Challenge 12 complete = Average Joe Challenge complete

On December 14 2013 at around 3:30 in the afternoon I completed challenge 12 and in doing so completed my year long challenge!

The event was very different from all the others as I attempted to row the equivalent of crossing the channel and back a total 42 miles!

Up to the week before the furthest I had actually rowed was 7 miles, then on the Sunday before hand and less than a week before the actual event I rowed 26 miles. Was this foolish to do it so close to the challenge..well as it turned out no it wasn't and I completed the distance in 6 hours and 39 minutes.

I was anticipating around 8 hours so to finish 1 hour and 20 minutes quicker took me by surprise, although given the pain I had in my arse it was a blessing really!

The challenge was carried out at the Borough Shopping Parade in Chippenham. Halogen UK who operate the shopping parade were brilliant and provided gazebos, a face painter, elves to give out chocolates and the Santa suit!

They had also advertised the event which was awesome.

I arrived at Chippenham on Friday evening where I stayed with Russ and Jen (Eva's parents), they provided me with a great carb loading meal as we made the final arrangements for the Saturday.

Unfortunately Veryan (the wife) and the kids weren't able to join me for the last challenge as it was a case of either the rower or them...on this occasion the rower won and they stayed at home.

It was a relatively early start on Saturday morning but I was able to enjoy having breakfast with Eva who became partial to my toast in the process!

Russ and I set off about 7:45 with the plan to start around 8:30, unfortunately this message didn't quite reach Jane Boulton the manager at Springboard who, along with a team of helpers, arrived just before 7! 

With the gazebos and rower in place there was only one thing left to do.....that's right change in to the Santa outfit!

So at around 8:40 with my support crew including Bouncy Bear in place I started the first half of the challenge 34,000 metres or 21 miles!

Being outside was great as it meant that I didn't get too hot even in the Santa suit and I had lots of distractions from all the shoppers. 

I must also say a big thank you to cafe Nero who gave me free tea all day which for a massive tea drinker like myself was amazing, the only issue was trying to drink it and row at the same time!

Throughout the day supports came and went thanks to a rota put in place by the springboard team. Even Bouncy Bear seemed to regenerate more times than Dr Who but the kids loved it unfortunateky they weren't to sure of the guy on the rower who sort of looked like Santa!

After 3:09 I had completed the first half of the challenge and in theory had landed in France. 

I made a quick pit stop (again thank you cafe Nero for letting me use the toilets) and reapplied some lube then it was back on the rower for the return journey.

This was the tough part and I went through a tricky spell but after more tea and a warm pasty (eaten whilst rowing) I came out of it the other side.

As I said earlier I had a number of people who distracted me whilst I was rowing including some carol singers

And the Mayor of Chippenham

After another 3 hours and 30 minutes I completed the second half of the event.

So in a total of 6 hours and 39 minutes I had done and completed challenge 12 and the entire Average Joe Challenge!

The team from Springboard did an amazing job on the day and as a result they collected over £590 (including gift aid) which has helped get the fundraising total to just over £4,800 which is bloody brilliant and made one girl very happy!

The donation page is open until the end of January so all being well we should pass the £5k target!

https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/averagejoe

Again I want to thank everyone for their support throughout the year, it has been epic and in the coming weeks I will post a blog to summarise the last 12 months.

In the mean time I would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Andy

Final Countdown!

So here we are after what has been a truely amazing year where I have completed awesome challenges and events back to back it comes down to this the final challenge! 

With only three days left until the big event I want to take a few minutes to reflect on the 12 months of challenges undertaken in 2013. 

It all started in January with challenge 1 and my first Ultra Marathon - the Country to Capital Ultra which I completed in 7 hours and 49 minutes.

February in glorious sunshine Challenge 2 was the London Ultra all 32 miles (should have been 31) which I completed in 5 hours 3 minutes!

March – Challenge 3 I went for a run in the New Forest with their 31 mile Ultra Marathon and finished in 5 hours and 16 minutes and came 26th out of 50.

April – Challenge 4 was a biggy and one of my favourites where I completed 6 marathons in 6 days.

Day/Marathon 1 (27miles) - 4hrs 30mins

Day/Marathon 2 (26.2miles) - 5hrs 16mins

Day/Marathon 3 (27miles) - 5hrs 6mins

Day/Marathon 4 (26.2miles) - 5hrs 5mins

Day/Marathon 5 (26.2miles) - 4hrs 45mins

Day/Marathon 6 (26.2miles) - 4hrs 24mins

May Challenge 5 was the first of the cycling events and after 7hrs and 46mins I completed the 105 mile hilly course of the Castle Ride and in one piece, just but it hurt!

June Challenge 6 I went to Wales and took on the mountains and after 11hrs and 58mins and a number of climbs over 1600 feet I completed the 132 mile dragon ride!

July –“toe gate” and I was out of action due to gout - would this be the end of the challenge......No way!

August Challenge 7 Many people have enjoyed cycling the 140 mile route from the Lake District, across the Pennines and ending up in Tynemouth or Sunderland, but they usual do this over 3 or 4 days not try to tackle the beast in one day. However after 14 hours and 12 minutes I finally crossed the finish line completing 7 of the 12 challenges!

