The aftermath

Soon enough I'd caught my breath and shared celebrations with fellow racers and crew.

Catching up with Barry it turned out that Liam had had another day of mechanical woes and with Bruce (in 2nd) already home his deadline was rapidly approaching. As the minutes ticked by Bruce was looking more and more hopeful and we were more and more pensive.

As the ten minute mark slid by things were looking unpleasantly tense and as if a sprint to the line would decide it. When I'd finished there was a marshall on the track pointing out the arrow to the turn, but I noticed they weren't there any more; a missed turn could be fatal. I headed down to the track and started wandering up to intercept him and point him to the turn.

Almost straight away Liam careered into view, I shouted out the turn and that he had three minutes (it was 7, but didn't want him taking a break ;-) ).

He made the turn in a squeal of brakes and flying gravel and raced to the line, stopping the clock with 6 minutes to spare - perfectly judged with no wasted effort :-)

Much chatting followed, prizes were given out and we wandered down to Robin Hood Bay to dip our toes (or go for a swim) in the sea.

A major packing exercise ensued as Liam and I were both travelling back in our car. This meant cramming all our bags, two kayaks and two bikes onto and into the car. We all squashed in and were soon on the way home.

About halfway home there was a minor panic as a bang came from the back of the car and we all visions of bikes tumbling off the car. Stopping on the hard shoulder we discovered it was actually a tyre on my bike exploding as it was hanging too close to the exhaust; a pest, but not an immediate problem and once we were moving the burning rubber smell was blown away.

There was then the task of getting everything cleaned, packed away and returned to its rightful owner and the race was consigned to memories and the forlorn race bib hanging in the garage.

It was a truly brilliant race across some marvellous terrain. Getting to the end was a real achievement and Liam winning it was just great. Hopefully plans will stay in place and James will run it again in 2011 (there are apparently other plans for 2010). I will definitely be back to race it again; there are plenty of challenges left in it and it's worth doing just for the journey through some of England's finest areas.

All that's left is to sell on the kayak as I won't use it enough to justify keeping it, so if anyone wants an almost-new Prijon seayak and all associated kit, drop me a line.

That's all folks - hopefully I'll be back in just short of two years in the run up to the next one.

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Stage 17

Pulling out of transition for the final 25km to the finish the road immediately went straight up an absurdly steep climb. For the first time I hopped off on a road section and walked up, which so close to the end was annoying. Overtaking someone still slogging away justified the choice though :-)

The road wound along the edge of a valley in a seemingly endless set of ups and downs, but finally it descended to the river and it was a quick ride along to Ruswarp for a final steep climb to join the disused railway line which formed the compulsory route to the finish.

This was an almighty slog as seemed to head uphill for ever and straight into a headwind. Finally the sea loomed into view and the trail descended and looped around the headland.

The run to the finish was only interrupted by a bit of fiddling through Robin Hood's Bay village to re-find the railway which helpfully vanishes for a while. Back on track a big arrow came into view and I turned off into the finish field and across the line, stopping the clock after 30 hours and 49 minutes of racing.

There were loads of people to cheer us in and a medal was presented by the organiser all of which made the finish special.

There was then just the anxious wait for Liam.

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Stage 16

Out of transition we turned onto the Bridle way up to the Cleveland Hills to start the 30km off road leg and immediately had a long tough carry up the painfully steep path. Finally I made it onto rideable terrain and set off along the old railway tracks across the broad heathland. The track rolled up and down gentle hills but progress was swift as the surface was lovely grit. There was a fearsome wind blowing though which when the track wound to the South really slowed things.

A little road section took us from Farndale Moor to Glaisdale Moor where there was some terrific boggy, bumpy, rocky tracks to negotiate. Once again the semi-slick tyres proved superb and I flew through the terrain picking off a number of places.

The track then opened out into more wide gravel/stone tracks to blast along which coincided with reaching the peak of the Moor. From a peak of around 370m it was a long fast downhill for nearly 10km to transition in Glaisdale at about 100m.

