Clues, blues, booze - the risky business of the Greensand Way

We ran our first 2 day 55-miler on 10^th-11^th March 2012. Here’s the story of all the blood, sweat and tears from the first day…

Before I begin, may I remind you of our donations page? It’s just a click away…. www.charitygiving.co.uk/greensandway2012

With classic timing, we’d organised a training weekend after a hectic night gigging at the fabulous UkeJam’s first ever Friday Night Live at the Royal Oak in Guildford. Genevieve and the Zut Alors (critically endorsed by John-Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin) kicked off the night, followed by UkeJam sets led stunningly by Adam and Penny, with our percussive guest Al Murray keeping the beat. Charlie Khan and the Bullfrog Chorus also wowed the pub. It was a brilliant night and I was buzzing when I got home, which had implications on the amount of sleep I had…

Bright and early the next day, Lee and Dr G picked me up and we were smuggled over the border into Kent by the mystery machine, Genevieve.

Lee got excited about the border crossing out of Surrey and had to get a snapshot.

I don't think we're in Surrey any more, Toto...

At Limpsfield we picked up the trail and some conflicting clues as to which way to run…

Orienteering 101 - If in doubt, head West on the Greensand Way

After a couple of minutes we found the hallowed midway sign and passed undetected across the border into Surrey again.

It's like straddling the Greenwich Meridian, only classier

A mile or so further in and we happily ran down a beautiful grassy hill, pointed in that direction by a new wooden sign.  At the bottom of the hill things became less clear and so we looked to Science to check our positioning. Science indicated our positioning as being way off track. Swearing and cursing our stupidity so soon into the run, we slogged it back uphill to the last Greensand Way signpost.

It turns out that the signpost was somewhat “Directional-Accuracy” challenged, and requires some improvement. Of course this could have been a set-up to destroy our mission… it worked, albeit only briefly.

The overcast sky held promise of a breakthrough of sun later on, and we ran along some exposed hill ridges and across farmland in deliciously warm 16C weather.

Of course we’d not completed a Risk Assessment of this part of the Greensand Way so were careful to take notes of dangers as we passed them.

DANGER! HIGH VOLTAGE! on the Greensand Way

As you may be aware from the previous blog post, we have developed our own Greensand Way language or “secret code”. Some of these may be difficult to decipher (who would think “Nothing at all” or “Shatners” would refer to items of clothing?), which is why we’ve provided a guide. However when an opportunity to coin a new phrase arises, the quickest of thoughts is needed to find a fitting word or phrase. While running down a muddy, rocky and steep-sided bridleway, Lee was about 50m ahead of me taking a photo when I heard the urgent shouted call “GALLOPING HORSE!!!!”.

What could this mean, this new coinage?

Could it be rhyming slang, meaning mind the course?

Maybe Lee was playing make believe?

The clatter of hooves on rock aided the realisation at what Lee’s coded message meant; it turns out there was actually a galloping horse travelling at breakneck speed towards us, followed by an irate farmer.

The horse did eventually slow down, and the rider apologised and atoned for her sins towards the understandably narked farmer whose field she’d trespassed in, and the drama subsided enough for us to continue on – feeling a little bit like we’d been in a cliffhanger episode of The Archers.

What would happen next?!

Little Pecker happened across a Big (Pea)Cock..

Come on now dude, that's just showing off.

We ran near Redhill Aerodrome and saw loads of little planes. I was treated to a detailed description of each one:

“This one here, the Atari 150, was the first plane to be made entirely of marshmallow”

 “That’s a Zoolander 34B, it can only turn right”

“Oh that one they call the FlyMo, it’s basically a lawnmower with wings”

To which I paid avid attention, honest. This helped to pass the time. By that point the clouds had broken and we had gorgeous sunshine to keep us going.

After diligently stopping every 6 miles or so to ingest sugar, we made it under the M23 and found this fabulous bit of farming equipment that we immediately christened the DoodyMaster 3000 – spreads your doody 3 times faster than the DoodyMaster 1000!

