And onto the next thing.......

Around a month has now passed and the ACC is long gone. The next challenge is the Paris Marathon on 11th April 2010.

Watch this space dudes!

ATLANTIC COAST CHALLENGE Day 3 - Levant to Lands End

I woke up this morning feeling like I had a washing machine in the pit of my belly. I managed just one slice of white bread toast and that was it. Not a good start to what was to become one of the hardest (both mentally and physically) days of my life.

Today was the day when Ellen and the kids, plus my parents, would be at every check point. Massive love to all of them as this would turn out to be a marathon day of their own.

Al and I got to the race HQ early enough to get a cup of tea before loading into the mini-buses. There were a few faces around who looked like how I felt, but then we also noticed that there were a few absent faces from the previous two days and the race briefing was a lot quieter. It emerged that quite a few people had either dropped out completely due to either exhaustion or injury, or had opted to join the walking group who left at 09:00 and were, by now, well on route. This in itself was a great boost and I was proud of myself for what I had achieved so far.

Only a short drive in the buses today to Lelant on the other side of Hayle harbour and we met with the gang outside the start point at the local church. Much to Jack and Ellie's amazement, Batman and Robin had joined us for the last day! It turned out that these guys were seasoned ultra-runners who do this sort of thing week in week out.

I have no idea what the local church congregation thought of a large crowd of runners waiting (and some watering!) their lawn, however, we were soon off and running.

We were warned in advance that today's distance was to be extended to around the 29 mile mark due to a land slip earlier in the year closing part of the coastal path and therefore a diverion inland had been implemented. In addition, CP1 at Zennor was not until around the 10.5 mile mark and therefore the first section was probably the longest between checkpoints of the entire weekend. Nevertheless, this also meant that a significant distance will have been covered before the first stop.

The first few miles started off on a single file track up and down the headland and around to St Ives. Throughout this section I had managed to manoeuvre myself in the top half of the group. I also met up with a guy who I had met on the first day whose parents lived in St Ives and therefore he was able to show the best route through the town which was greatly appreciated. We were all very tempted by the smells emanating from the many pasty and fish and chips shops within the town so I promised myself that I would bring the family for fish and chips the next time we came down to St Ives.

On the way out of St Ives, the coastal path started proper with soft, and often muddy (despite the lack of rain) tracks with either sharp shale rocks or large granite rocks and boulders providing obstacles on the way. A typical section of this part of the course can be seen in the photo below: -

Unfortunately for me, it was at this point where I first got my right foot wet. However, I had to continue and hope that Ellen had remembered to pack my spare socks and trainers for when we saw her at Zennor. I plodded on at no great pace up and down, zig zagging whilst avoiding and scrambling over rocks and boulders until I checked my Garmin watch which indicated that just over 10 miles had been covered. My right foot was very painful at this point as the wet socks had rub and the blisters had started. This was the big turning point for me on this final day; the blisters that I had managed to evade for the previous two days had arrived with terror. I finally arrived at Zennor to meet the family. I needed to sit down and sort the feet out. On arrival I was still in the mix with a lot of runners around me, however, they didn't stick around for long but I had some urgent repair work to undertake.

Ellen, my saviour on so many occasions this weekend, pulled a fresh pair of socks and my spare trainers out of my kit bag; what a star! I taped up my feet as well as could be and put the new kit on. Despite the dry feet, the damage was already done. Bruised flesh underneath the blisters on my right heel and three other blisters on each feet to contend with for the next 18 miles!

On arrival in Zennor. Cuddle first, feet second!

On leaving Zennor it was basically a bit more run, walk, run, walk until the feet numbed up a bit. This was the point where we had to take in the diversion and then make our way back to the coastal path. It wasn't long until we were back on familiar ground where the 'running' became more scrambling and climbing.

As per the previous two days, the unforgiving sun arrived around midday. We needed to get to around the 15 mile point at the infamous CP2 at Trevean Cliff. I wasn't sure whether any of the gang would be there to meet us, especially the kids as it involved some climbing and dangerous drops. Despite being only 5 miles from CP1, the distance seemed endless. After relentless climbs and descents over headland after headland I finally saw the flag and, even better, Ellen!

The VO2 guys were fantastic. Ellen got me a cup of sugary tea (yeah, I know but it really boosted me!) and we perched on a rock for a couple of minutes. What would you choose? 1) To run an 80 mile ultra off-roader or 2) go for a swim in this...........

Despite the temptation, I chose to carry on!

Before I left, my dad came over the hillside with Ellie which was lovely and he couldn't believe the terrain, but I couldn't hang around. I needed to get going to Cape Cornwall. As I left this was the path and the terrain we needed to cover: -

With lacerated feet, a heavy head and with the sun beating down, I set out for the last check point at Cape Cornwall. The path began to widen out a little a couple of miles on from CP2 but the remorseless sun beat down as we passed by the old Levant tin mines and Pendean Lighthouse, on and on until Cape Cornwall. Exhastion had well and truly set in now, but giving up at this stage never entered my mind.

