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Trying to summarise the last couple of days and the months leading up to it, is tricky, but here goes. Physically - I'm shocked. I knew I was in good shape, and the gym work had me feeling strong, but I still expected to fall apart. I did have toe pain, the blister sucked, the peeling skin on my fingers I could deal with, the achy back on the last few runs was annoying, but overall my body held out. Nearly a day after finishing I can walk without groaning too much, and the he

So what can I say, this had a lot of emotions and weight to the run and this update. I'll do a further one when I've had a chance to properly process what I've done over the last 48 hours. My legs felt ok, I was stiff and sore, but the sun was out and it felt an honour to have this last run with Patrick. He's been the driving force in so many things in my life. Getting me back into football after years of an Achilles injury. Getting me to join his mens' running group on Sunda

The shit just got real! After showering after run #10 I was overcome with emotions and had a proper cry, I was just exhausted and couldn't get off my bed to get dressed. Thankfully I had Jig's playlist from run #6 playing and Whitney started belting out "it's not right, but it's ok, I'm gonna make it anyway". Rowen sang along and that made me laugh and pull myself together. Then had to deal with the blister on my foot, and put more cream on my fingers, but thankfully my sore

The sun was out, the birds were singing, the legs were creaking and the wind was blowing.... but all in all that was a much nicer run then the last few. I had the pleasure of Kathleen in my ear, doing her own Run/Walk in Melbourne in the 25C afternoon sun. She is trying to get back her running mojo after falling out of love with it, which is so easy to do when life takes over and motivation isn't there. Today we planned in doing a run together when I'm there in July. For me,

Waking up was hard at 3:25 - a crumpet with nutella helped The first 200 meters was awful - but then the legs loosened up The rest of the 7,000 meters felt ok. When I first put my spreadsheet together for my support crew, John looked at the wide open slots and said "Day 2, 4am, that'll be shit - Ill do that with you". We've suffered years of hardship and joy whilst watching our beloved Fulham FC together, so we know what the meaning of resilience is, but today was on another

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me... What a way to start my official celebration with a gentle pootle along the track by the District tube line. Rowen did a run / walk, and I ran my normal pace - so we kept passing each other as we did laps back and forth along a 600m path. I counted 9 high fives as we did so (but may have missed a few, as thinking is getting harder). The legs felt a little better then the last run, I think the shock of running in the dark again has

This one felt tough. The combination of it being dark, and the tiredness in the legs building up meant it just felt harder to keep myself going. A little less chatty, but we got it done. I have coached Filipe on his running journey from Zero to his 2nd Half Marathon last week over the last 3 years, but this was a first for us as he was pulling me along and telling me how far we had left to go. In the past I was always the one making his plans, but during those years his consi

I think we have reached that point of descending into madness. Honoured to have Jigs cycle along with me for this one, he brought his boombox and played a mix of old school R&B intermingled with classic songs from the Rocky movies. So whilst we chatted about his new adventures in India and my tendency to overthink, I also had a few moments where we just grooved out to his playlist. Annoyingly Spotify decided to time a great Rocky song as we were nearing home, so I was inspire

OK so this one was a little different. How many laps of the little common outside my home to cover the distance... 18 1/3 This park means a lot to me, its the one I look out on when Im working from my home desk, its the park we had family dinners in the summer, Tilum's had a Slip and Slide birthday party out there for his 13th and we've spent many a time throwing / kicking / batting various shaped balls around whilst avoiding random dog mess. I'm lucky to have had a relativel

Morning has broken and being able to run in the light felt much different. The buzz of seeing other people out and about, having a short race with a lady pushing a baby in a pram, and having to stop at the lights for the traffic all made this feel different. Of course it also helps that Steve can talk for England, so I didn't need to expend as much energy. Still an enjoyable and good chat about growing older and learning to adapt to the limitations of life. Got to chill a bit

(3/12 not 2 in the title of course...) Dare I say it... it might be premature... but I'm quite enjoying myself. This run was with Rishi, we met in college back in 1994, and this was our first run together. In the still of the night, with barely anyone awake, we had a good chat about kids, education, the meandering nature of our lives & journeys and the appreciation of what we have right now. The time is ticking by on each run, I've worked out I can have a 30 second shower and

Still having 'fun', this time with Garth - who's wife told him before he went for a pre-run nap that his friends are as nuts as he is. I relived the memory from the first time I ran with my 'Sunday boys' group, I was nervous as hell and it was awful trying to keep in sight of the faster guys. Garth and I at the back, half way through he points to the left and says 'Short cut' - we jumped through a bush, ran through a car park and shaved off 30 meters from the run to try and k

So thats it, one down, just a gentle 4 and a bit miles with Oleh (on his bike). We relived memories of playing football together, he ran with me when I did my first half marathon 5 years ago, but since then he's knackered his knee skiing, and is resigned to cycling and swimming, but we thought we might get to the gym together this year. This whole challenge is not just about me doing a crazy stunt, its a lot about raising money for a good charity, but really it all about me b

So under an hour to go to my first run, and my mind is in overdrive. I've prepped 3 meals that I can whip up quickly when I need them, refilled the coffee machine and laid out my kit in the garden; which includes 12 t-shirts, as many longer layers as I could find, 3 shorts, 2 shoes, a selection of pants and socks, some snoods, my watch charger, my shoe dryer and some electrolyte drink. It feels like I'm ready, but my leg was a bit achy all day, which I put down to a bit of pr

Coming up with a target is weird, I wanted to have 48 in it, obvs, but £480 didn't seem right, but sticking a number in front of that seemed a bit much to ask... But between family, friends, colleagues and a couple of strangers we've done it! Now I just have to do that justice by starting a gentle plod tomorrow evening and doing 11 more of them. The worry, anticipation, stress and excitement is building...

So my last hard run before the day, with my fellow Fulham Running Club runners I did a track session. Always a bit tough as I am the slowest of the group, but everyone is encouraging and clap me along when they can. Hopefully the dodgy toe I have had the last week can now ease up before I do my first 4 mile run.