And then there was two....

Its now a couple of days since I completed challenge 10, the Snowdonia Marathon and my legs are still feeling it which I'm not sure if its the running or the 600 plus miles of driving that I did either side of the event.

Having survived the night and my first experience in a youth hostel I ventured down to breakfast and was greeted by a number of other runners tucking into their porridge.

I started off with a couple of weetabix but the smell of bacon cooking was just too good and so I followed this up with a full english. 

The race didn't start until 10:30 so I figured that I had a few hours to digest that bad boy and besides I did a similar thing when I did 6 marathons in 6 days and had no real after affects.

The talk of storms and torrential rain, thankfully, had been just that and although it was very windy it was dry, the only dilemma was how many layers to wear. I decided I would wait until I got down to the start to make my final choice.

I waved goodbye to the hostel and drove down to the start.

As you can image with 1,500 plus runners taking part there was a lot of hustle and bustle in and around Llanberis. 

Parking was pretty straight forward and we were greeted by this beautiful view.

After my usual 4/5 pit stops I started to head towards the start line which was about a 15 minute walk from the centre of Llanberis.

With the clock ticking down to 10:30 the excitement was building among the runners. Following a short briefing the hooter sounded and we were off.

Having ran a couple of events before I knew not to get too carried away in the early stages and to run my own race. This was tough especially when you have a stream of runners going past up but I knew that there was a good chance I would see some of them again later in the race.

After only a couple of miles we reached the first major climb. This went on for a couple of miles where we climbed up to around 1,100 ft.

It was great to get to the summit where we were greeted by a water station, after a quick gulp of water it was down hill. Now the thought of going downhill would be pleasing to some people but it is tough going on the legs particularly the impact on the knees.

The route then changed from tarmac to trail which was again tough going particularly as it was quite wet and uneven.

I was feeling pretty good at the halfway point and I then started to increase my pace slightly. This was when I started to see a few familiar faces from the start of the race as it was now me passing them.

This continued as I gradually ticked off the miles with the growing anticipation of the final and toughest climb.

As I reached the 22 mile mark the gradient started to change and there were a lot more people walking in front of me. I continued up to the point where it made no difference if I was running or walking as the pace was the same.

This was a very steep climb for 2 miles where the wind blew a gale across us. It was a great feeling to get to summit knowing that the remaining 2 miles were all down hill.

What I didn't know was that about a mile and half of it was actually cross country. Despite that and the risk of twisting my ankle or blowing my knee I hit the last section pretty hard and as we entered into Llanberis again I knew there was only a few hundred metres to go.

With the finish line in site I managed to do a sprint finish and thanks to the cool race numbers that had our names on it, it was a great buzz to hear people shouting your name on the finish straight.

I crossed the line in 4 hours 12 minutes which considering the hills, and the fact I walked some of the last one, was very pleasing as my PB for a marathon is 3 hours 54 minutes.

After getting my commemorative coaster and being wrapped in a foil blanket I headed to the baggage hall for a well earned brew!

I managed to grab a shower before getting back into the car for a 3 hour drive where I was finally able to enjoy a refreshing pint or 2!

Some of the official photos are available to have a look at click here 

As you know this is all in aid of Springboard Opportunity Group who do fantastic work with disabled children and provide valuable support to families. To donate please visit my sponsorship page here

So then there were two...that's right only two more challenges to go. 

The next one is the Centurion running Winter 100 in five weeks time, to have a look at what lies ahead of me click Winter 100             

A wet wales welcome!

So it's now 8:30 the night before Challenge 10 the Snowdonia Marathon and the wind is howling outside and the rain is lashing down!

But at least I'm inside and all being well it will blow over by tomorrow morning, I can at least dream!

If the prospect of the hills, wind and rain weren't enough to worry about getting here was a challenge in itself!

After 7 boring hours stuck in the car with only my bad singing to keep me company I made it to Llanberis to get my race number.

Pretty much all of the journey was baked in sunshine that was until I crossed the boarder where I was greeting by an almighty storm with lightening flashing all around me!

By the time I got to the registration it had started to brighten up although still very windy and raining!

I headed of to the youth hostel and on route there was a slight break in the clouds.

Well this is my first experience of a youth hostel and to be fair it's not too bad although I'm not sure how comfortable this bad boy is going to be but at least I got the bottom bunk!

I'm fed and watered so it's off to bed  now to get a bit of sleep before to big race tomorrow!

Practice makes perfect

Well it's been a while since my last blog update but I'm pleased to say that all is good and I'm in pretty good shape as I head into challenge number 10 on Saturday (26 October) in the shape of the snowdonia marathon.

What I realised this week is that it is now exactly a year since I started training for the first challenge, I have now covered over 2,650 miles which has taken 323 hours to complete. 

At this rate and with only 3 events to go I think it is possible to exceed 3,000 miles and I can still walk, well just about!

My training has started to focus on my last challenge and with the help of a rowing machine I have at home I'm gradually increasing my mileage as I build up to the 42mile row!

More on that in the coming weeks but my attention for now is on the latest challenge and despite people thinking that it's only a marathon and I've ran further a numerous occasions this year none of these runs included the hills/mountains that I will be taking on around Snowdon.

The 2 main climbs are 1,100ft after about 2/3 miles and 1,200ft after around 23 miles and along with the beautiful scenery and the weather forecast of wind and rain it makes this no ordinary marathon!

The event is going to be televised so if you get a chance tune in to S4C on Sunday 27 October at 8pm an look out for this guy!

Living in Essex and in particular Southend it's a little bit limited on the number of hills to practice on so this has been my hill training.

With around 112 steps I hope doing laps of this will get me through the beastie climbs I'm going to face!

I've received great support again over the last few weeks which has included a follow up article in the Southend Echo 

http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/10714347.Andy_s_amazing_charity_challenge_is_almost_over/

Thanks again to the team for their continued support in promoting the challenge.

The sponsorship has gone a bit slower than I'd like at this point and I am behind where I'd like to be at this point but I'm confident that I will get close to the £5k target.

As always to donate please go to https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/averagejoe 

Your donations will go to a directly to Springboard Opportunity Group and will help support the excellent work that they do for children with disabilities.

Well it's time to pack ahead of my 6 hour journey tomorrow where an overnight stay in the Snowdon Ranger youth hostel awaits for me!