BIG DOODY SPREADER!

All this new territory was very exciting and I nearly weed myself when we ran past South Nutfield Scout Hut – it was like a nod to what we were doing and why we were doing it. Seeing Guide and Scout related things everywhere you go is like being part of a (not very) secret society, where everyone will help you out. It’s a great feeling to run past a random hut and feel like you belong there.

We ventured hungrily through Redhill and towards Reigate. We were near on 18 miles by this point and the time had reached about 2.30pm, with no lunchtime meal as yet.

Our stages of hunger started looking like the stages of grief - there was denial ("we'll find somewhere soon, we don't need to eat just yet. Just a couple more miles...", followed by anger ("I can't believe there's NOWHERE for us to get food, what kind of town is this?!") followed by bargaining ("OK, if we don't find anywhere in the next 20 minutes then I'll call Dominos and we'll get a pizza delivered")...

Some dodgy decision making occurred (Lee got Boots-queue rage while buying talc – do NOT anger a chafing man!) and we ended up in the only place that would let us sit down, charge phones and eat while not being dressed smart-casually… Morrison’s café.

The food was school-dinner standard, the welcome was conflicting, the service was strange but we got some food in us! Lee had an impromptu shower while attempting to fill his Camelbak from a bottle of water and had to re-talc, and we restocked our sugar supplies. An email popped onto my phone to let me know that we'd received a fantastic £108 donation which lifted us no end. 

While digesting our burger and chips, we waddled across the lovely Reigate Heath towards the Windmill to start the last 10 miles of the day. The terrain got friendlier because we’d already run it twice before.

We tried to maintain our hydration levels as best we could going through Brockham:

Pump it up louder

It’s a funny thing to describe again where we’ve run before. The familiarity of running through an area is somewhat of a comfort, and knowing what’s around the corner can really help to spur you on.

Because it’s March, we were looking at a 6pm sunset and try as we did, our day had lagged by about an hour behind our estimations (the constant need to check whereabouts, eat jelly babies, talk to strangers and drink cans of Red Bull take their toll)

Red Bull - gives your blisters wings

But the positive spin on this is that we got to see the sun set while were at the top of Deepdene Terrace, which is a fabulous viewpoint just outside of Dorking:

Deepdene Terrace Sunset on the Greensand Way

Running through Dorking and up the Nower was a piece of cake in the dark (if you ignore the bit where we got slightly track-misaligned*) especially because we'd already had practice running that bit in the snow with Guildford H3. It also marked the completion of our first training marathon (and my FIRST EVER marathon!) which was pretty awesome.

*lost

We made it through Westcott and finally made it down to the Wotton Hatch pub for some much needed sports drink, where I believe Lee will pick up the story. It'll start off sounding like a bit of a joke "Two sweaty smelly runners walked into a pub, ordered some pizza, and started baby-wiping" but it was a brilliant evening and an... interesting night. 

We raised our total by £138 on Saturday March 10th and we received some much-needed support via Twitter, Facebook and text. Thank you everyone who donated and kept us going - and look out for the next blogs about the weekend, coming VERY SOON.

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The Greensand Way Phrasebook and Dictionary

As our training has progressed so has our own language. We thought it might be useful to translate what we are talking about. Our next few blogs will cover our 55 mile weekend so we thought this would be a good time to explain some of the words and phrases we have started using when running. As we have run the Surrey section of The Greensand Way in a strange order we have also put this phrasebook in a non alphabetical order too.

Ooopsiwahli (noun) - amalgamation of stiles, signs, fences and instructions in varying directions causing direction confusion

a potential Ooopsiwahli on the Greensand Way near Limpsfield

Reh- (noun) a moment where things are not going as well as hoped.

Reh Reh Reh (noun) The moment when Lee goes very quiet as the last of his remaining glycogen is used up and he 'hits the wall'

Smize (verb) - smiling with your eyes . An America's Next Top Model phrase. The 'Sm' has been used for smiling with other body parts too in Greensand Way Photos such as 'smack' - smiling with your back and 'smotch' - Smiling with your crotch.