The distance flew by and I was soon at the final transition for a quick snack before the final leg to the coast.
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Stage 15

Heading out onto the final run stage the legs were feeling pretty good and the morning was brightening so everything felt cheery. Just as well as the stage would be a tough one at around 13km with climbs over Live Moor, Carlton Moor, Cringle Moor, and Broughton Bank through the Wainstones as the path followed the Cleveland Way across the Moors (rather than the tempting forestry tracks that paralleled us along the nice flat ground at the foot of the hills).

I soon caught up with Ben Joynson who I'd been trading places with throughout and before long familiar faces were being passed and passing me. The weather had finally given us a break and it was a beautiful clear, but windy, day as we ascended along the ridge line at the top of Clay Bank, with the lower Moors set out to our left and the flat tops of the high Moors we were climbing to our right. The terrain had changed again and we were now in rolling hills of heather and pine forests.

The trail was very up and down but the gradients were gentle and the ground good so the miles ticked past at a fast rate. Ben started having knee trouble on the descents and I was feeling strong so we parted company as I ploughed on. By the end I'd put over an hour on him so it really slowed him up as we'd been neck and neck to there.

We passed a gliding club up on the tops which must be quite a place to fly from as it's perched right up on the top of the plateau and very exposed.

The ups and downs came and went and soon I was on the final climb up to the Wainstones, a jumble of huge rocks on the peak. It was then just a quick descent down the good trails to the car park for transition to the bike for the penultimate leg to Glaisdale.

The run had taken over two hours but had flown by - I was feeling good, the sun was shining and the end now felt reachable so everything was right with the world as I donned bike kit for the last time.

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Stage 14

It wasn't a pleasant sound when the alarm went off to get me to the 6:30 start slot. A quick tin of rice pudding soon had me feeling better though and I staggered downstairs to grab the bike and dump some kit with dad before he returned to bed for a lay-in.

The gentle cycle across town to the start loosened the legs up and soon enough I was powering away on the final of this adventure.

We'd recce'd the route the night before which meant there were no navigation worries so I could settle back and enjoy the early-morning scenery.

The route turned out to be easier than we'd expected from the recce on which it felt like some of the hills would be real killers and the 16 km were bashed out easily in 45 minutes. I survived the absurdly steep downhill hairpins and even negotiated the camera-mans position at a fast cattle grid with incident.

Cruising into transition I surprised everyone by coming in along the side road I'd picked up at the last turning rather than clambering over the narrow footbridge like most others (good idea looking at the course beforehand!). Once support crew were called back from their station out on the road where they were to helpfully flag me in I was quickly changed and out on foot (thanks to the guy who reminded me to remove my helmet as I shot off down the road with it on my first attempt at leaving!) for the final run leg over Carlton Bank.
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Stage 13

After just a quick pause for a drink and food it was straight back on the bike for the road leg to Northallerton. Liam hadn't come past yet so his crew were at the transition too to give some encouragement.

There was a tough steep climb for the first few miles away from transition which took us up on to the open Moorland of the final national park we'd visit; the North Yorkshire Moors. The terrain had again changed and was now wide open heather covered moorland dotted with forests.

Once up on the moor the road became an almost straight undulating ribbon of smooth tarmac. The road was descending all the way to Catterick which gave an absolutely brilliant 15-20km which was dispatched at great speed as I improvised a tuck position with elbows on the bars. I think there was about 10 minutes where I barely dropped below 30 mph without much effort at all.

A quick wiggle through Catterick had me on the road to Northallerton with just a slight detour when I missed an unmarked turn. Sticking religiously to the rules I added a few kms to the distance to avoid being on a B road for too long. In Catterick we went past a market complete with burger bars whose was a bit like torture as I cruised past sucking in yet another gel.

Just outside Catterick Liam came past rapidly followed by Anthony Emmet both looking like they were on a real mission.

The road turned South to Northallerton straight into a viciously strong headwind which made the last leg a real slog into town.

The finish was at the leisure centre and in a surprising bit of foresight I'd checked the road names I needed. This turned out to be a really good move as the two teams in front cruised past the turn that looked like a dead end and I leapfrogged them to the finish, crossing the line after another couple of hours giving a total time of just over 7 hours.

Liam was still loitering so he really hadn't got there much before me which was great. He'd lost a bit of time after an incident saw his front wheel part company, but was still firmly in the lead.

