If I am honest, I have to admit that I am getting a little frustrated with the length of time that it is taking to be back running properly. By properly, I mean being able to go out numerous times a week and being able to run at least 20 miles with not too much bother. Maybe I am asking too much of my body after Trans-Europe, maybe I am being too cautious with the ramping up of training? Either way, it is taking a long time! I have been very patient and determined not to get carried away and injure myself, but I am really missing not being able to run 80km without a second thought. Maybe I took it all for granted? Either way I now certainly appreciate the level of fitness I had over most of last year.

I keep telling myself just how much good this forced rest has done me and how I will just grow from it physically and spiritually. It’s not been all boring rest for me this year so far though. At the start of the year we popped out to stay with friends in Argentiere near Chamonix. I have been here twice before, but that was many years ago for a family holiday during the summer, camping. I have very fond memories of these holidays and will always remember when we first started passing the mountains (Dad drove from home all the way down) and being completely in awe of the majesty, beauty and incredible scale. I would say that this is where my love of the mountains first sprouted. I loved the fact that wherever you were in Chamonix you could look up and there would be a mind-blowing mountain vista. I then knew that I wanted to travel through and over these beasts.

Our stay was for a week and there was a few things I wanted to do. We went snowboarding which was fun. We also did two days of Nordic Skiing which was fantastic. I had never skied before so to step into a pair of these skinny little skies without your heel attached and with pretty poor edges made for some, let’s say, exciting downhill sections! I learnt how to snowplow very quickly! I was slow due to fitness and lack of technique, but I loved it. I much preferred to be away from the masses on the pistes cuing up to get on a lift! I also couldn’t go too hard because of my recovering body. While we were there it just so happened that Kilian Jornet was attending a premier of his new film at the cinema and answered some interesting questions after! An awesome week. I need to try downhill skiing now!

A few weeks later we were off to stay with friends in Oslo. I must add, that this amount of holidays is far from normal for me, and I can’t really afford it, but opportunities arose and the heavens aligned! Oslo is a beautiful city, which is as I’m sure you all are aware, very expensive. It is also around half an hour from the slopes and hundreds of miles of Nordic Skiing tracks! I of course had to try downhill, and thankfully after my experience on Nordic Skis, the masses of added control made my first go, ok. It was awesome and already I was a little sad that after Oslo, I wouldn’t have the opportunity to ski again till the next winter. What I really want to do is to have the experience and skill to be able to have a go at ski touring. To travel through the mountains.

Back to running. Well, I am managing to get out now, and everything feels great, except for the usual starting back up calf pain. They will get used to it! I will pop out tonight, but it won’t be for long. I mean around one hour.

I do have one other holiday booked up, well a course actually. In a couple of weeks I will be in Scotland attending a Winter Mountaineering course! I am really buzzing about this. Ever since the family holidays in Chamonix, and being spellbound by the mountains, I have dreamt of mountaineering. For some reason, I have subconsciously told myself that this is inaccessible for me and I haven’t really considered trying it out. Revisiting Chamonix relit this ambition of mine and soon I found myself booking myself onto a five day course. With good conditions this will include some simple ice climbing! There is the possibility that I won’t enjoy it, but I have to give it a go. It just feels like the right thing to do.

Everything I am doing lately seems to be inadvertently geared towards travelling through the mountains safely and efficiently during all seasons. All sparked from my childhood. A beautiful realisation for me. I’m not sure why it has taken over 20 years to get here, but at least it wasn’t 50!

On the future racing front I have some news. Firstly, the bad. I recently discovered that I wasn’t successful in the draw for the race I was most excited about this year, the Tor des Geant. This is a real bummer, but fortunately I was successful in the Ultra Trail Mont Blanc so that kind of balanced that out nicely! I have already mentioned the fact that I will be participating in the incredibly exciting Frostskade 500 in Northern Scandinavia at the beginning of next year. Well, I have also got a place in the 3^rd, and already seen as epic, Spine Race held just two weeks previous. That is 268 winter miles followed shortly by 500 Arctic miles! I am not sure if this can be classed as sensible, but it will certainly be  an adventure!.