Challenge 8 – the Essex 100 and final bike ride seemed a breeze compared to the others and I completed it in 5 hours 52 minutes.

Challenge 9 - September - London Duathlon which was a 10k run followed by a 44k bike ride and to finish it off a cheeky 5k run. I completed it in 2 hours 51 minutes and it also meant that I had competed 3 challenges in 4 weeks!

Challenge 10- October it was back to wales again (the north this time) to take on more mountains but by foot this time in the Snowdonia Marathon, I crossed the line in 4 hours 12 minutes.

Challenge 11 November - Winter 100 (100 mile run), the toughest challenge yet and after 28 hours and 24 minutes I finished!

Now to Challenge 12. It is on Saturday 14 December where I will row the channel and back that's 42 miles on a rowing machinein Borough Parade Shopping Centre in Chippenham.

I know with Christmas looming people are busy getting ready for the big day but if you are free please come along and cheer me on. It should be a great day there is lots going on in Chippenham that weekend including a Victorian Chritmas Market.

I have also agreed to be dressed as Santa so that's got to be worth a look or at least a quid or two!

To date Ihas raised nearly £3,500 all for Springboard and it would be great to get to that wonderful £5,000 target!

So if you've not done so already or have and would like to donate more to Springboard please visit my fundraising page at https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/averagejoe

Thank you!

Toughest challenge yet!

Well it's now nearly two days since I completed the Winter 100 (Challenge 11) and it's safe to say that this was not only the hardest challenge to date but the hardest thing I have ever done!

But after 28 hours and 24 minutes I finished alongside my partner in crime for the challenge Mr Steve Drake!

Steve was a tower of strength throughout the race and really helped me to get to the finish line in one piece!

The race had started off really well and was going to our agreed strategy as we initially aimed to complete the race in 24 hours.

After the first 25 miles we were both very chirpy and within our 6 hour target, the only concern was that we may have gone off a bit too quick.

Leaving for the second 25 miles we both knew that it would be during this section that it would turn dark. This happened a lot quicker than we had anticipated so we both got out our torches and continued on the route.

Now to make the race more challenging the whole route was cross country which meant that the only light we had was that of the torches this made navigating our way ever harder.

The second spur also included a fair amount of climbing but despite this we completed 50 miles in under 12 hours.

Along every spur there was 4 check points, each one was stocked with food and fluids to get you through the race. 

Now being a master of working the buffet I was in my element as I negotiated my way through the savory eggs, sausage rolls, pork pies and wraps all of which were washed down with a brew!

Now I appriciate that this doesn't sound like the food of athletes but this might be the reason why I've taken to ultra marathons so well as it's not just about energy gels and jelly babies!

It wasn't just the food at the check points that helped us get through, the volunteers that were on hand were brilliant throughout the whole race!

We were lucky to also have support of the family and friends and a special mention needs to go to Martyn and Viv Hodges, Eva's grandparents, who stayed up the whole night and met us at all the checkpoints!

Knowing that they were on hand was great comfort, particularly when it started to get tough!

We headed out on the 3rd spur and we knew that this was going to be the toughest section both physically and mentally, it is safe to say it didn't disappoint! 

With the temperature dropping we continued on and although our pace was dropping too we kept moving trying to make sure we stayed warm!

When we finally got back to Streatley at 75 miles we knew that any hope of completing it in 24 hours had now gone.

But despite that we kept our spirits up, got some more warm clothes on and hot food down us before heading out on the final 25 miles.

It was now after 5:30 in the morning and it was still dark and things started to get really tough. As we trudged on it was becoming harder and harder to keep our eyes open, this was a very strange feeling! 

With words of encouragement to each other we made it to the check point and refuelled again despite it only being 4 miles from Streatly where we had just left.

What was a great sight when we left the check point was that it as daylight and this was the moral boost that we needed!

We headed off to the final turn point at Reading which seemed to take an eternity to get to but we made it knowing that we only had 12.5 miles to go.

It now became a race against the clock to finish before the 30 hour cut off and to bring home the buckle!

We got to the final checkpoint 4 hours before the cut off with only 4 miles to complete. So we waved goodbye to the support team and set off for the last time!

It was a great feeling knowing that we were slowly ticking off the last few miles and then we saw it, the bridge we crossed at the start of the last stage, we had done it!

And we had brought home the buckle!

After the race I saw this quote and I thought how significant it was having gone through this.

So I can now say that I am a centurion runner which is a great feeling. 

Not only that after the race James told me that he was proud of me which is an amazing feeling having your son say that!

I was also overwhelmed by all the messages of support throughout the day even though I didn't get to read them until I'd finished.

Surprisingly my recovery has been better then what I'd thought it would be and today I've been able to get back to the training with less than two weeks to go until the final challenge!

So it's one last push with the training and one big sponsorship drive! 

If you'd like to donate please click here https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/averagejoe

So here we go on the last few days of what has been a truely epic year!