The support crew at Cape Cornwall.

Day dragging on at the beautiful Cape Cornwall

A mix a opinions from the VO2 guys over the distance to Lands End varied between 5 and 8 miles. Due to not knowing the exact total length of todays run my Garmin wasn't much help. It really was the home straight from here with just the finish line to go.

By now, Al and a lady called Lyn (who I had run with yesterday and for a lot of the second half of today) had stretched ahead due to the excruciating pain on my feet on the downhill sections, although I was able to catch up a little on the flats and uphills. I realised at this point that the next time I would see Alex would be at the finish line. As the paths levelled out more and took on a bit more width I was able to pick up the pace and caught up with Lyn at Sennen Cove. We ran together through the dunes across the beach and down to the car park until we passed a sign 'Lands End 1 1/4 miles'. We ran passed and had to conquer one more ascent to a headland. It was here that I finally saw the finish line and the VO2 flag.

Where it came from I don't know, I've always said that 'if you sprint the finish then you haven't pushed hard enough during the race'. But that's what happened and there was still about a mile to go. I thought I'd gone too soon at first but I managed to maintain it until I saw the finish and everyone waiting for me. Ellie had run about 200m to meet me and then Jack eventually joined us to make a perfect finish with them both holding my hands as we crossed the finish line.

It's all a bit of a blur from this point. I was exhausted. I vaguely remember getting my trophy, pasty (shared with the kids) and looking around for a Forgoodness Shake to no avail. The one thing I do remember is sharing the fantastic sunset with Ellen and all my brilliant support crew who had been waiting for me all day long.

My beautiful family.

Mum and dad.

He came, he saw, he conquered!

28.5 miles - 08:20:00

74th position out of 143

Overall 3-day total 20:18:00

80th position out of 127 3-day finishers

I swore at the time I wouldn't do it again, but looking back I'm pretty keen now that I know the set-up and the terrain involved.

A massive thank you to everyone who has supported me through this adventure and to all who have sponsored me to support Ataxia UK. In total, we have all managed to collect around £1,300 in both online and offline sponsors. BRILLIANT!!

More training, Paris Marathon in April.

See you at the start in 2010.

Gaz x

ATLANTIC COAST CHALLENGE DAY 2 - Perranporth to Hayle

Woke up this morning feeling ok despite a restless, sleepless night. Ellen tried in vain to massage my legs with a new hand held machine but I ended up doing it myself as it was too tickly!

This was the morning I woke up with the greatest appetite of the weekend and polished off two boiled eggs on toast and proceeded to make nearly everyone's breakfast to try and occupy my mind.

Ellen's parents were down for today (which proved to be invaluable) and were meeting us in Perranporth at the start.

Alex and I went down to the VO2 HQ on our own as today's finish was at the HQ and therefore we would all meet there at the end of the day and save Ellen the initial drive to and from the site for the start. We arrived a little bit pushed for time and got the kit checked whilst the briefing was held. Following my big breakfast I had a 'few soldiers that needed dropping off at the coast' but whilst contemplating the throne we were herded onto the mini-buses and headed to Perranporth.

We arrived in Perranporth shortly before 11am and there was a mass evacuation towards the public toilets. I then said a quick hello to my roadies and we were off, straight up the hill to the coastal path.

A relatively short section of steep climbs, descents and rugged steps (I think around 10K) and we climbed back down to Trevaunace Cove in St Agnes where the team were waiting. For a prime example of the climbs/descents that are involved the picture below is the descent from the headland before Trevaunace Cove.



The very steep descent down to the cove opened the eyes of Stephen and Karen (Ellen's parents) to what this was all about. No waiting around here, stuck a Snicker in my bag and grabbed a handful of Jelly Babies (shared with the kids - thanks VO2). Still felt pretty fresh (see below) but this was soon to change.



From Trevaunance Cove, we climbed straight back up onto the coastal path leaving the gang to visit the local watering hole for well deserved refreshments. The steep profile was relentless from here and the only light relief was the stunning scenery. We past so many places that I have vowed to return to with the family; places that I rarely (if ever) visited when I lived back home in Newquay. One such place was Chapel Porth, although the descent to the car park, followed by the immediate near vertical ascent back up, put me right off for the day!

We passed by a redundant tin mine (not many people new what it was!?!?) and then on towards Porthtowan. Al and I put on a bit of a sprint at this point down the headland to the beach which was probably not the wisest of moves over the entire weekend as we then had another steep climb up the other side. This climb up had to be the most sketchy of the weekend as the path was no further than a couple of feet away from a sheer drop to the rocks below with no fence or even hedge between.