A quick chat and we headed off to B&Bs, me cycling the few miles through town to cool the legs down. I had a room all to myself tonight in a B&B just over the road from mum & dad and Liam which made the logistics easier and I soon settled for a very long shower to try and remove the huge amounts of peat and mud I'd brought back with me.

Later on me and Liam and his crew drove out along the first stage of the morning to check the route (hilly!) and had a lovely huge meal at the pub where transition would be. A quick briefing and we were ready for the final day.

Starts were an hour earlier so with a 6:30 slot it was an early night for me.
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Stage 12

I scoffed down some food (country slices were proving a favourite) and devoured yet another bottle of the awesome ForGoodnessShakes before donning bike gear and heading out on the MTB leg to Castle Bolton.

I'd opted to leave the Mach SS semi-slick tyres on the bike hoping the terrain wouldn't be too slippery, but was slightly concerned I'd have grip problems. In the end the tyres turned out to be fantastic and gave all the grip I could need while rolling brilliantly on the roads and fast trails; definitely a great choice for this sort of event.

The route took us along the river back farm tracks to Gunnerside and then crossed over to continue along the river before heading UP into the hills. The first section was great fun over dry rocky tracks which gave good traction on the climbs and just enough bump on the downs to be fun.

I had a quick pause at Gunnerside as I came across another racer passifying a farmer whose sheep had escaped after someone left a gate open (probably not a racer, but of course we got the blame), and then headed along the horribly bumpy and slow track along the river.

Finding the bridleway up to the hill (made obvious by the farmer making sure we didn't head into his land) it was straight off the bike for a push/carry up the seriously steep path. Finally I got to the top and gratefully rode along the road to the miners track which would take us over the hills to Castle Bolton. This was a brilliant section with some long rideable climbs and some brilliantly fast descending. A long grassy descent following by a seriously rough narrow rocky track popped us out in Castle Bolton and the transition was easily found in the shadow of the castle after another couple of hours on the bike.

This was just a quick pause as we were staying on the bike for a road leg to Northallerton.
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Stage 11

The lovely lady at the B&B had offered to do me breakfast so at before 7am I rolled downstairs to a steaming bowl of porridge; perfect pre-race food.

Filled up I headed out to a hopeful-looking morning which hinted at some nicer weather.

The first stage of the day was a huge 28km run up to and over Nine Standards Rigg, finishing at Keld for transition to bikes.

After a brief run along roads to get out of town we turned onto the trail up to the fell. This wriggled through some farmland and forests needing a bit of navigation which saw me overhaul a couple of teams as they puzzled over location. We were now into the Yorkshire Dales and the terrain was much gentler than previous days and the rocky ground had given way to peat and claggy mud. While this was less harsh on the body it was also pretty hard work.

After a diversion around a field which was now used as a private airfield and another bit of tricky nav we were out onto the fell for the climb up to the Nine Standards. The weather had closed in a lot and the top was again shrouded in mist and cloud, but at least the wind was at my back. I was feeling really good and soon the Nine Standards (nine huge cairns on the peak) loomed into view. Checking in with the marshall I headed off the top along the winter route which took a little though to locate as it wasn't initially a clear path (unlike the 'wrong' route which was) and need a bit of faith in the map to get on the right course. It was then a long boggy descent to the road which linked the two off-road sections of the winter route (used due to erosion on the direct route used in summer). The support crews were to wait here for their runner to pass so we got lots of encouragement which was great and I was relieved to see my crew had made it and therefore knew to move to the transition to wait for me.

Back on to rolling hill the route crossed some open land before entering a valley and following that all the way down to Keld. The ground remained pretty yucky, but I was feeling really strong and was pleased with the time I made to the transition.

The hilly 28km had taken 3 hours 13 minutes.

Mum and dad were very organised and had a chair set out for me to collapse into which was most welcome!

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Stage 10

Anyway, it was out onto the bike for around 45kms across the Shap Hills to the finish at Kirkby Stephen. The first part was a fun bit of farm track and a nice fast descent but the rest was road-miles along very some very hilly roads.

Halfway through I was confused to catch up with a team I had already overtaken earlier, but after studying the map it was clear I'd made a rather large faux-pas in the route planning and added a few miles and not a little bit of climbing to my (and Liam's who had a similar experience) route. Damn!

