Deloitte Ride Across Britian

So after a year of challenges for the Rockinghorse Appeal to celebrate turning 50 it came to the final one and also the biggest. Thanks to entering a competition with Cycling Plus Magazine I found myself lining up in Lands End with my bike and about 860 other mad people about to set off to cycle 980 miles up to John O Groats over 9 days! The Deloitte Ride Across Britain

Apologies if some of the timelines are a bit messed up, I had every intention of keeping notes of what happened when but that all fell by the wayside on arriving into base camp on day 1!

I do know that Day 1 started at Lands End and tackled some rather big hills on the way up to Okehampton passing by St Michael's Mount on the way, there were to be many more stunning views on the way up to JOG, not many of which I captured on camera, partly because you can never do justice to them in a picture and partly because I was too exhausted to stop and get my camera out, I may never have got going again.

During the ride a fellow rider noted that I was in Didcot Phoenix kit and commented that he lived in Wallingford, I had enough time to tell him that I no longer lived in Didcot but that my parents did before he sped off and left me behind. Later as we arrived at base camp we caught up again and realised that we had been at school together and that his sister was part of the group that I used to hang around with in sixth form!

I did have an enforced stop as part of day 1 though when going up one of  the many hills my left hand crank came off. I managed to get it back on and get to the pitstop where the mechanics sorted it out properly. I think there must be something about my peddling style as it seems every bike I have had has had issues with the left crank coming loose!

The days are generally broken down into 2 pit stops and base camp, this is how I was tackling the challenge too, it was always so many miles to the next stop. The pit stops were amazing with all sorts of food and snacks to top up your fuel levels, the guys with the water bowser to top your bottles up and a full house of cheery Team Threshold to lift your spirits and cheer you on your way.

On arrival at base camp all the tents were setup ready and waiting as were the showers and food, quite a remarkable logistical feat to get all this ready and waiting for almost 900 riders each day.

My routine each day seemed to fall into the same process, find my tent, find my bag, empty my bag, shower have some coffee, eat dinner have a pint or 2 and listen to the briefing for the following days ride before hitting my sleeping bag about 8.30pm!

5.30am was wake up time which gave enough time to get a hearty breakfast in, sort out kit for the day, pack, drop bag off at the lorry and fill your bottles for the ride ahead. Then it was onto counting down the miles to the next pitstop!

Day 2 was on to Bath where we would be treated to a bed for the night rather than a tent, other than that the routine was about the same. Although at Bath it was my turn for a massage, every other day you could get a 10 minute massage from a great group of Students who were doing this as part of their course.

This was also my first visit to the Medical team, I had been getting a sharp pain right across my knee and down the side, the medic checked me over and nothing was painful when he was pressing it so the diagnosis was inflammation of the cartilage. All I could do was some stretching of my Quads, take some anti-inflammatory tablets and try to adjust my pedalling style, maybe this would help my crank too!

Day 3 and we headed off to Ludlow where we would be back in tents at the racecourse, my knee was still quite painful and I was being careful not to take more than the allowed amount of pain killers.

One highlight of this day was the crossing of the river Severn, using the cycle path on the old bridge, it really was spectacular to ride across.

On arrival at the racecourse Dad was there waiting to great me in, I'm afraid I wasn't much company as I proceeded to dismount my bike and fall to the ground as my knee gave way beneath me. Dad helped me get my bike to the racking and to find my tent before heading off to the station home, as much as I didn't really get to speak to him much it was great to see him there.

Heading in to the food hall and sitting at one of the tables feeling a bit sorry for myself with my pain I started to talk to one of the other riders and we chatted about how things were going which cheered me up and took my mind of my pain, only when she got up to leave did we introduce each other by name and I found out that I had been talking to Mimi Anderson who I follow on Twitter amazed by her running exploits, I felt so honoured to have met her, she is a wonderful friendly person.