Happy running.

It’s been a little while since my last post. Running-wise not a lot has happened really. In fact, I believe I said I was going to do a 50 mile run on the Green Man course around Bristol. I did make it out as planned, leaving the house a few hours before dawn. When I arrived at Ashton Court at the stone Green Man it was still dark. It had rained plenty over the previous week and the temperature wasn’t too bad. Knowing the route pretty well, I knew that there would be a few points that would be very muddy. More tests for the ankle I thought.

As soon as my Ambit had found the satellites, I slid off into the dark towards the deer enclosure. Once out of Ashton Court I begun to climb Dundry. So far, I have got a little confused at this section every single time and this was no exception. What an idiot I thought. I kept my calm and soon enough I was back on familiar ground. I made a mental note to return one day to this section to recce it in the daylight seeing as I had only ever run it in the dark!

The climb up to Dundry is the longest of the whole route and is also very wet and muddy in sections so had me walking. Already things were rather laboured, but I persisted believing that I just needed to warm up some more.

Usually I am gifted the most wonderful sunrise as I come to the top of Dundry. In fact, part of the reason for my stupidly early start is to catch the sunrise at this excellent highpoint. Today was just a grey day. No inspiring colours changing as you watch, just a dramatic stormy looking sky looming over the city scape below me.

Things were not improving, and my feet were way too painful for this early stage of the run. Was I being sensible here? The beauty of this route is that it circles Bristol, and I live roughly in the centre of it, so I’m never more than 10 miles from home. Easy to bale!

I pushed on and pushed the pain and lack of energy to the back of my mind. It was good to be out on the trails and I was really enjoying myself, despite the poor performance. After about four hours I was getting the idea of stopping early. I hate to do this, but I must be sensible. This is just a run for fun, not a target or a particular challenge. There was no need to bury myself and hurt myself? Once the thoughts had entered my mind, I decided that once I got through Bradley Stoke and reach the A38, instead of crossing over and continuing the Green Man, I would take advantage of the main road and follow it in a fairly direct route home.

Reaching that point became harder and harder. My body was broken. It all seemed very familiar? Then I remembered. When I first started running, I had overtrained and put myself completely out of training for two months. I didn’t like the conclusion, but it was definitely the answer as far as I was concerned. Trans-Europe had just been a major exercise in overtraining. I had worked very hard every day for anything between 3 and 9 hours for 64 days. I am not a stage runner, so my body is not really prepared for such abuse. I needed more rest.

The rest of the run was a death march home with the not great thought that I had to rest fully for an indefinite period. It still ended up being 70km though!

I haven’t run since. I have been riding my bike to work as normal, but not really done anything else, other than try to eat well, sleep well and not enter too many races or buy hundreds of pairs of trainers!

So how has it been not being able to do the thing I love? I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t frustrating, but overall things have been fine. Because of my past experience, and knowledge that the rest would definitely fix it if not rushed, I’ve felt very calm. I have big plans in the future, and to have any chance of achieving these goals, I need to really look after myself. I could have easily kept running through it. It would have hurt, and really been quite negative, and by now, I would have been so deep in that it would more than likely wipe the year out. So really, I am grateful for the fact that I spotted this early enough and acted on it. In a previous life, I know I would have pushed through. My running has matured maybe?

Just before Christmas, I decided that with this quiet spell I should get my feet looked at to see if someone can work out why they hurt so much. I looked around a bit and decided on Profeet in London. I had an appointment with Richard Felton who is @ukrunrambles on Twitter. He is an ultrarunner and an expert in running biomechanics so a good choice I thought. The service was excellent and really fascinating. I found the pressure mat analysis particularly interesting. I learnt that both of my first metatarsals have ‘dropped’, putting extra pressure on them and possibly causing the pain. Richard then kitted me out with some custom insoles which were ready to use by the time I had popped out for lunch. I couldn’t wait to run in them!