Science - (noun) denotes anything battery powered that is used for communication or navigation . We usually talk about 'checking science' when we are 'unsure of our exact location'. Science never works when you need it....... And is always there to berate you when you dont need it.

Sports Drink (noun) - any high calorie high alcohol beverage - perfect for carb-loading before or after any training run. Ale, lager, champagne, Jagerbombs and Cognac all fall under this category. If you don't believe us, try it! (Please carb-load responsibly)

enjoying 'Sports Drink' at the end of a marathon run on the Greensand Way at the Wotton Hatch Pub

Tumbling Tosser (noun) - hash term for a person who has temporarily horizontally repositioned their body mid-run without necessarily planning to do so.

On On - (exclamation) - a hash term, shouted when a Greensand Way sign has been seen and we are temporarily 'sure' of our position (or "on flour").

The final Greensand Way Sign at the Haslemere end

Petrol (exclamation) - a word shouted when a vehicle approaches (another hash term).

Ding Ding (exclamation) - a word shouted when a bicycle approaches.

Donny Osmond (exclamation) - a word shouted when a 'crazy horse' approaches

A crazy horse we encountered on the Greensand Way

Get me off this godforsaken hill - self explanatory.

Vango Banshee 200 - denotes any restful high quality sleeping area

Doody - verb and noun - a situation or person associated with that which is faecal

Big Doody - see doody ...only bigger. You know big doody? Yeah, you do. YOU DO KNOW BIG DOODY.

That is some Big Doody on the Greensand Way. 

Nothing at all / Shiny Bums - tight fitting lycra clothing, made by 2XU or similar. This term inspired by Stupid Sexy Flanders in the Simpsons - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsVsHu2EEfo. Usually comes with the side effect of bum-seam-split paranoia.

Walky Pills - medication that allows you to move again. After extensive clinical trials we have found Cocodamol to be the most effective walky pills available. (Don't abuse drugs, kids.)

If in doubt its always uphill / Rule 1 of the Greensand Way - Whenever 2 path options present themselves, and you aren't sure which one is correct......the correct one for the Greensand Way is always the steeper uphill one. (If it appears to be downhill, you are probably going the wrong way)

Souvenir Stitch Up - With weight at a premium, the idea is to get souvenirs for each other that are a total nightmare to carry.

Souvenir Stitch up on the greensand way ' I got you this!'

Fnar / Fnar fnar - Said at the end of any double entendre. Can be used in place of a laugh when one is just too tired, but still wish to acknowledge this double entendre.

Shatner Pants - The very high waisted jogging warm trousers Lee wears after running to stay warm, reminiscent of the truss William Shatner is alleged to have worn in the later Star Trek movies.

'Please Remove This' - Any photo that isn't as flattering as we would like. These are generally deleted off the memory card, which is then burnt, along with the camera, and any witnesses are bribed or threatened.

Front bald spots showing, manic smile, what looks like a mad blue hat. this is a classic 'please remove this' on the Greensand Way halfway point

I'm sure we will add to this list as time goes on. Be sure to refer back to this blog from time to time as we are bound to add more, and talk less and less sense as training progresses.

If you all ask nicely enough we might do a whole blog just on 'Please Remove This' photos.... (but nobody wants to see them, right?!)

A very quick THANK YOU

Hi guys,

I just wanted to say a super-quick THANK YOU for all your texts, tweets, and messages of support over our training run this weekend! You've been absolutely brilliant and you made those 55 miles feel like.... well, they felt like 55 miles, but they were (almost all) 55 miles of smiles!

I have to mention the wonderful Dr G our getaway driver, who smuggled us over the border into Kent and picked us up again (and brought clean dry natural-fabric clothes!) in Haslemere, as well as Tim who bothered a whole bunch of people for RTs on twitter, and a whole host of friends who kept the messages coming in. You guys rock so hard.