I bumped into Robin again having lost touch on day 1 at tent allocation and not seen each other on the ride to Bath, I wasn't sure I would recognise him casual wear. Anyway we had a catch up over the Cheese Board supplied by  the Deloitte team.

Day 4 was from Ludlow to Haydock which was supposedly quite flat so I hoped my knee would have time to recover a bit. During the ride I met up with a rider wearing a Castle Triathlon top so we chatted about which events we had done for a while. As we left a set of traffic lights something went in my knee more so than before and I was really struggling. A few miles later and it was agony even to turn the pedals without putting any pressure on my right leg. I was only about 4 miles from the 2nd pitstop and was determined to get there rather than call the medical team out.

A mixture of walking, pedalling with my right leg hanging lose and only using my left meant that I managed to get to the pitstop and see the medical team there. They gave me some Ibuprofen and told me to stretch my quads a bit, they also said that they thought my saddle was too low.

I have ridden this bike with the same setup all the time and never had any issues. I called Amanda and was distraught as I thought I would have to pull out of the ride completely, I really couldn't see how I could continue with my knee as it was.

I rested for quite a while and did some stretching, I also raised my saddle about 5mm, something quite drastic to do midway through a long multi day ride like this but I figured I didn't have anything to lose as I was on the verge of giving up anyway.

I managed to get to the base camp at Haydock racecourse and then into the routine of camp but this time included some rather fabulous cupcakes courtesy of a certain medal winning cyclist, Becky James!

Day 5 started early as I couldn't sleep that well, my mood improved though with a mention on Heart radio's 4 o'clock club with Jenni Falconer, this was alongside many good luck comments that I had received from friends and family which really spurred me on. Today would see us tackle Shap and would certainly be a test, although from previous experience I knew that it wasn't that steep it just went on and on and on! At the pitstop before we attempted Shap there was a nice banner to recognise  that we were now half way!

As we arrived at base camp I came across another rider who seemed to be struggling pushing off the ground and then freewheeling before pushing again. As I passed I noticed that his chain was missing so I turned round and went back to push him in to the finish rather than him have to struggle as he was.

Having racked the bikes it seemed to be a major hike to the tents compared to usual, something that was referred  to in the nightly briefing, to do with tracking and getting the lorries in and out, I told you it was a logistical feat to get everything in place.

Day 6 meant that we were to cross the border into Scotland and head up towards Edinburgh, according to my Strava this was only 91.8 miles with only 60ft elevation gain and in a dead straight line, hmm my legs were saying otherwise! It was actually 115 miles and several thousand ft elevation!

Day 7 and we headed out from Hopetoun House and across the Forth bridge another fantastic experience before we headed up into the Cairngorms, again I wasn't sleeping well so was up and part of the 4 o'clock club with another mention from the lovely Jenni on Heart set me on my way nicely.

The 2nd pitstop of the day was at the top of Glenshee an amazing climb, you realise how high you are when you are riding past gates that are used to close the roads when they get blocked by snow, the posts on the side of the road that have reflectors on that are higher than your head when out of the saddle marking the edge of  the roads and ski lifts around you.

It was a little windy and cold at the top so I grabbed some food and a coffee and set off on my way, really chuffed to have managed to complete the climb in one go.

A little sad that my Strava again said it was a dead straight line and only 89.6 miles with minimal elevation gain but the main thing was that it was an amazing ride with some spectacular views!

Day 8 was the longest of the ride at 118.4 miles apparently starting fairly early on with the climb up the Lecht, it had 3 pitstops one of only 2 days that had this extra power pit stop. My Strava did work today and told me that I completed 120 miles!

Again the views and the ride was amazing taking us through some beautiful places before arriving in Kyle of Sutherland for our final night in camp.

Day 9 and final day. The start was early at 6am, I was a bit worried about how long it would  take to complete the 104 miles up to John O Groats so I was up early and in the first batch of riders to leave. The day started well but with a few hills, arriving at Pit stop 1 I grabbed some food and stayed for a short time before on the bike and away again.