So at the moment I am very excited about the future. There are so many things I want to do. Each year that comes seems to bring very different challenges than the previous years. I am not sure where all this is heading, but I am definitely moving more towards the adventure side of things. I would love to get involved in some sort of expedition.

Booked races :

Ultra Trail South West

The Ring

UTMB

Races I plan to enter (though may not if it’s a lottery) :

Tor Des Geants

Frostskade 500

A secret?????

So, nothing under 100 miles. All single stage, even if they are up to 500 miles! And yes, the inclusion of an arctic race. The Arctic has always fascinated with it’s harsh beauty.Previously I have shunned it because of my hands that suffer in the cold. I believe with the correct equipment and good drills, then all will be fine. This is a dream challenge as far as races go and I know that it is multi dimensional compared to Trans-Europe. The cold, the snow, darkness, dragging a pulk, and generally being right out there in the wild, will make it possibly a bigger scarier challenge. Perfect!

So after all this time off, I have slowly felt pains and niggles I have had for years slowly fade away. Even the Achilles feel good. Smooth with no lumps what-so-ever! Yesterday, I decided that I was ready to try things out. I went out for a 20 minute run. It was very leisurely indeed, but things felt ok. I felt ok today to and wanted to run again tonight but felt that I have waited this long, so I should really get it right. No rush. So tomorrow I will go again. I was ridiculously excited about it and as I ran down my road yesterday I had the biggest most insane looking grin across my face. It’s good to be running again and I am really excited with the prospect of starting from fresh again. Hopefully the experience I have picked up over the previous seven years will aid me to getting some decent level of fitness in a relatively short amount of time without getting injuries. The challenge excites me.

Well that’s me for now. I just thought I should let you know what’s been happening in my non-running life.

Happy running (or resting)

Since my last post, I have run in two very different races. The first of these you know about, the Beacons Ultra. I was a little nervous about this one as it would be my first bit of proper off-roading since I wrecked my ankle during the UTSW. I remember from last year when I ran it that the footing is pretty technical for a few miles which I really enjoyed. This time I would be very cautious. I couldn’t afford to be trashing my ankle again. This was a test for it and some all important exercise. I’m sure that most therapists would not approve of my strengthening techniques, and I understood the risks, but it felt like the best method to me.

The Beacons Ultra is an end of season race and is a bit of a social including the infamous pub quiz late in the evening after the last runner has finished. I couldn’t make the quiz last year as I travelled back straight after the race. This time I was getting a lift with Sam Robson on the Friday after work. He picked me up from Gloucester train station. The weather was mild and dry, but during the journey it began to rain, and by the time we arrived in Talybont to register it was torrential. There was a huge amount of surface water on the roads so the going would be pretty boggy the next day. Now, I would normally thrive in such conditions, but I was a little concerned with the slipping and sliding around that would be happening the next day. My ankle really would be getting tested in extreme conditions. Was I making a wise decision to run? I decided to have faith in my thought out reasoning and not listen to this panicy reaction.

We checked into the youth hostel up the road with a third runner, Richard who was running his first ultra and was sharing the room with us. Then it was back into the village to eat in the pub. We met up with Jules here too while I ate loads and had a pint of ale while we talked about all things running. It was then back to the youth hostel to prep and sleep.

It rained a lot during the night but when we awoke, it had stopped. There was a bit of a chill but I decided to wear just my X-Bionic Fennec shirt with arm warmers and shorts. I remembered from the previous year that a few of the runners who had achieved some fantastic things over the year got a mention from Martin Like during the race brief. I knew that Martin and Sue had been following my journey across Europe and had sent some very positive messages while I was doing it, so was expecting a mention. Martin did mention it, and I got a round of applause from the rest of the runners which was very nice. It’s really rewarding when people show their appreciation for your efforts, especially when they are all ultra runners.

I pulled on my thin gloves as we walked to the canal where the start was, though didn’t expect them to stay on long once we began. I would normally go near to the front at the start, but wasn’t too sure what to do today. I wasn’t here to race and with my general weakness, post TE and my dodgy ankle I decided to place myself in the centre of the pack.