A big big thank you as well to those kind souls who donated - it means so much that you can donate your spare cash to our cause. Each time we were notified of a donation our grins widened and our knees picked up that little bit - by the 52nd mile when we were granny-shuffling our way into Haslemere in the dark, it did wonders!

Full weekend blogs will appear soon, all the stories and the photos for your delectation and delight - we want to earn your donations, so let us know what you want to see on the blog, and leave your abuse or feedback as you see fit!

Don't forget to tell your friends, spread the word and the link - www.charitygiving.co.uk/greensandway2012

And please like us on Facebook too! www.facebook.com/greensandway2012

Claire x

Canals dont have Hills ! Jailbait and Wasabi Peanuts

It wasnt until we had finished this Monday night Hash run with the Guildford Hash House Harriers http://www.guildfordh3.org.uk/ that Scrum Muffin (Claire) realised why we had enjoyed this hash so much.......no hills.

The 'No Hill' Wey Navigation Canal by the Onslow Arms Pub in Loxwood

After so much running on the Greensand Way it was a genuine pleasure to run around the Arun and Wey Navigation around Loxwood and not spend large chunks of time 'digging in' to get to the top of a freezing windy snowy hill.

12.5 miles of 'No Hills' Guaranteed !on the Arun and Wey Canal in Loxwood

We started off as always at a pub, this time the Onslow Arms. We set off following the trail promptly at 7.30pm and ran along the canal which is clearly unused as we got further along it.

Whenever we got to a circle of flour (which means the route could go in any of a nu,ber of directions and the right path would have to be found) Scrum Muffin did some excellent Beyonce ' if you liked it ya shoulda putta ring on it' dancing.

'Beyonce dancing' at a flour ring

There was the usual chaos as the run progressed. At one stage following a flour trail I could clearly see runners lights on all 4 sides of a massive  field. Proud of my new hashing name 'Little Pecker' I am trying to learn a few hashers names each week. This week we kept seeing 'Jailbait' come crashing out of the woods perpendicular to the route (he had run out a lot of false trails and taken 'short cuts' to get back on flour') His hashing name derives from helping some young D of E kids who were lost once when he has hashing.

'On Inn' every Hashers dream

Lightbite (sporting an amazing black eye) managed to be a 'tumbling tosser' (fell over) and so I found out another hashing name. He was honourable enough to volunteer himself in the sinners circle at the end . I always qualify for the sinners circle and this week I get free extra beer for talking with Scrum Muffin all the way through the run and wearing our Greensand Way Training Rucksack for the hash.

Scrum Muffins Sports Drink

We got back to the Pub after about 4.5 miles and an hour. The Onslow Arms had a good selection of real ales and Scrum Muffin , Loose Article (father of Scrum Muffin) and I made sure we tried them all. I also had Wasabi Peanuts for the first time which are AMAZING and I MUST get them for a running snack.

Loose Article and Little Pecker rehydrate with Sports Drink

We also had the startings of an idea......what if we led a hash in Guildford that started and finished at the Royal Oak pub on a Ukejam night?.......

HASHJAM ?


watch this space........


on on

Little Pecker

Abbey Road Studios, John Paul Jones, Robyn Hitchcock, Bruce Foxton, Al Murray twice , Radio 5 Live, Ukejam and 18 miles on the Greensand Way

As our weekend merged into one big event I thought I'd start this blog on the Friday night before the latest Greensand Way training run we just did on Sunday.

But before I start please please visit our charity giving website and donate

www.charitygiving.co.uk/greensandway2012

Abbey Road Studios in London

We started our evening on Friday at Abbey Road Studios for the annual Sound and Vision evening to raise awareness for Cancer Research UK. We were very lucky to get tickets as our friend Penny performed that evening with Al Murray's band The T-34s.

Also on the evenings line up was Chris Difford who we sang 'Cool For Cats' along with him from the crowd and 'Biscotti' which comprised John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin and Robyn Hitchcock.