Ho hum, I plugged away admiring the scenery which was turning from steep and craggy to more rolling farm land and soon enough the signs led me into Kirkby Stephen.

I crossed the finish line in the town centre about 9 hours after the start.

The earlier finish meant it was still only mid-afternoon so there was plenty of time to sort gear out (the lovely B&B lady dried my stuff for me - handy as I only had one pair of leggings!), stock up on supplies and have a nice meal before heading for the briefing at 9pm.

I must have picked up a place as I had a much more leisurely start time of 7:28 in the morning!

Sleeping wasn't at all hard to do.
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Stage 9

This was to be the last and, with the loss of the sea leg, biggest kayak stage of the race. At 12 km long Ullswater is long and is pretty wide. It's also prone to windy conditions and after my experience on Crummock I was far from looking forward to the challenge.

After donning buoyancy aid and other bits and a quick bite I dragged the boat across the bog to the put-in point on Goldrill Beck. As I was getting sorted at the river bank the bloke ahead of me tried to slide in forwards off the bank, got the tail stuck on the grass, promptly rolled over, failed to right himself and got rather trapped on bank, river bottom and tree roots. I jumped into the waist deep water and pulled the boat upright, whereupon he cheerfully paddled off without so much as a nod leaving me stood soaking in cold muddy water. The lack of courtesy once again hugely irritated me as I performed a slightly more controlled entry and headed off on the fast flowing river to the lake. After only a small boat/tree interface I was out onto the lake and following the line of dots ahead of me up the lake. Again there didn't seem any particularly still regions so I followed the racing line trying to avoid getting blown off course after yesterdays problem where I couldn't go against the wind to correct.

The first third of the lake was OK and largely sheltered, but once past the first headland the wind really picked up and soon enough there were waves of a couple of feet sweeping up the lake from behind me. I battled on trying to put the training into effect but was a few unpleasant moments as the wind turned the boat of my control (kayaks try to turn into the wind) leaving me pointing in the wrong direction and side-on to the waves. In following waves the theory is to accelerate as the waves lifts the back of the boat so that you surf down the face of the wave. The trouble with this being that you need the confidence to paddle hard and not get unnerved as the front of the long boat buries itself in the wave ahead. The other problem is that as the wave moves past you you end up balanced on the peak of the wave with little steering and not a lot of balance.

I battled on but was starting to wonder if heading for the shoreline and a longer but flatter would be sensible. Liam came past at around this time and shouted a few helpful pointers across to me which gave a good confidence boost that I was doing the right thing, and watching him was also handy in seeing the "right" way of handling the conditions.

Committing to the task at hand things rapidly improved and it was amazing the difference in the boat's handling. I wasn't exactly at ease but was no longer quite so concerned and didn't have any more 'moments'.

The rest of the lake passed by in a blur of paddle strokes as the wind and waves came and went. Finally I spotted the exit river and was gratefully swept along to the get-oiut point by the flow. I beached the kayak and hopped out glad to be rid of thing.

The stage had taken nearly 2 hours meaning I'd been on the go for about 7 hours and I still faced another 2 hours of cycling to get to Kirkby Stephen. Although hard work, paddling is all about the trunk and upper body so when I hopped on the bike my legs felt pretty fresh.

I'm glad to have done the kayaking and it should definitely be part of 'proper' adventure races but it's not a sport for me. There's no way my schedule can support yet another sport, and also I just live in the wrong part of the country. The sea is at least an hour and a half away and so I'd be stuck paddling up and down rivers on the short lengths between locks, which seems about as much fun as working out in a gym. I'll keep my hand in so I don't get excluded from races, but the kayak is up for sale (as-new Prijon SeaYak if anyone fancies it).

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Stage 8

Another quick change and it was out on to another monster run stage. The 11km route took us up the west face of Helvellyn to the summit then down along Striding Edge to the Patterdale YHA taking in almost 900m of climbing.

Once again the fell was shrouded in the cloud and the ascent was windy with poor visibility, but at least mostly dry. Finally the peak loomed into view and after checking in with the marshall I headed off along Striding Edge. This route is a sharp ridgeline with a path/rocky clamber cutting right along the top. The route requires a lot of attention and the prospect of a long fall is close at hand.