We were off! There was 5km down the canal before we turned off and started to climb. The pace at the front was predictably fast, which for a minute or two was difficult to watch, but sense took charge and I slid into a comfortable pace as the front runners disappeared out of sight. The canal was long but I was grateful for the easy start for my ankle before the more challenging terrain. Finally though I was directed off and straight into the rather long climb. I was really happy to be back out on the trails and the fact that is was wet and muddy just added to the fun. My fitness and strength felt very low though and I was soon puffing and panting and feeling the strain. I still had the mindset pre UTSW. The problem was that the body had been broken down slowly over the 64 days of TE. Today was a day where I would have fun, not take any risks, and hopefully make it through the without suffering any further damage to my ankle. I caught up with Jules as I power walked up the hill. We chatted a bit before I continued ahead. I said I’d see him again on the descent. Sure enough he caught me up on the downhill as he was getting irritated with the poor grip on his shoes. We stayed together for 10 minutes or so and once onto the fire track through the woods, which seems to last forever, a few runners ended up clumping together till there were around 6 of us. I felt as though the pace was a little out of my comfort zone so let the peloton continue without me. Today was not going to be easy by anyones standards.

I eventually made it out of the woods and after the little bit of road was back on the trail. Then it was the long but easily runnable climb up to the gap which is the highest point of the route. I found a nice steady pace and slowly made my way up. As I got to the top I realised that the next section was a fairly long and technical, rocky descent. Last year I enjoyed this part, but this year was going to be a different story with my ankle. As I went over the top I felt myself go rigid. I focused on staying loose and making very careful foot placements. My speed was stupidly slow, but as many runners glided smoothly past I told myself that this was not a race for me. I was here for the fun and the testing and exercise of the ankle… oh, and the social that night.

I awkwardly made my way down the everlasting and awkward descent. I must admit that I didn’t enjoy it too much and I was happy to finish with it. Well for the first lap anyway! There was a huge amount of relief too. I was very happy that my ankle could take such testing terrain though. I wouldn’t celebrate just yet though as I still had around 30 miles left! That is if I decide to do the second lap. Another reason why I wanted to do this race was that I could easily drop out at the half way point should my ankle be bad.

After the worst/best of the downhill, the weather was ideal for running and we even saw a little sun. I kept on plodding around. Unless something happened along the remaining relatively non-technical part of the first lap I would continue for a second. After a struggle on the road for a couple of miles it was back onto the canal for 8km. This was really testing. I felt exhausted and my quads were really sore. I was going to pay for this for at least a week! The good news was that my knees were absolutely fine. My feet on the other hand were very sore. I wish I could improve this issue.  I passed the half way point cp, topped up a bottle and grabbed a couple gels before continuing. I felt good with the fact I was beginning a second lap.

The second lap was a fairly solitary affair which was nice as it let me slip into a slow and manageable pace that would get me to the end. I was looking forward to finishing a hopefully uneventful race, getting showered and putting on some warm clothes but I wouldn’t be happy till I crossed that line. It was a real struggle the second lap, but there was something different about it. The first lap was confusing to pace. My normal pace was non-sustainable due to my state so after much hard work, by the time I was on the second lap, I was confident that I had found the ‘correct’ pace for the day. It was slow, but I had no doubt that it would carry me to the end. I had a 30 second walk on the woodland trail and also on the steady climb up to the gap and probably a few more I have forgotten about. The downhill was really tough on the second lap as my feet were really sore. I again watched people seemingly effortlessly glide past me.

I had a few slight twists of both ankles, but they were both fine. I finally got to the bottom of all the technical stuff and let myself begin to feel some relief that the ankle had held up ok. The remaining section was pretty much all fields and road finishing off on the canal of course. I now fought off the urge to walk and kept up the pace as consistently as possible. I was guessing my position to be in the thirties. When I finished for the day I was exhausted but elated to still be in one piece.