Then the descents and the wind hit, we apparently had a 31mph tailwind and rather than my usual speed of between 12 - 14 mph I was rattling along at 22 - 28 mph having an absolute ball of a time again through some amazing scenery.

I caught up with another rider at one point and discussed what a ride it had been so far, I mentioned that I felt sure that there would be some more hills to come and sure enough we turned a corner and headed up hill!

After a while we were back on some descents and even on the uphill bits with the wind behind us these didn't feel too bad.

Taking the final corner and heading down to the finish line was amazing coming across to be presented my medal by the medic who I had seen in Bath was incredible and made his prophecy come true in that my knee would not stop me getting to John O Groats and he would see me there!
Ignore the fact that the signpost says 874 Miles to Lands End, clearly Andy Cook didn't get that map!

There are too many people to thank individually but everyone at Threshold for the organisation, logistics, food, medical, massage, mechanical support and route deserve all the thanks that can be said, they put on a truly amazing event.

To everyone that sent messages of support that got me through my dark times, thank you so much just seeing a message or a like on a social media post lightened my mood and helped me get back on my bike each morning.

The only person that I must thank by name is Amanda, she has been totally supportive of not only this event but all of my challenges over the last year, so now I think it is time to take some time out to recover and reflect.

Long Course Weekend Wales

When I first started to think about what challenges I could do for my 50^th year in support of the Rockinghorse appeal, Long Course Weekend was one of the first to the list and supposed to be the biggest and longest challenge.

I heard about LCW from Dave and we decided that it would be a good idea to try and get in to it.

When the entries opened I was straight in and submitted my entry, then all I had to do was wait for almost a year for the event to come around, well there was some training involved in that year and a few other challenges.

Normally when I am doing these events it is not possible for Amanda to come with me as they are usually in term time and she works in a school. This time however she managed to get special permission to leave early on the Friday so she could come to Tenby with me.

I picked Amanda up from work at 11 and headed off towards Tenby, Google Maps saying it would be a 4.5 hour drive so we would be there in plenty of time before the 6pm deadline to register.

As we hit the M25 Google informed us that traffic was getting worse and that we would only get to Tenby about 5.30, I was getting a little anxious now, fortunately Google managed to find a quicker route and took us off along the M3. As we hit Wales the M4 was very heavy and I was convinced that we would not make it in time.

Eventually we arrived at Tenby Leisure Centre around 5.30 so half an hour to spare to get registered, then it was off to the beach to find Dave and Jenni, change into wetsuit and dive into the sea!

Having spent some time acclimatising to the water it was into the pen for the briefing before the gun went and we were off on our 2 lap swim. The first turn buoy never seemed to get any closer, in fact I was convinced that all the swimmers moving towards it were pushing it further away! Eventually though I did get to the turn and this was very messy, so many people trying to get around and some virtually climbing over others to do so.

The next section seemed to be so much easier, maybe the tide was helping but as we rounded the last buoy to turn for the beach the sun was glaring in our eyes and even though my goggles were tinted I could not see anything and just had to head for the noise of the PA. Finally I arrived at the beach exited the sea to run round and dive in again for another lap!

Again the first buoy never seemed to get closer, the second section was easier and the final section was blind but on exiting the sea for the second time it was across the line and the first of the medals was earnt.

As we were walking up the road we turned to see the final swimmers coming in towards the beach, the announcer stating that they only had a few minutes before the cut off.

The final swimmer came out of the sea with about 90 seconds to go but fell over and seemed to be on the floor for an age, plenty of people looking after them but all of us willing them to get up to cross the line and get their medal. They managed to find their feet and crossed the line within the time limit to receive their medal!

Saturday was the bike day, I am not sure what I put on my entry form but Dave was in the first wave which started 2 hours before my wave. I was now very concerned that I would not make the cutoff for the end of the first lap as this is set at 2pm rather than a number of hours after you start!