Dr G (my wife) with me, Robyn Hitchcock, John Paul Jones, Claire and Penny at Abbey Road Studios

We were lucky enough to get to meet John Paul Jones and Robyn Hitchcock afterwards in Studio 2 of Abbey Rd and we talked a bit without me cracking up into a gibbering mess ( I am a huge Led Zeppelin fan).

The evening was a great success and various one off pieces including a 'doodled' Damien Hurst print were auctioned off raising over a quarter of a million pounds for Cancer Research UK. Al Murray did a fantastic job auctioning off the pieces and co-compere Bob Harris from Radio 2 resided an air of cool calm over the night.

Claire and I discovered a new way of 'carb loading' for long distance running as we had 'more than 3 but less than 11' glasses of champagne and felt very little ill effects the next day. At the end of the evening we got to say thanks to 'Whispering Bob' Harris and sped off into the night to get home.

Dr G, Claire and Penny crossing the famous Abbey Rd crossing made famous by the Beatles

On the way back to the car we took the advantage of a lull in busy London Traffic to take the obligatory 'Abbey Rd ' photo as per the famous Beatles Album cover.

After a Saturday evening spent 'carb loading' with Real Ale in a pub in Guildford (where we bumped into Bruce Foxton of The Jam) we got up early Sunday morning and, instead of getting started on our Greensand Way run as soon as possible, jumped in the car with ukuleles and headed for London.

Claire and I outside the BBC TV Centre

We arrived at BBC TV Centre at 10am. I am lucky enough to be in a ukulele band called Ukejam (along with Claire, Penny and Dr G ). Ukejam meet up every other Monday night at the Royal Oak Pub in Guildford and cheat sheets and songbooks and ukes are provided for any newcomers. Find out more at http://www.ukejam.co.uk/ We had been invited to perform a Monkees tribute song on Al Murray's 7 Day Sunday show on Radio 5 Live.

Me at Radio 5 Live - beneath my cool exterior was a shiny layer of Lycra

As we were going straight on to a run after the show I opted to wear full compression running top and leggings under my jeans and shirt. I felt like a super hero who could burst out of his clothes at any moment and fight crime.....I also felt like a berk.

Shhhhhhhhhhh

We also met Jenny Eclair, Andy Zaltzman and Mark Steel on the show as well as the host Al Murray (who has played drums with Ukejam). You can listen to our performance towards the end here http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01cz3b4/7_Day_Sunday_04_03_2012/

Ukejam on Radio 5 Live

We sped off from the BBC very quickly after 12 and got some 'carb loading' done in Burger King to prepare us for our long run. We were racing the setting sun at 6pm.

'Carb 'Loading' at Westfield Shopping Centre

We got dropped off at the Windmill at Reigate Heath Golf Course with a planned run to take us back to my house if the weather and daylight allowed.

Lee and Claire at Reigate Heath Golf Course on the Greensand Way in Freezing conditions and snow

By the time we started running it was well after 2pm and it was snowing. The wind was blowing and we both started the run freezing cold. We were smart enough to save weight on our heavy packs by only bringing one pair of gloves and hat between us.

A wet crossing on the Greensand Way near Dorking

The rain was very heavy and we got absolutely soaked through the 4 or five layers we were wearing. I had on every piece of clothing I had brought with me and was still a bit cold, particularly on my hands. Everywhere was waterlogged and this was the one time I didn't wear my thick waterproof socks because of what I wore to the BEEB. We both had soaking wet feet.

Officially an 'Anorak' on the Greensand Way in Dorking

As we ran into Dorking at the 6 mile mark, I was pleased to find a new Greensand Way sign to get a photo of, it was only a few minutes later that I realised my religious zeal for new Greensand Way signs and my literal attire meant I was officially a Greensand Way Anorak.

At the Temple at Nower on the Greensand Way doing some Trig Planking

We noticed a trig point we hadn't seen before on the Nower so took the opportunity to get some obligatory photos.