We took in a couple more headlands until we rounded the headland with the climb down into Portreath. At this point we could make out the crowd surrounding the VO2 flag and mini-buses but couldn't see the gang until....DADDY....DADDY....it was Jack. We couldn't see him but he could obviously see us and made it clear to half of Cornwall. Lovely to hear him and know that they were down there waiting but we had just passed the 12 mile mark and I was hitting a low.


My little pacer Ellie still doing a great job!

We eventually got to the beach car park and I immediately lay down with my feet raised. All the blood was in my feet and needed to get it back into my upper body.

This was one of the lowest points of the entire weekend. I can't remember what I ate and drank but eventually got my arse in gear and got moving again. Ellen told me that she wouldn't be at the next check point as she was taking the kids back to Newquay with my parents in the hope of keeping them rested in anticipation of a long and final day tomorrow where they would be at every check point on the course. However, Stephen and Karen filled the roll of support crew with great enthusiasm and vigour.

Just when I thought things were bad, things got much worse.....



The above photo is Carvannel Downs near Gooden Heane Point. Take a good look. The descent was a killer on the quads, particularly given the distance we'd already covered over 1.5 days, and then we came to the steps back up. Like I said, take a good look!!

I should really have taken note of the local names to realise what the terrain would be like, but we soon passed Dead Man's Cove. At this point we heard a car pull up, horn blaring! It was Stephen and Karen with Marta and they had seen us from the road towards Godrevy Head (CP3) running parallel to the coastal path. I was really struggling now, and couldn't seem to get myself together, but onwards we plodded with the aim of getting to Godrevy Head ASAP.

In the heat of the day, with me on a slow boil, we eventually made out Godrevy Lighthouse in the distance. Al, with a little more in the tank than me, ran ahead at this point.



It was then I saw Stephen and Karen about 1/4 mile my side of the check point with a bag full of goodies, unfortunately no Big Mac & Fries!! We made our way down to register at CP3 and I needed to sort out my fuel. I'd been on a Lucozade Caffeine drink up to now which did quench my thirst but I found it was putting me on temporary highs before hitting big lows. Time to sort it out - I pulled out some carb powder and mixed it with water at the check point hoping that this would sort me out until the finish, only around 10k to go. It was then I realised how stunning this check point was, definately a place to return to with the family especially as Ellen couldn't be around at this check point.

Despite how I was feeling, I realised I was actually still in the mix at this point with plenty of runners around me. This bucked me up a lot and after a hug (and a vow never to do this again - later to be retracted) with Stephen and Karen I made my way down to the sand at St Ives Bay for the long sandy slog around to Hayle. A stunningly beautiful day but a little too hot for running a coastal path marathon but it actually felt great to be on the beach. I saw a couple of competitors take their pumps off to run bare footed across the sand. I was tempted but also worried that I wouldn't be able to put them back on when we got to Hayle for the run up to the race HQ.

Eventually, after what seemed a long, long time, at the end of the beach run I made for the coastal path once more and picked up the road to CP4 (put in place to prevent a short cut across the dunes!) where I was met by Ellen (back from taking the kids to Grandma and Grandads house). A quick kiss and cuddle and I found new vigour as there was only a couple of miles on road left to go. The concrete and tarmac was a welcome relief and I picked up the pace and ran all the way to the Race HQ.



The run-in to Day 2 finish line.

I eventually ran across the finish line to the cheers of Ellen, Stephen, Karen, Marta and Al (who had finished only a couple of minutes before me). Whilst I sat to recover, Stephen sneaked off a bought me a hooded VO2 ACC top which was fantastic although I swore not to wear it until I had completed day three (but haven't taken it off since!)

The day was completed by the most fantastic tomato and lentil soup courtesy of the VO2 caterers (nice one guys!) Ellen then helped me hobble back to the car and then back to Newquay for the night. I felt ok considering the past 2 days and we even managed to go out to Pizza Express. Just a matter of seeing how I would feel by the morning, but I had got this far, I was determined to finish no matter what.

26.2 miles - 06:02:00

74th position out of 158

ATLANTIC COAST CHALLENGE DAY 1 - Trevose Head to Perranporth

Well, I woke up Friday morning very early, before the alarm and before the kids. I just wanted to get up and start running but registration wasn't until 10am. I occupied myself by getting the kids breakfasts, playing Spiderman with Jack and watching Ben 10. Ellen had a stinking cold and really wasn't fit for the type of weekend to come.

Left for the race HQ at 09:15 as we needed time to get accustomed to what we needed to do everyday. On arrival it emerged that the race start had been delayed so we signed in, hung around and had time to send some nerves of to the coast.

Ellen and Marta left to go back and pick up the kids and would go to Check Point 1 to meet us as arranged.

