introduction

 This website started as a way to document my attempt at completing the Montane Dragons Back Race. An epic 6 day, 380km adventure with 17,400m of climb. A marathon and a half every day for 6 consecutive days over the mountains of Wales.

Now that I have completed that journey this page needs to evolve and so now it will document all of my running as I continue to try and experience new things.

My journey started from a desire to honour my father-in-law and raise money for charities related to the illnesses he was suffering from. On 13 November 2019 I signed up to my biggest physical (and mental) challenge yet. The Peak District Ultra challenge which is a 100km event on a single day which was originally scheduled for 4th July 2020. (note: the race was deferred due to Covid and will now take place on 3rd July 2021)

The charities I am running for are:

· Parkinson’s UK (www.parkinsons.org.uk)

· Alzheimer’s Society (www.alzheimers.org.uk)

· CPS Nepal (www.cpsnepal.co.uk)

The first two represent the illnesses Stan was suffering from, Parkinsons and Lewy Body Dementia. A terrible combination that meant the man we loved was lost and someone else was in his place. If I could raise money for those charities and achieve this personal goal then maybe it would be something that would make him proud – if only he knew what was happening.

CPS Nepal is a charity close to our hearts. My wife, Karen, has been a trustee of this charity for about 15 years now and together with two other trustees they raise every penny to fund an orphanage in Kathmandu, Nepal for 24 children. A number of the orphans have gone on to independent living and successful careers. From tragedy they are given a chance all through the work of my wife and two others. 

You can find out more about all three charities through the charities page. 

After going live with my crowdfunding page – crowdfunding is the only solution that enabled me to split the funds three ways – tragedy struck. Stan lost his battle with illness and passed away in December 2019. Shortly afterwards his wife Jan also passed away, early February 2020, having had a relatively short fight with an aggressive cancer. In just 8 short weeks my wife had lost both her parents.

They are my inspiration. Every hard training run and every event that I tackle I will be thinking of them. Their memory and my own determination will drive me through every finish line. Raising money along the way will be a bonus and I hope people feel able to contribute. Every penny is appreciated and makes a difference to these amazing charities.

In March 2020 Covid started to have a major impact on all of our lives. Lockdown began and so too did the cancellation of races. On the plus side I had been given the gift of time. Working from home meant that I saved commuting time and so now I had the time to train properly and I threw myself into it.

2020 was the most prolific running year of my life. Having turned 48 during the year running over 2,000 miles was no small feat. I continued to sign up for events – all part of my training for the 100km – and started to feel that I needed to do something even bigger. Not for charity this time, but for me. I am approaching 50 and want to know how far I can push myself. I completed my first 50km event in Oct 2020 (just over 5 hours) and knew that I could complete the 100km. The next event I signed up to had to be something where standing on the start line I would not know if I would be able to finish.

Enter the Dragon’s Back Race and the “world’s toughest mountain race”. 360km of running over 6 days with enough ascent to just about climb Everest twice! That was the challenge I needed. I would be prepared. I would do the right training. But, would my body and mind be able to get through it. I don’t know and will never know until I tackle it for real but I will be prepared and give everything I can to do it.

Having completed the Dragons Back Race (full race report in my training blog) I am looking to try new things. My next big event is the South Downs Way 100, a 100 mile race organised by Centurion Running. I have heard good things about them and so look forward to that.

The fundraising pages are closed for now and so far we have raised over £12,000 for the 3 chartities. An amazing amount of money that will really make a difference. A massive thank you to everyone that donated. Every penny helps. You can still donate directly to any of the charities and the links to do so are on the charities page.

Now, the journey continues and my training blog is where you can keep up to date with my running exploits…………