We met up with Jenni at the start to find that when Dave started there was quite a wait to get across the line due to only being let out in small batches, the roads are not closed so having an entire wave start at the same time would have caused chaos. With this in mind I made my way around to the start pen early so that I could get in the front of wave 3 and give myself the best chance of making the cut off.

The ride was a 2 lap course with the first lap having an extra bottom loop on, I was expecting it to be hilly and it didn’t disappoint! I decided that as it was so warm I needed to stop at all the feed stations to top up my water bottles to keep hydrated but also decided not to hang around too long at each, that cutoff always on my mind.

Getting towards the end of the first lap and there are 2 of the biggest hills, getting up them was great but also you knew that they would come around again just before the finish!

I made the cutoff with half an hour to spare, now all I had to do was get to the finish before 6pm.

The second lap was obviously shorter than the first and the feed stations seemed to appear so much quicker than I was expecting!

When the 2 big hills came, my legs were screaming at me “no more” I managed to ride up them both again, although at one point it was looking like I may have to climb off and walk.

Coming down the finish was an amazing feeling and then that was done medal number 2 in the bag.

Sunday is Run day. Unfortunately Dave had hurt his feet on the bike and would not be taking part in the run, the marathon starts at 10am and there is a strict 4pm cutoff for the run to finish.

It was a hot day and I was again worried about that cutoff and if I could run a marathon in under 6 hours after the previous 2 days exertions. My previous marathons this year in hot conditions had not gone well and they were on flat courses not like the hills that we were going to experience in Tenby.

We set off and I found Jon who had been at the Lakesman and was pacing this run at 4h15. I thought this would be massively optimistic but tried to say with him as long as I could. When we hit half way I was still with him and had only taken 2hrs 4 to get there, now I had 4 hours to get back to the finish and was feeling confident about finishing and getting that all important 4^th medal.

I lost touch with Jon as I was waiting to get some extra water on board and could see him in the distance as I started to head for home.

This was by far the hilliest run I have ever completed but the views were spectacular along the course.

As I headed back in to Tenby I was feeling really good my legs had survived, I had walked most of the hills but my time was looking good.

I walked up the last hill towards the finish but as soon as the road flattened out I could run again and on towards the red carpet and the finish line. I saw Dave in the crowd cheering me on, telling me that Amanda was on the side of the carpet to join me on the last few metres down to the line. She came out of nowhere it seemed grabbed my hand and ran down to cross the line. I had made it 4hrs 30 the fastest marathon I have run this year! That made the 3^rd medal.

One of the downsides of having run so fast was that I had longer to wait for the presentation ceremony of the 4^th LCW medal but it was worth the wait, all of us that had completed the 3 events inside the time limits were lined up in our LCW shirts behind the finish line ready to walk back up the carpet and receive the final medal.

Then it was a quick trip back to the cottage for a shower, cup of tea before the long drive home as I had to fly to Berlin for work at 6.30 Monday morning, back to the ground with a bump!

I am so proud to have completed the event and it made it even more special to be able to cross the finish line of the marathon with Amanda who has supported me so much with all my challenges but not been able to be at many of them.

Thanks must go to Dave and Jenni for all their support over the weekend and to Jon for getting me round the first half of the marathon in a time that meant I could finish easily inside the time limit.

Also thanks to all the supporters and marshals at all of the events but especially the spectator who was handing out ice pops on the run!!

If anyone has an spare change my donation page is still available at https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/AndrewFountain1

Next up Ride Across Britain Lands End to John O Groats!

The Lakesman 2018

Normally I thank people at the end of my post but this is quite a long one and I’m sure some people wont get to the end so I’m putting this first!

Thanks to Amanda for her remote support, work meant that she has been unable to get to either of the Lakesman events.

Thanks to Andy and Nicky, Dave and Jennie for all the support over the weekend and for keeping Amanda updated of how I was getting on.

Thanks to Marie, Phil and all the team behind putting on such a wonderful event.

Thanks to all the teams marshalling and manning the feed stations.

Thanks to Jamie the race ref, more about him later!

Anyway on to the actual event!

