5 Days to Go.........

Saturday 2nd April 2011


10,066,170 training metres run

£10,720 in the charity pot

5 weeks without Chablis or Pringles

Resting pulse 38

5 more sleeps
5 more runs
1 more chiropractic
1 more massage and
111 hours of stress and fretting to doomsday....

Much of the past 2 weeks (when not working that is) has been spent plotting the route and planning the stops. Which proved a much more challenging task than expected. Accommodation along the rural stretches in France is thin on the ground to say the least. Three days at home were spent alternately poring over French walking maps and trawling the French accommodation web sites. A comprimise has now been reached which will hopefully satisfy the largely conflicting requirements of a scenic but reasonably direct route and some comfortable beds at the end of each day.

Logistical support is now all in place. John & Jamie - 2 local running friends - are doing the first two days on bikes. Charles's godfather Uncle Paul is meeting me on the North Downs during the third day then Julia will (hopefully) be catching up with me the evening of the fourth day in Dover. Then just the two of us meandering through France. The one with the brains by car - the idiot on foot.

I completed my last long training run 2 weeks ago - 60km on a beautiful crisp Saturday morning. The first half very comfortably along the river to Henley where I enjoyed a tuna sandwich and a bottle of water before making the same mistake I have made before and heading away into the hills without any means of rehydrating. It was another 28km before I finally staggered into a pub in Great Haseley at which point I discovered - rather embarrasingly - that I couldn't actually speak. Ordering two pints of orange and lemonade by means of mime is not as easy as you might think.

In my defence this time I didn't realise either that Oxfordshire would be this hilly or that there would be no means of obtaining liquid. Maybe I just didn't give it enough forethought because in hindsight the map was quite explicit. Lots of tiny contours crammed together; CHILTERN HILLS in huge capital letters across the map and no sign of any villages through which to pass. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger and all that. I'll have support with fluids en route to France so dehydration is hopefully one problem for which I will have made adequate contingency.

Last week saw my last 'medium' run - my regular 20km monday morning run along the Trent in Nottingham. Comfortable enough if you discount the dogs. Chased by two and then phsyically attacked by the third.

'He's just playing' his mistress said.

'Madam. He's bitten my hand and my leg and has just shredded my brand new running strides. If I hadn't kicked him in the nuts he would have shredded me as well. That is not playing that is attempted murder'.

I paraphrase of course but I don't exaggerate.

The eposide did make me consider what might happen if a similar event took place in rural France so we are trying to track down dog deterring sprays. Huge thanks to Sally & Alan Dickinson of Von Wolf Kennels for donating the spray that may turn out to be a lifesaver!!

Good friend Wendy (who along with Julia, Uncle Paul & his partner Jo, Charles and myself completes the rather ad hoc organsing committee), has taken it upon herself to drum up some publicity. Not without a certain amount of success. The Henley Standard ran a quarter page as did the Nottingham Evening Post. Sir John Madejski is coming down on Thursday to start the escapade (on condition we provide him with a klaxon) and hopefully the local press and radio will be covering proceedings.

As I type this the aforementioned Wendy is in ToysRus with a tin bucket and picture board collecting from unsuspecting shoppers.

All of which is helping push us to the brink of the £11,000 fund raising target. Hopefully the charities will consider this a worthwhile contribution. I certainly consider it sufficient to eliminate failure as a possible outcome.

Time will tell.......