183.4 Miles, 1 day 7 hours, 20 minutes and 4 seconds............

............and all I get is this lousy T-Shirt !


What a day, what a place ! Exmoor proved to be everything we were led to believe, if not more so. This was the steepest and most savage of the 7 races so far. A real monster of a course involving huge climbs from sea level to 1000 feet above the sea with dizzying views and spectacular coastal sections which were mountainous in scale.

I loved this race, I started at the back and worked my way through the field meeting some of the now familiar faces from the series. People from all walks of life, some with bigger things on the Horizon yet to come, such as the Marathon des Sables a monster 7 day trek across the Sahara desert. I couldn't help but think that today would be more than adequate training for such an event, as it was getting pretty hot....

somewhere on a hill far away...

After about 15 miles or so, I found myself in a pace which was very similar to a familiar face from the series. I thought he was called James, and he thought I was Chris, so we formed a euphemistic partnership of James and Chris and we helped each other around this Final Seventh Marathon. Having someone to talk to and run with proved a great thing and we made Stirling progress back along the coastal path and we overtook lots of people. One guy was adamant that at Lynmouth it was the24 Mile point. He must have been disappointed as it can't have been much more than 20 !

There were lots of people in Lynmouth who of course had no idea who these strange people were running through their town. We got quite a few puzzled looks. Some asked if it was a race, and then how far? Mouths dropped when we shouted back it was a marathon ! Little did they know either that for some of us, we'd been doing this every month since November. The sight of people sitting in the sun drinking cool lager only served to torture the soul even more.

Relentlessly, the James and Chris duo pushed on through some magnificent sections until James (aka Tim in reality) started to cramp. Come on Lad! I'd been there in Pembroke, and I told him to drink and stop to rest for a while. Fortunately it subsided and we took on board some more energy gels and water.

We started to recognise features we had passed on the outbound journey and it spurred us on, knowing the finish couldn't be far away. We were covering miles quicker now, although we were well through the dreaded 20 Mile point, and 'The Wall' could strike at any moment. We were truly living on borrowed time, so we made progress while we could.

The final two miles were psychologically the worst. This contained some severe coastal climbing sections and just as you rounded a corner, another gargantuan beast reared its head. No match for James and Chris though, and we slaughtered them all, overtaking many a dead warrior lain to waste on the verges of the Coastal Trail.

Then downhill, downhill all the way to the finish line, at the Hunters Inn, a fitting finish for a wonderful series, the crowds were cheering and my wife Katherine and Brother-in-Law Stefan had completed the 10k version of the race in good times too.

I celebrated with my now trademark cup of tea (2 sugars) followed by pint of cool Guiness.

James (Tim) was really pleased with this result of 4h53 which knocked spots off his Cornwall time. I was pleased to Finish the series in one piece, and having made a new comrade in arms.

So there it is, I survived the series, I got the T-Shirt, and I can truly say that I've been there and done that. And it's been a hell of an experience, who knows what I can do next?

But most of all, raising the Grand Total of £1682.57 has been the most humbling thing.

Thanks to all you who have donated, without your support, this would never have happened.

Thanks All,
Craig

PS So what next I hear you ask? Watch this space for Episode Two. "I feel the need, the need for speed", my quest to run faster than ever before, in a Top-Gun style mickey take of Road Running to see if I can break the sound barrier in a road race: 10 mph.

The Home Straight?....the Final Marathon Looms...

Well folks, that's six down, and just the question of one more yet to complete.

The vertical profile of the Exmoor marathon beggars belief. About 12,000 feet of total ascent in total well over the normal 26 mile distance. I can only hope here to complete, smiling, and receive the 7x7x7 T-shirt to complete the challenge.

I have given my All to the six marathons, I have paced myself, raced myself, pushed myself beyond limits I didn't know I had. I have trained harder than I have ever trained in my life.
Above all - I have come to realise that, through running, I can find a true sense of satisfaction and contentment.

It has changed my life. From now on, I will always be a runner.

Without doubt, the hardest thing has been picking myself up after a Marathon and somehow, trying to physically and mentally prepare myself to do it all again in 3 or 4 weeks time.

This has been the most amazing thing, to keep bouncing back, month after month, I'm not sure whether it has been physical or mental - whichever - the fantastic support I have had through sponsorship has been the driving force. Without that, I would not be here now, talking about the last race. Thanks to all who have donated, and I can assure you the Air Ambulance has done some amazing missions over the last few weeks, and you can take pride that you helped that happen. Peoples lives have been saved due to the speed of care provided.

So here's looking forward to Number 7. I shall be having a nice jog round - my racing legs have long since been shot to bits and this will be all about completion of the Challenge. My body has been put through hell over the last six months and is well overdue a rest, so don't expect great things here folks...

....this may be the last marathon but I'm running it on my last legs!!