Face down, Arms straight, Legs out - Planking on the Greensand Way near Dorking

After the 'Pork Scratching Dust' incident of the last run we were pleased (but wet and freezing cold) when we found out (huddled under a bush) on our 5 minute food stop that doritos pass the 'running travel damage' test. These will now be a welcome savoury addition to our running supplies.

Cold hands but unbroken Doritos on the Greensand Way near Dorking (sheltering in a bush)

A Claire Silhouette at sunset at Leith Hill Tower on the Greensand Way

At the 'halfway mark' for a marathon 13.2 miles exactly we reached Leith Hill Tower just as the sun set (and the rain/snow stopped for an hour). It was eerie to be there at that time of day, after it being so busy the last time we were there we found it empty, with the food hatch closed and no one around.

Sawdust Hash Trail on Holmbury Hill on the Greensand Way

As the sun set and it got VERY DARK the snow returned. We cleverly saved weight on our running packs by only bringing 1 torch so at the 16 mile stage of the run we were not tired at all but very cold and wet, and worse, running in the dark was proving a challenge at best and a risk of injury at worse.

As we ran Claire noticed small piles of sawdust at various points on the run. When we got to Holmbury Hill we noticed a kicked through sawdust circle so we knew a Hash had been here recently.

We called it a day at the 18 mile mark at the Duke of Kent School. The plan was to run back to my house and do a full 26.2 miles but the darkness and conditions forced us to make a sensible decision and get a pick up via Dr G and her car full of warm coats and hats.

'Little Pecker' having a warm bath and a recovery shake

As I laid shivering in the bath warming up I thought about how great the encouraging tweets we got from our friends were in spurring us on today. Also Ive got a mental list of a few items we need by this weekend coming when we are doing our first 2 day running training with a camping stayover on the Greensand Way. We kick off the training weekend with another Ukejam gig at the Royal Oak with our band Genevieve and the Zut Alors on the Friday night.

It still hasn't totally sunk in that I met John Paul Jones..........The last thing he shouted back to us as his wife dragged him away was 'Zut Alors!'.

Maybe we can get him to join the band?

Addiction and ITB - Enough to Drive You to the Edge

This is a post from Dave that he has asked me to post.

I read recently that you know you have become a runner when you get jealous of other people’s runs! I should have seen the signs… subscription to Runners World, running tights (in fact I’ll change that to… great comfort wearing running tights!), hours reading websites about running and injury, buying a Camelbak and base layer and then spending a fortune on new trainers.

|Dave Harvey wearing his favourite 'comfort' tights

So I now have to admit it, I am a runner… or am I?

Dave Harvey Contemplates 'am I a runner?' on the Greensand Way Gibbet Hill

3 weeks ago on an early morning 6 miler I became aware of a rather horrid tightness and then intense pain in my right knee. Normally I will just run through a twinge but this was different and stopped me in my tracks. In true ‘David’ style this occurred at the furthest point away from home that I could possibly get on my run so begain the long arduous walk back home. And then subsequent sulking (and I’ve not stopped). For the past 3 weeks I think I’ve managed to read every website and piece of information out there on running injuries and all have pointed to the same thing… Illio Tibial Band Syndrome, what some websites will refer to as the runners equivalent to cancer!

The 'Sciencey Bit' of Daves Knee

Tightness down the side of the quads and then pain over the femoral condoyle in the knee. Believe me it bloody hurts! No I am no doctor, in fact I’m a Mental Health Nurse working in Substance Misuse (those that know me… STOP SNIGGERING), but it was obviously ITBS!

Substance Abuse - eating too many Jelly babies can have an adverse effect

 I have spent the last 3 weeks going to the gym spending time on treadmills, rowing machine and the cross trainer to try and keep some dignity and keep ‘fit’. After a few non-runs that lasted a few feet I tried buying Glucosamine & Chondroitin that allegedly helps with joints (I was desperate for a cure).

Chondroitin - extracted from Cows.....can have side effects on the Greensand Way

Things settled down apart from my mood and immense jealousy at Lee, Claire and Dan (Dan had recently done a mega 28 miler that left me dying inside!).