During the prize-giving which I was of course well out of (I was told I had come 17^th which I was chuffed about!), Martin called me up and presented me with a very generous gift token to his shop. I was gob-smacked. I so love the friendliness and the camaraderie of the ultra scene. Everyone wants everyone to succeed and will help them do that if possible. There is a huge mutual respect amongst us all. We know how much you have to go through to achieve in this sport.

The rest of the day was spent eating and drinking ale in the pub. The quiz finally began at around 11 and was great fun even though I was half asleep. I don’t like to repeat races unless there is a reason, but I can see myself doing this for a third time as it is just such a good laugh and a finish for the season (if such a thing really exists!)

The days after this were like the old days when I started this game. I was as stiff as a board! My legs were incredibly tender and my feet were agony. Trans-Europe seems to have built my fitness up to a point before my body seems to have deteriorated damaging my muscles as I couldn’t take on enough energy. It stripped me raw mentally and physically.

The following weekend was the first gathering of the 9Bar athletes. We all stayed at a hotel on the Saturday night and had a really nice evening having a slap up meal before returning to the bar to have a few more ales. The next morning we were all booked into a race called the mucky races. It is basically a 10km cross country route. The difference being that you are directed through some very deep puddles/pools and mud. I was still a little stiff form the Beacons but couldn’t resist it once I was there. I really enjoyed the race getting ridiculously muddy but somehow managing to come 8^th out of over 400 (I think). Robbie Britton showed us his raw speed by coming 2^nd by a fraction of time. A great weekend!

It is now 8 days later. I haven’t run since as my foot has been sore. I will probably rest it all this week as well though I am considering a Green Man at the end of the week!

I have also got a few possible opportunities that have arisen over the last month or so. I can’t divulge what they are yet, but if they do happen I will let you know. It’s very exciting though!

Happy running!

I have just pulled the three lucky names out of the hat. They are -

Andy Horsley

Bryce Alford

Robbie Britton

Unlucky to those that entered but didn’t win. Congratulations to the winners. I know you will enjoy them, they’re pretty cool!

Thanks,

Neil.

I have recently been sent Scott Jureks book, Eat & Run to review which you can find here. Scott is sponsored by Udo’s Oil as am I. I was contacted by them the other day asking if I wanted three signed copies of the book to give away on my site. How awesome is that! Udo’s weren’t even aware that Bloomsbury had sent me a copy to review! Beautiful.

Just for a bit of fun I’ve decided that I will ask one simple question and I will draw the three lucky ones out of a hat.

So here it is :

What year did Scott first win the Western States?

Email your answer to neil@ultrarunninglife.com

I will do the draw on the 3rd December 2012

Good luck!

Well, it has been over three weeks since I arrived in Gibraltar and a couple days ago it was my Birthday, so I couldn’t resist going out for my first run. I just popped down to the local park and did a couple laps. It all felt a little rusty at first, but soon things begun to loosen up and I was having fun. It was only 5.5km, and I wanted to carry on, but was aware that I would be sore the next few days. I am a little nervous about taking my injured ankle off road, though feel that it needs it a bit to strengthen it up. I will pop out again tomorrow after work and maybe go a little further. Martin Like from Likeys, the ace running/outdoor shop has offered me a place in the equally ace Beacons Ultra this weekend. I ran this last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. I really want to go but money is very tight. It would be a fun race to gauge what state I’m in. It is also two laps so if things aren’t great I could always bale half way. It is a beautiful course which would be a pleasure to run again, especially as I wouldn’t be racing at all. I will check out transport prices tonight.

So how has it been adjusting back to ‘real life’? Well, I won’t mention work, but everything else seems to be fine really. The longer the experience is left to bake in my mind, the bigger it becomes. It is without a doubt, the most incredible experience in my life. The length of it means that there are a huge amount of memories that regularly pop into my mind and make me smile. There is no forgetting this one! I have still to read through my blog too which I really look forward to. I am also honoured that I am in a poll for the Ultra Running Performance of the Year in the UK. There are some great performances in the poll which makes me doubt my place as I just feel like all I have done is wake up and run for 64 days, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t chuffed.