In 2016 I took part in the first Lakesman long distance triathlon and really enjoyed the experience, the fact that I managed a PB by some 30 minutes may have had something to do with it.

The main reason however was the way that it was organised and how the team putting the event on were keen to put the Athletes at the heart of everything they did, I have taken part in a few other brand of long distance tri and I can honestly say that the Lakesman is definitely the best.

Last year I wasn’t doing any long distance triathlon but still trekked up to Keswick from Sussex to volunteer to be part of the event. Whilst up there the half was discussed and I decided that I would like to take part in that this year.

I duly entered the half and was all gearing up for it as part of my challenges for my 50^th year for the Rockinghorse appeal (More about that here). Then I thought with all that I was doing I should be quite fit by the time the event came around and so after a chat with Chrissie Wellington at her book signing where I asked if she thought I should do the full or the half, I contacted Marie and Phil to ask about stepping up. Unfortunately they said it was no problem and soon it was sorted, I was in the full!!

I had to work on the Thursday evening before the weekend, which turned out to be a blessing in that it meant that I stayed further north than going home so my trip up on the Friday was shorter and I arrived in Keswick just before the registration opened.

Being there early meant that registration was quick and soon I was back at my lodging for the weekend and settled in. The evening was spent with Andy and Nicky who live locally, Dave and Jennie arriving with Mac a bit later having had a long drive from Sussex, which made me even more pleased about my travel arrangements.

Saturday morning was spent watching rugby and generally pottering about for the morning before heading over to Keswick to rack the bikes and attend the briefing, before heading back to the Kings to catch the end of the England rugby game, I think this was the only time that I wished the briefing was longer !

The briefing was short to the point and gave athletes the chance to ask any questions that they wanted, unlike some other briefings that I have been to that seemed to go on for ever and not actually give you any information!

After dinner Saturday night arrangements were made for the following morning, I was doing the full with Dave and Nicky doing the half. This meant I had to be up and out earlier as the Full was scheduled to start at 6am with the Half at 7.15.

I got to bed and set 4 alarms as I was scared that I would not wake up and unlike the last time my friends were not going at the same time so wouldn’t be phoning me to check I was up. As it happened the first alarm got me up and out so the others were not required.

I arrived at Transition around 5am and added my bottles and bars to my bike before heading in to the tent to sort my kit out and change into my wetsuit.

Nerves were really starting to kick in now, more so than any other triathlon I have done, actually most of the challenges I have taken on as part of my year fundraising have left me feeling more nervous than other events I have done.

I wandered down to the lake and then back to transition before heading off down to the lake again and then back to transition! On one of these walks Dave and Jennie appeared with Mac to wish me luck and see me off.

Soon after it was actually time to get into the water and I joined the train of athletes heading down the carpet into Derwent Water, it seemed a bit cold but was actually quite warm for a lake in England. As I headed further out in to the water I noticed I was still wearing my wedding ring, I never swim in open water with it on as it get quite loose in a swimming pool let alone a lake. I headed back out of the lake against the flow of athletes hoping I could see Dave or Jennie to ask them to look after it. As I headed up the slope the marshals were asking what the problem was and that there was only a minute to go before the start. I explained that I could wear my ring swimming and they took it off me bagged it and noted my number, then I was back into the lake and heading out to the start buoys hearing the countdown from 10 to the start, then the hooter went and we were off!

The swim seems to go on for ever, each time I saw an orange buoy in the distance I thought that was the turn but no there was another one further on! Eventually I did get to the final buoy and turned to head back towards the finish. Again it seemed to take forever to see the final buoys and the last stretch into the finish but once again it did come and I was pulled up to my feet by one of the marshals to a cheer from Andy. As I staggered up the slope he asked if I was ok, my reply was something along the lines of “well you know”

As I passed the table I reclaimed my ring and set off up to the transition tent, passing the bag with my ring in to Jennie to look after rather than try to open the bag to retrieve it. Thanks Jen!

