Crushing Cornwall and Excruciating Exmoor - Race Preview

Exmoor - the Devil's Work

It's only a week now until the grand two-part finale of this extraordinary series of races. Cornwall and Exmoor are in a league of their own, being longer and much, much tougher than any of the previous Five.

This is where the going gets really tough, and the tough get Girly. The experiences of the first Five will pale into insignificance in comparison with the dizzying rocky coastlines of these two monsters. It's time to Get Real. After the battering I have taken completing the series so far, these final two could prove to be a push too far. I'm feeling in good shape, and have managed a fair amount of training since the last marathon (almost 100 miles) but somehow, I think that just getting through these last two alive and completing the challenge is the very best I can hope for. The record times for these races is over 4hours 40minutes, so I can expect to be running/walking/crawling for well over Five Hours on each event. It's going to be rugged, steep and more than likely, raining.

If I don't die of exhaustion, then I will probably fall arse over tit. That, my friends, would be an unfitting climax to what's been a mixed bag of success so far.

So I'll be in pure Survival mode. I have to get to the end alive, and complete the challenge, rather like a lone sperm who has long since lost his fellow gametes, and is heading on the final lonely challenge of the near vertical fallopian tubes.

Will I wriggle my way to the end of this dark nightmare that I have created? Or will I die, abandoned on the coastal trail wrapped in a space blanket like an unwashed Tramp who never made it from Rehab?

Let's hope I hope I can conquer, and I find the holy egg which is the 7x7x7 challenge T-Shirt.

Amen.