Everyone I have spoken to about TE asks “what next?”. Well to be honest, I’m not sure. What seems like a natural next step to me is to do a self-organised ‘long’ run. Maybe you could call it an expedition? There are countless trails around the world that I would love to do. Note the key word, trail. I’m sure I have probably said this before, but I will say it again – I belong on the trail, not the road. The only reason I will run on the road is for something special, i.e. JOGLE, Spartathlon and TE. If I do plan my own ‘expedition’, then it will be off-road.

So other than the next big thing, what races am I planning/considering? I have entered the Thames Ring. This is the third time it’s been held and I am really happy that I have finally got around to it. It is a single stage 250 mile race encircling London. You have 100 hours to complete it. This interests me as it is beyond the grasp of a single run with no sleeps. I will be forced to sleep at some point during the event, probably on the floor next to the trail with my alarm set for 20 minutes or so. When will I take this break? As usual, I will try to listen to my body and rest when I can no longer stay upright and am concerned that I may fall into the canal.

I have also entered the Endurancelife Ultra Trail South West again after my disaster attempt this year. The route will be different, not sticking to the coast path for its entirety, which will break it up nicely, making it easier mentally. I like the idea of the route being different, but am a little sad that I won’t be racing the original route. I did say immediately after the disaster that I would plan to run the route alone as a big day out. I will have to see if I can find a suitable gap for it.

Possibly the main race for me next year is the Tor Des Geants in the Alps. It doesn’t open for entries till around Easter time and the problem is that the website is apparently a bit clunky, so it is difficult to get entered, so fingers crossed! It is a 200 mile monster with 24,000 metres of ascent. This will be more of a trek I think! It certainly seems to be at the top of my ‘must do’ list though seeing as it is a good length and is in the high mountains. All the ingredients of a great adventure I think!

That is all the definite things I have planned, but I am thinking of getting up to the Lakes a few times to at least do some recceing of the Bob Graham Round. This is a set challenge that can be done anytime, but you need a witness to see you around so cannot be done solo if you want to be in the ‘club’, which I do. There are a few ways to do this. At one end you have the ‘armchair ride’, meaning that you have a team that can guide you around the whole route and carry your kit so you can travel faster. The other end of the scale is to learn the route as best as possible by doing numerous recces, so that on the day, you will do all your own navigation and you carry all your own kit. I am swaying towards the latter though it would be fun to do the armchair ride one day too. I feel like I should ‘earn’ my armchair ride though.

So, in the time it has taken me to write this, I have managed to scrounge a lift with someone to the Brecons this weekend. I popped out for a forty minute run last night and things weren’t too bad. My ankle makes a loud clicking noise which is a little disconcerting, but I’m sure I will get used to it! My aim for the race is to be safe and nothing more. I have just run across a continent so my ankle is obviously not too bad, but I need to get it off road to hopefully toughen it up. I remember the route from last year and there are some technical sections which I may have to walk on. There will be a fair few people I know there too so will be a bit of a social. I will also be attending the infamous pub quiz after to embarrass my self.

Here’s hoping that my ankle behaves itself and lets me enjoy the Welsh countryside.

I will always remember the great feeling of the excitement bubbling away last night. Everyone was in a great mood. Dinner was actually pretty good, and no-one complained about the long walk to get to the restaurant. No-one cared that the service was slow. Who cares if we didn’t get much sleep tonight? One little day.

It was very cold in the gym last night. I slept till around 1130 then needed the loo. After that I didn’t really sleep. My mind was active (unusual). As we left in the morning, People were singing and whooping. We were done. This was a day to appreciate our achievement. My body was in its now normal battered state but things were different. This alone is proof of the positive mind being the most powerful physical tool. I felt strong. I felt I could push hard, but not today.

Yesterday, we lost sight of Gibraltar as we came down off the mountains and lost height. I was very excited to see it again and was eagerly scanning the skyline as we ran. Fred and I ran together again. We should finish this thing together. We have become quite close over the many hours on the road together. We are also the two youngest in the race.