Back at the tent and time to change into my cycling kit, transition is not a quick aspect for me, I think I need time to get over my dizziness from the swim and get everything sorted so I feel comfortable on the bike. As I was sitting on one of the chairs putting my shoes on I glanced up in time to see Nicky running out of the tent past me, having started about an hour after me she was out of T1 before me, which was no more than I expected.

Out on the bike and things felt ok, I wasn’t struggling as I have in previous events and soon felt in a good place. The miles passed and soon the first feed station came into view, a quick change of bottle and a power bar and I carried on.

The course was shared between the full and the half with the split happening just after the first feed station, as promised in the briefing it was hard to miss the signs showing which way you should go depending on which event you were doing!

The coast road at the top of the course is great, flat and fast but then you turn to come back down and the wind is against you and there are some bumps in the road to content with before you switch back to do the loop again going up the coast road at quite a pace but the route back is waiting for you!

I pushed on willing Keswick to come back in to view so that I could get off the bike, I had had enough by now!

Back into transition and time to change into my run kit, it was quite busy in transition and it took me a while to realise that not everyone there was trying to get changed quickly, ah the half athletes had finished and were getting in to their going home kit! This is probably the only aspect that I would suggest is looked at to be changed for next year. I am sure that Marie, Phil and the team will look at it as each year they have taken on board comments and made improvements.

Exiting the tent Andy was there with a camera cheering me on, he would have to wait a little while as I ducked in to one of the porta loos. Coming out he was there with Jennie and camera to video me starting my run. A quick “are you alright” with a “yes fine” response and I was off around the course.

Once again the marshals and feed station volunteers were amazing full of support and encouragement.

The run course was slightly different than 2 years ago and although the “Highway to Hell” was still part of it there was another out and back section to break it up.

One run down the highway to hell I was met by a shout of Go on Andy as I came to the bottom before the out and back, Nicky was on the side of the road cheering us on and taking photos. It gave me such a boost and kept me on track.

On my penultimate lap I came across Jamie the race ref who gave some encouragement and also asking if my name was Andy, not sure what gave him that idea?

One more lap to go as I passed the finish area to head round again Dave and Jennie were there to cheer me round, again a much needed boost.

On this final lap I again encountered Jamie who gave me some encouragement, noting to his fellow official that he wasn’t even sure my name was Andy. I asked him what gave him that idea? A high five and a thanks for what he had put into the event.

On the last time up the highway to hell I came across Anthony who was doing his 149^th iron distance triathlon, I had also taken part in the event that was his 100th!, another high five and we continued on our runs.

My Garmin’s battery had died so I had no idea what pace I was running at and also how long I had been going, only a rough idea based on time of day. On passing the feed station they told me it was not even 3 miles to the finish.

I had gone into this event hoping to get close to 14 hours, my PB was at Lakesman 2016 of 14:20:48. At this point in the race I convinced myself that I was not going to get near 14 hours but if I could keep going I may scrape a PB.

As I came round the final corner and past the final feed station, slowing a bit to thank them for all that they had done I continued on to the finish, somehow managing to up my pace from a shuffle to a run!

Dave, Jennie and Nicky were all there to cheer me home and on turning down the finish straight the clock was on 14hrs 01 minutes. I was ecstatic to have got so close to 14 hrs my official time being 14:01:46 an amazing 19 minutes off my PB.

After I had recovered enough I managed to get to the food tent and down some food and water before heading off to get my kit and bike to return to the car, luckily Nicky had parked in the same car park so wheeled by bike back so I just had to carry my bags!

All I had to do now was get back to my bed and collapse!!

Once again as I can never say it enough Thanks to everyone who made this event what it is and supported me through the lead up to it and through the event itself.

Brighton and London Marathons (& London Revolution)

I have run Brighton and London Marathons a week apart a few times so I figured why not add this to my year of challenges, not factoring in the last time I did it I was quite a few years younger.