As I came away from the summit the weather cleared and I was treated to a spectacular view down the East of the fell and along the ridge. This prevailed and visibility remained good all the way down.

The descent was a mixture of picking down rocky sections and running along the more gentle well-defined track which for much of the length was paved with stone making it a jarring but quick descent.

I found the right track to cross the valley and was on the run in to transition.

I seemed to make pretty good progress and arrived at Patterdale feeling pretty good, but rather concerned about the long 12km paddle up Ullswater that was the next stage.
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Stage 7

Quickly pulling on the kayaking gear there was just the small matter of getting the kayak over the gate and down the 20m steep steps to the bank. Fortunately support crew were allowed to help us solos so dad and me managed to fairly easily man-handle the boat down.

The lake looked much calmer than yesterday's excitement and so it proved as a fairly uneventful 6km paddle got me to the bottom of the lake to transition to the next running stage over Helvellyn.

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Stage 6

The alarm clock was a most unwelcome sound as it dragged me to life after far too little sleep to go and do it all again.

A tin of rice pudding topped up the energy reserves and I felt surprisingly OK as I got ready. A bit of to-ing and fro-ing got us out of the locked-up hotel, my spare gear into the car and me off to the start line. The first stage was a shortish cycle of around an hour to the first transition at the North end of Thirlmere so the hardy support crew were on their way only shortly after me (and thus missing out on the hotel's breakfast!).

I found my way to the start, collected my tracker and dibber from the crew (who had been seeing people off from the first start time at 6am!) and waited for my start to roll around. This it duly did and I headed off down the road for the hilly ride to the lake.

This passed without incident and I arrived at a rather crowded transition to find the crew just getting everything sorted.

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Stage 5

I had decided to just swim in my running gear rather than remove shoes and risk a gash on the stoney floor, so I removed rucksack, donned the tasteful green swim hat and waded into the chilly waters.

It wasn't (quite) as cold as I feared and I managed to get breathing under control as I bimbled slowly across. The shoes and rather thicker-than-planned (due to the weather) top rather slowed me up and with hindsight I should have given more thought to this stage. Anyway, I finally made it to the bank and dragged myself out fighting cramp in most of my leg muscles.

There was then just a short run into town on which I was joined for a while by James Thurlow, the race organiser, who gave me a good boost by saying Liam had won the day by a good margin completing the course in "a stupid time".

The finish was in the centre of the town and the final bit along the high street saw tourists applauding us home which was brilliant, gives a real sense of achievement and really is appreciated.

I crossed the line after over 8 hours of racing and was met by mum & dad and Liam & his crew which was great.

A quick chat about the day and soon enough a chill started setting in to my swim-soaked clothes and body. Fortunately mum & dad had managed to get an extra bed in the hotel directly next to the finish line so I quickly headed inside for a shower to defrost me.

In the evening we headed out to dinner as a group and then me & Liam dashed off for the 9pm briefing. This was mercifully brief and after a quick bit of planning for the morning's 7:24 start time I fell into a deep sleep.
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Stage 4

The penultimate stage of the day looked like being the toughest. The 16km (ish) route took in climbs of Robinson, Dale Head, High Spy, Maiden Moor and Cats Bells which would give around a kilometre of ascent. The weather had really closed in and soon after leaving transition the heavens opened in a torrential downpour.

My start wasn't helped by getting North on the map rotated by 90 degrees and thus heading West rather than the route book's instruction of North (note to self - when chopping up maps, mark a clear North arrow). Ho hum, after a short detour and a bit of head scratching (the route I was trying to take went through an impenetrable forest) I. Was on the steep footpath up to Robinson.

This seemed to go on for ever, winding up the steep face of the fell. The wind was howling, the rain was constant and I was soon in the clouds with zero visibility. I kept catching glimpses of teams ahead and behind which gave some reassurance I was on the right track, but I made certain I stayed in touch with the map. The fells are an isolated place and it's all too easy to get disorientated and lose all sense of location; not good when surrounded by sheer cliffs and worsening weather.

Finally I crossed the wall onto the plateau and headed on a short out-and-back to the checkpoint at the summit to check in with the star of a marshall who had spent most of the day hiding from the weather in the summit windbreak.