Dan had nothing but the Swans to keep him company on his epic 28 mile Portsmouth Run

The causes are many but seem to be problems like increasing mileage, gait imbalances, wrong trainers, running on crowned roads etc etc. It’s basically for people who think they can run further than they really should and do it in a stupid way <<<< ME. So, like the patients in crisis I see on a daily basis I had to tell myself ‘I need to change’.

Greensand Way Marker near Hindhead

So….. 3 weeks of foam rollering, stretching, strengthening and praying; things seem to be back on track. Sunday was my first run of 4.5 miles and was very very painful so spent lots of time applying ice and taking ibuprofen. This morning I felt somewhat optimistic so got up at the same time of 6am as I used to and did my ‘little 30 minute wake up’ around Southsea (about 3 – 3.5 miles). I’m so pleased that I did it, there was pain but it was mild and concentrated on my running form. Chuffed. I’m Back. Fingers crossed please!

2 fingers to pain - Finishing the Greensand Way in Haslemere

Now… it remains to be seen if it can settle down enough for me to train well enough to complete this but I’m determined not to give up. I want to complete this experience and enjoy the training with Lee, Claire and Dan and have a good laugh on the way. FINGERS CROSSED PLEASE!!!

Sorry it’s all about me so….. donations please!

Getting to know the late comer

here's ten quick questions to help you get to know me a bit better



1. Give us a short history of your running or fitness experience. Are you a typically sporty person?

I have been running on and off for quite afew years but never taken it too seriously, I usually pick it up in the summer to get fit and then loose interest when it starts to get cold and dark but last year I decided to carry on as I was enjoying more than ever,

minus a few injuries i've been running weekly since the end of september and hope to keep it up for a good while yet.
2. All of you have lost a good chunk of weight. What was your top weight, and how much do you weigh now?

I've always been pretty slim just getting a bit of a gut in the winter months due to lots of sitting and weekend indulgence, now that i'm jogging all the time I can sit and enjoy myself without worrying about it so i'm pretty happy.

3. What kind of mileage do you run per week currently?

I keep upping my morning runs as I try to get fitter for the big one, at the minute i'm doing 7-8 miles a day during the week and a minimun of 13 miles on saturday or sunday leaving one day off to relax.
I've just started to run with a weighted bag which I'm strangley enjoying.

4. What's the longest or craziest run you've done so far?

Afew weeks ago I decided to do two laps of portsmouth which is roughly 30 miles, I set off at 5am and finnished at 9.30 which i was really pleased about and was also good timing as I had to be somewhere at 10.

It was a nice run but challanging in places especially eastney shore before sun rise as it was pitch black and I slipped up on ice afew times and ran into a soggy ditch which was a pleasant way to start my day.

my legs nearly gave up on the final stretch but I managed to run through it and I rewarded myself with a hearty fry up.

5. Why on earth are you doing the Greensand Way 2012?!

Dave talked me into it.....but I'm glad he did as I'm really looking forward to it.

6. Who are you raising money for?

Its going towards a medical centre being built in Tanzania, Claire is part of a group taking 33 youngsters out there which sounds pretty amazing for everyone invovled and for everyone it will help.
7. What's your most embarrassing running or sport story?

I can't think of anything too embarrassing that has happened whilst jogging, running into the soggy ditch would have been one but there was nobody around to see it.

8. Which do you prefer?
A. Lee Evans (comedian) or Lee Latchford Evans?

Lee Latchford Evans, purely because Lee Evans iritates me 

B. Craig David or PJ Harvey?
Craig David he's a winner....

C. Claire from Steps or Tina Turner?
Claire from steps, I thought long and hard about this one and came up with nothing so she will do. 

9. You're all billed as musicians as well as insane running type people. What are your rockstar credentials?
I don't think this question applies to me, I'm more of a groupie than a rockstar

10. You're all going to be spending a long weekend together at the end of this. Who do you think would win in a fight between the other two runners?

I'll go with Lee on this one.