I have always liked the Brighton Marathon, I have taken part in all 9 that have been run so far and have my entry in for next year to make it the full 10.

I took my usual route to get to Brighton, drive to Burgess Hill and then get the train down, then a short walk from the station to the start in Preston Park which is always teaming with people taking part in their various routines to get ready for a little run around Brighton.

I dropped my bag at the lorry and made my way to the start coral ready to get cracking, soon after the official starter, Paul Sinton-Hewitt CBE - founder of parkrun, had us under way. I didn't think that I had started off too fast and was comfortable as the first few miles ticked by but then about mile 8 I started to struggle.

I had hoped that I would get close to 4hrs, Brighton has always been a fast course for me and my best Marathon time of 4:14 has been achieved there, but as the miles slowly passed I was more concerned that I would not make it under 5 hours.

The crowd were fantastic and got behind all the runners but at one point when I was feeling very low and walking along the route one spectator started to cheer me on and ran along the pavement next to me shouting encouragement, which was a massive lift to my spirits and sent me on my way out to Shoreham power station in a better frame of mind.

As I came back along the sea front the crowds again were amazing and without them I would probably have called it a day and gone home, I had not enjoyed this marathon, nothing against the event or the people who were amazing but my legs just didn't want to run that far but I made it and kept the collection of Brighton Marathon medals intact with my 9th!

Move on a week and it was the London Marathon and it was due to be the hottest on record, which was previously held by the 2007 event which was my first ever marathon! It was clear that this was not going to be a fast run!

I was starting at the Red start which completed the set of starts for me, I had previously started twice at the Blue start and twice at the Green start, this time I got to run through the iconic gates at Greenwich park.

I deliberately started slower than normal due to the heat and also the fact that my legs still felt heavy from Brighton a week earlier. As usual the atmosphere at London was amazing and boy did I need the support to get round.

I have doubled up and run Brighton and London 3 times previously but obviously with younger legs, indeed the first time I did it I ran about half an hour quicker in London than the week earlier at Brighton. It was not going to happen this time, in fact at mile 24 I wondered if I was actually going to finish. My legs had given up and every step was painful from the soles of my feet through my ankles, knees and hips, even my jaw had pain!

I managed to keep going and with a mile to go someone in the crowd shouted out "go on Andy enjoy the last mile" I must have given him a strange look as he then shouted out "ok endure the last mile" at this point I laughed and turned to give him a smile and thumbs up.

Crossing the line all I wanted to do was grab my bag and find my way to the station to get home, it was great to run in London again but it was very hot and very painful.

London Revolution:
OK so writing about the marathons has taken so long that I have since also ridden the London Revolution (Thanks to Cycling Plus), this is a 2 day cycle ride that takes place over a 300km route around London, coming down in to the Surrey hills and up in to the Chilterns.

Preparation was not great as I had a system going live at work the night before so had to re-arrange travel arrangements but managed to get a hotel not far from the start which actually turned out quite well.

Arriving at the start, parking the car and getting to registration was simple and soon I had all the tags and number etc that I needed setup on bike and helmet, all that was left to do was grab a coffee and get to the briefing.

The start process was slick and we were soon on our way, the first few miles are through London and across Tower Bridge.

The last time I was here was during the marathon, legs felt quite different on that occasion!

Leaving London we soon headed out into the countryside and onto roads that I actually recognised being close to home!

The pit stops were about 30miles from start and from each other which was great to break up the ride and provide much needed sustenance.

Just after arriving at the second of the stops it started to spit with rain so I grabbed a quick sandwich and some jaffa cakes, topped up my bottles and hit the road.

I was quite an early arrival at the base camp in Windsor where I was allocated my tent, given a camping mat and retrieved my bag. Dropping everything in the tent I headed for the showers and found one available immediately, nice and warm! 

I found the food tent and was tucking into a nice Lasagne and pasta meal followed by apple & blackberry crumble with Custard, yum!

I went to the main field and grabbed a pint, charged my phones before collapsing in my tent to sleep about 8pm!!