A mini-bus journey half way across the length of Cornwall doesn't generate much to blog about but after what seemed an eternity we arrived at Trevose Head. A mass urination in the general direction of America was always on the cards....I just made sure I was upwind of the next person!

The day was running late so the start was pretty sharp........and off we went; around 80 runners straight off into the Cornish landscape.

Trevose Head to Check Point 1 - Mawgan Porth.
Unknown to everyone but Alex, this was my old stomping ground when I was a kid.....but alas this provided no advantage whatsoever.

One guy (we nicknamed the Mountain Goat) we now know holds the world record for 10 marathons over 10 days. Another guy would go on to complete his 600th marathon when finished on Sunday!! Anyway, back to us amateurs, CP1 was about 10km on from the start. Relatively (in comparison to what was to come) 'gentle' undulating coastline gave way to headlands and cliff faces that we would be more accustomed to later throughout the weekend.

The headland before Mawgan Porth was probably the biggest climb so far....

On the way down to Mawgan Porth a German lady took a tumble and it took Alex and myself to pull her up from the cliff edge; brought it all into reality how dangerous this could potentially be!!

On the way down we could make out our support crew waiting with the VO2 crew which was great! Soon a quick kiss and cuddle with everyone was enough to make me crack on.

The next stretch from Mawgan Porth to CP3 at Crantock (via the half way CP2 at Lusty Glaze and a cup of sugary tea!) was on my home patch and slowly but surely I noticed a trail of people tagging along as word of the local boy quickly spread as people sought a quick route through Newquay. Porth beach, CP2 at Lusty, town centre and then Fistral beach all came and went pretty quickly as I knew where I was going and how far I had to go. A fair amount of runners had gathered behind me and I felt like the pied piper as people followed!!

Soon, Fistral (the place that I spent the majority of my childhood) had been conquered. All I fancied doing was getting my board and getting in the surf!

The view from South Fistral - Beautiful weather and the surf wasn't bad either!

From here, it was around Pentire headland and over the River Gannel to Crantock. I could see that it would be a dry crossing as Fistral was pretty low.

Over the headland we went and the trail of people pulled ahead of this amateur!

I hit the top of the old Fern Pit Cafe - really steep steps down the cliff to the Gannel Estuary where an old small Aquarium used to be.........HOLY CRAP! it was still there and a new bridge had been built!!!! It used to be an old man who you paid 20p to row you over to Crantock. Heading down the I saw an angelic site on the sand...Ellen with the kiddies in tow.

My pacers Ellie and Jack! CP3 at Crantock provided another nice refreshing cuppa (plenty of milk so I could neck it down quickly!

Here we go for the run-in to Perranporth, I was under no illusion as to the distance so I just had to grit my teeth, put my head down and run. Pretty much uneventful ups and downs of the headlands and evil sand dunes passing Polly Joke (a beach I used to take Ellen to when we were 'courting') and then around past Holywell and the MOD firing range (kept my head well down!) and then I saw it......

For those of you who have never been to Perranporth, it is one of the longest beaches in Cornwall. A long slog of around 2.5 miles of soft sand which sucks at your feet with every step. It was at this point that I started getting a bit delerious. I'd already run further than ever before on some of the wildest terrain in the country (so far at least) but now my hands started to tingle and lose all feeling, my head was spinning and I'd run out of fluids at the start of the beach section. How the heck I got to the finish line standing is beyond what I can remember, but I did.

Arriving at the finish line, still smiling!

There's a photo of me on the VO2 website with my feet in the air trying to get some blood back to my upper body!

One down, two to go.

26.2 miles - 05:55:00

85th position out of 164

I'm back, knackered and my right foot is shredded!

Too tired to blog so a bit of catch up needed throughout the coming week!!

Here are the end credits at Land's End......what a sunset!!



My lovely support crew (minus both sets of grandparents who were awesome!)


I even managed a sprint finish to the most beautiful girl in the world!

Gaz

££££££

Great news going into the race, online and paper sponsors have just crashed through the £1,000 mark.

HUGE THANKS TO EVERYONE!!!!

See you when I get back.

Gaz

The day before....

All packed up last night, Ellen did the normal packing for the 5 of us whilst I packed a separate case with all my kit. Went through the 'essential kit' list and put it all in my pack which I'll be carrying on the three days. Not too bad weight wise - especially once I've necked the drink and snickers! Ellen will meet me en route every 10k ish so I'll be able to refuel with her. VOTWO also provide stuff at the checkpoints so I doubt I'll be short of fuel.

Alex and his girlfriend Marta are heading over today and we'll drive down in convoy to Newquay to my folks.

Probably won't be able to blog until I get back on Monday night, as my folks don't have internet access and I can't see me having the energy to search for WiFi.

Laters

Gaz