Gibraltar doesn’t come into view until we are at the final cp with only 6.6km left. It is a glorious sight. Maybe one of the most incredibly beautiful sights of my life, not so much for its looks, but because of the many hours spent toiling, the many times that I was convinced that this was not possible for me and the much doubt about myself. We are now running along the seafront and I am buzzing. Fred and I have caught up with Fabrice. Fabrice had to pull out of the 2009 TE on day 56 because he badly cut his finger lifting his case, so I know this is seriously big for him too.

We then hear a whistle. There is the rickety old finish that has served us well for the last 63 days. I get handed a Union flag and my good friend Yoshi is there offering me his pointy hat which is apparently called a kaso. I take my cap off and proudly put it on and with the flag flying behind me, the three of us finish together. I go immediately to Lou and we hug. I cry like a baby with happiness. I have finished.

I have showered and had the pleasure of not having to handwash my running kit for the first time in 64 days. Tonight we have a dinner in the hotel where awards get dished out. This will be nice as everyone will be so happy and relaxed with nothing to do tomorrow. I am looking forward to having an explore of the rock as it looks amazing, and I really hope to see the cheeky monkeys.

I will sign off now. Maybe I will write again with some afterthoughts once it’s all had a chance to settle in.

Before I forget, I must thank everyone of you that messaged me somehow or another with your lovely positive comments. I drew so much from them that certainly helped a great deal during the harder times (all?). I would check my phone obsessively in the evenings. You all helped me get to this spot right now, so a sincere thank you to you all.

If our evening meal is at a restaurant then Ingo will mark the floor with chalk arrows accompanied with the word ‘eat’ and we will follow them there. Last night, the arrows took us over a wall and through a fence and finally to a supermarket café. Oh the luxury. I have adjusted to eating poor food quite well. I don’t want it but I know I have to have a full tank so just get on with it.

We couldn’t use the gym last night until 11pm as it was being used, so we had the use of two very small rooms. It was a very tight squeeze to get us all in and of course by 11, the lights were out and most people were snoring. At 1130, lou whispered “shall we move into the gym”, I woke my brain up then said yes. We crept out into the large empty hall, and found a nice dark spot. I slept very well.

When we started in the morning it was a bit fresh and once we had passed through the pretty looking town, we were heading uphill. I thought that today was going to be a fairly flat day but after a quick look at Gilberts profile I saw that this was not the case. As the day got lighter I soon saw that the surrounding scenery was really beautiful. Wild, green and dramatic. We kept climbing higher and higher. I was very happy and excited that I was running the penultimate day in the mountains.

As I came around the top the views became more and more impressive. The downhill was just as long and exciting. I was a little less cautious about my knees and just let go a bit. I no longer had to save myself. The road now begun to snake its way through the mountains, passing some pretty white villages perched in some incredible locations. Would we see Gibraltar today?

There were many viewpoints along the way that I stopped at. One of them was a few hundred metres up some steps. When I got up there I looked South to see if I could see the rock. There was a jagged rock, looking like a broken tooth far away. I looked down at the tourist map plaque and sure enough it was marked as Gibraltar!

I ran up the road and found Fred and told him. We sat on the wall there for a while. Ria caught us up and we took pictures. Then Fabrice and JB caught up too. Time to move on. After a few km, the road started to go down. I again went at a decent pace, enjoying the long mountain descent. My knees were hurting but I wasn’t listening.

Fred and I finished together again. Day 63 done. Just a short day tomorrow of 48km. And then it is all over. Tonight is our last night sleeping in a gym which I already know that I’ll strangely miss a little. I will write more tomorrow if I’m not too drunk (two beers).

Last night was entertaining. We were only allowed half of the gym as there were kids in there playing football with the partition curtain down. This was only till around 8ish and although very noisy, was ok. We attracted the usual gathering of children who were fascinated with the travelling carnival. Todays bunch were a bit cheekier than the usual inquisitive innocence. Our bed was a long way away from the door though so they were no bother to me. After this there were the aerobics sessions that were going on till 10. These were in a separate room, but the music was very loud and bassy. This was some pretty mad dance music. It was a strange sight as when you looked around our half of the hall, everyone was carrying on as usual, eating, sorting kit out or sleeping, yet there was this music that was loud enough to fool you into thinking you were in a club. A little odder when our lights went out at the usual 9 and everyone was in bed and the music was still thumping away for another hour! Needless to say that sleep was a little on the lacking side.