Sunday morning arrived all too quickly and I headed out to get breakfast, on arriving at the marquee there was a rather large queue, I wasn't used to this, dinner had been so quick and easy but then I was there waiting for them to start serving. As we were waiting one of the team, who I think was Nick the CEO, came out with pastries to keep us going while we waited. This was typical of the event, if there was an issue the team were there doing what they could to alleviate it, lets face it with so many people all wanting to be fed at the same time it was never going to be quick!

After breakfast and packing my kit away and handing it in for transporting back to the finish I went off to find my bike, after several minutes looking at the wrong rack I eventually found it and was off to the start.

Again the pit stops were at about 30 mile gaps and just right for rest and fuel! Some of the hills were a bit brutal on the second day and unfortunately at one point an uphill kick followed a tricky descent and quite a few people were caught in the wrong gear. This led to me having to brake going up the hill to avoid running into the back of someone, not a great start to a climb.

Arriving at Lee Valley park for the finish was a welcome relief and the burger tasted great! Quick stop to get my bike cleaned by the team on site and then off to get the car and home.

All in all a great weekend and a bit of an eye opener for what is to come for the Ride Across Britain in September!

London Landmarks Half

Today (25th March) I took part in the inaugural London Landmarks Half Marathon, I saw this advertised when it first came out and managed to bag a spot amongst the 10,000 runners that apparently took part.

It wasn't until we got closer to the day that I realised it was the day the clocks went forward, I think this fact affected my sleep last night worrying about would the alarm go off at the right time? As it happens it did of course and I was off to the station for the trip to London.

On arrival at Coulsdon South Station the displays showed the train was on time so all was looking good, however the display soon changed to Delayed and then Cancelled. there was overrunning engineering works affecting the line.

Rather than wait and see what happens I decided to drive and get a tube and arrived at Pall Mall as the start was beginning to fill so I dropped my bag and joined the queue. The route to the start took us past the start line to double back to the actual stat. I stopped to take a photo and I think I have caught Amanda Holden taking a selfie on the line.

As I was checking my phone I heard someone call my name from across the road, looking up to see Jenni Falconer waving at me, great to see her, she was running as part of the relay with Amanda Holden amongst others, although Jenni was also running the full distance.

The race started and soon it was my wave's turn to cross the line and break into a run, the route was fantastic and regular signs up to point out the various landmarks around including Gringots Bank from Harry Potter. Even though I spend quite a time in London, my office is only a few hundred yards from the start line, I wasn't aware of some of the landmarks listed.

I was settling into my run quite nicely and seemed to be ticking along quicker than I had planned, I thought this would come back to haunt me later in the run but I did feel strong throughout and did manage to keep going.

I had hoped to find a toilet for a last minute comfort break before the start  but due to my less than perfect travel to the event I missed this vital piece of preparation so had to find one out on course, I reckon this cost me about 1.5 minutes waiting in line etc.

After my stop I was off again and running along quite happily, still waiting for my legs to give out due to my fast start but it never came and soon I was at mile 13 with just the last little section to go to the Finish outside Downing Street. I crossed the line in 1:50:26 if only I hadn't needed that stop! Still it is the fastest Half Marathon I have run so have to be happy with that.

In the finish area I managed to catch up with Jenni Falconer for a quick chat about how the race had gone and what time we had each managed, wandering down the finish area we were presented with our medals by a Chelsea Pensioner in full uniform. A really nice medal and such an honour to have it presented in this way.

All in all today was a brilliant day out, the event was amazing a great route and superbly organised, you really would not know that this was the first time this event had been run.

Thanks must go to all organisers, marshals and everyone else involved in putting the event on, also thanks to Jenni for the photo, although I know I never look good on photos.

Now I have 3 weeks before Brighton Marathon and then a week after that I am back in London for the Marathon, so please if you can visit virginmoneygiving.com/andrewfountain1 and help me raise my target to thank the Royal Alex Children's Hospital for all that they have done for my sons.