tors and some pace.

Lessons have been learnt, in three days time we'll find out if all the winter hard work has done it's job.

-darren

Stumble It!

Training must go on......

As Darren stated he was more than a little broken, we had arranged a training session with Dan aswell (unfortunately Tim's work commitments had ruled him out of this training session).

It was decided for me & Dan to stick to the training session as we had planned. We met up at a lay by just up from Okehampton Battle camp. The run planned was a short sharp burst up Rowtor across to West Mill Tor,

a lung busting scramble up Yes Tor an agile sprint across to High Willhays and back again.




In total five hundred Meters of altitude gained from beginning to end and a total distance of approx five and a half miles and we did it in one hour nineteen minutes. Not bad.

A beautiful day a good training session. I hope Darrens foot mends soon we have all learnt a valuable lesson from his unfortunate circumstances fail to prepare, prepare to fail. Looking forward to when my runing partner is back to health and itching to get back out on the hills.

Bryn