It doesn’t matter that rest was lacking as there was only three days to push now. The forecast was for rain and we had some through the night, but the temperature was still good. Mission – the finish line at any speed. Fred and I were together. Our pace was slow but I was happy with this. I assumed that today was a flat day on the plains, but Fred informed me that we had our last decent climb of the whole race today. It would prove to be over 10km!

Today was not quite as buoyant as yesterday, but as we begun the climb, Fred put his music in his ears and the speed shot up! I sped up and held on for dear life. After about 30 mins, the music came out and the hill got steeper near the top. I prefer the steeper stuff, so went ahead. I was tired but felt like I should enjoy the last big hill. Once over the top, we had less than 20km to go and we both admitted how kaput we were. Freds shoulder was still hurting him a lot, and my feet and knees were their usual painful mess, but we reignited the lorry horn game again as it really helps pass the painful times.

Once into the city, we followed the arrows faultlessly, looking, to the pedestrians as though we knew our way around. We had a couple of kms running in the city before we were in the ugly, industrial area where our gym is. I had heard that this was a pretty city, but we have been unfortunate with our location. It was a tough day today, but not a bad day. The excitement of Gib looming on the horizon (not literally yet!) is pulling me along. I am very happy .

So, just two short days left, and the last day doesn’t count. The one race I was convinced that I would DNF on, is almost over and I should be getting my finisher t-shirt! I am even more surprised that I have managed to write my blog every night. Not bad seeing as a race blog usually takes up to a month!

Wow, day 61! They are sounding better and better now. The body feels very weary, but the mind is strong. For today at least anyway.

We woke and were saved the hell of having another TE standard breakfast of the cheapest possible bread, cheese, ham and jam. Today the Spanish did our breakfast. They gave us cereal which was a nice change, though they only had hot milk. Apparently they don’t really eat cereal so didn’t know that everyone would want cold milk. Oh I miss cold non-UHT milk so much. But the change was definitely a good thing.

Today was a short day at 54km but to be honest, 30km would seem long now, but never mind, no time to think about such things, just tie the laces on my worn out shoes, put on my illegible race number and my old faithful Camelbak and put the head torch on for the first hour of darkness, then simply run.

We headed upwards for a while after leaving the city. It was mild and I had no need for a thermal again. Fred and I soon joined up again. His shoulder was worse today. For a while, he had to stop every five minutes to stretch it out. I feel for him as it won’t stop his race but he it will make the final days more painful than they already are. He’s a trooper though so the pace was still ok. Our speed over the last few days has not been quite so keen, as our motivation is simply to finish. Not to finish fast. This of course is fine. My 10^th place is as good as mine now unless something goes badly wrong though of course this will not happen. No more racing, just running to finish. I want to see Gibraltar.

I was in an unusually bubbly mood today and was chatty and singing with Fred and Eiolf. My mood was high and so the day was rolling along nicely. There were even whole fields with no olives trees and we were then on the flat lands on a large but not too busy road. The marathon point of the day also served as our 4000km point of the race. We stopped and took photos before continuing. The wind was really picking up and it was making us duck our heads down. We soon started playing the incredibly simple and childish game of trying to get all the truckers that passed us to honk their horn. It’s amazingly satisfying when they do, and more importantly it passes time and keeps the mind active and positive. We soon entered the town and were done. Only three more left!

I asked Christian how his day had been when he finished, and he said it was awful because of the strong winds and the boring flat roads. I had to agree, but our entertainment for the day had neutralised these negatives. Awesome!

Tomorrow is 64km I think so this will no doubt be hard, but hopefully I will wake up with the same positive attitude as today. 3…