It was then a run along Littledale Edge past Hindscarth and up to Dale Head. Of course, this required a descent and the regaining of the height as we passed along the saddle between fell tops.

Finally I reached Dale Head and a brief break in the weather let me sight Dale Head tarn and thus get a bearing to head off the peak along, a nice reassurance as I plunged down and extremely steep descent to the tar, the downside was this also let me see the next bit of the route; yet another ascent up to High Spy.

I failed miserably to find a decent route down the slope and took absolutely ages getting down to the tarn and on the path to the next peak. I was still not even halfway through the distance, but most of the climbing was done.

There followed a long slog slowly heading north over some pretty horrid ground. Finally the descent off Cat Bells arrived and I gratefully descended to the Cumbria way for the flat run-in to Nicol End to start the final stage of the day; a swim across Derwent water followed by a brief run to the finish in the centre of Keswick.

The run stage alone had taken nearly 3 and a half hours and had really taken its toll so it was with some tardiness that I got ready to plunge into the lake.

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Stage 3

Arriving in transition I found my crew with the boat mostly ready to go for the portage to the lake.

A few quick adjustments were made, a snack snacked and after donning my spray deck and buoyancy aid I was off for the push to the lake. The big-wheeled trolley rapidly showed its value as I bounced up the farmers track passing a couple of boats struggling with small-wheeled ones. A lift over a gate saw me putting the boat into the water at the gentle shore for the first test of my weakest discipline. The first lake was Crummock water (around 4 km) followed by a portage (1 km) to Buttermere (2 km).

We were told that we could take any line down the lake but that the wind was gusting around a lot and the western shore may be smoother.

As I set off the lake looked similarly windy with squalls of wind and rain appearing everywhere so I took the lead of the boats ahead and took the racing line for the shortest paddle.

Things started off well enough and I settled into a rhythm through the small chop on the water. As we neared the middle though the wind really started gusting and blowing me around. The waves started getting up and everything was getting a bit interesting. I ploughed on, trying to follow instruction and power down the waves to surf them and then let the next catch me up. The rudder was proving invaluable and largely let me steer the course I wanted although I was being blown eastwards a bit but nothing that was a problem as I was heading for my intended landing zone.

At one point a really strong gust of wind whipped the paddle out of one my hands and sent me toppling sideways. Fortunately a grab for the paddle and vague bracing stroke saw me stay upright but with a very raised heart rate!

Finally the end of the lake got close and I pondered the route for the portage. The obvious choice was a bridleway running the corner of the lake along the stream running into Crummock (which comes from Buttermere but we were told isn't paddleable), but Liam had recce'd that and said the terrain was horrid and would be a struggle with a trolley (unlike his 11 kg surf ski which goes on a shoulder, my 27 kg boat needs a trolley). Another option was a series of footpaths cutting through the middle and turning into tracks for a campsite.

In the end the wind made the decision for me as the cross-wind blew me away from the lake corner and trying to turn back led conditions a bit testing for me as I paddled across the waves which were rising to break on the shore. I headed for a nice friendly looking patch of beach and surfed in to firmly ground the boat out before splashing ashore. I was clearly the leader as another three boats cruised in behind me.

A quick recce showed I was in the footpath I wanted (although annoyingly just the wrong side of a gate). With the boat on the trolley I soon came to a nasty knoll which extended to the water edge and made wheeling impossible. I shared lifts with a female solo (Karen, who I would meet a lot in the next few days) and we were soon on better, but boggy) ground. The trolley handled this well and I jogged to the campsite where I joined a small track along a stream which was much better going. The only obstacle was a gate with a sharp turn which took a few attempts to wiggle through (not assisted by the pair who were there about the same time who didn't help holding the gate. I know we're racing but would the thirty seconds it would have taken to help me out really have been important. Things like this really irritate me; we're all struggling to beat the course, we're clearly not in with a shot of winning, so why not have a bit of common courtesy it just makes everyone's life easier. Rant over.) And then I was out onto a tarmacced track for a jog to Buttermere.

Putting in at a little beach the lake looked much calmer and this proved correct. It was a short and slightly blustery paddle to the landing point, but with the ominous sight of Robinson fell looming up over us and disappearing into the clouds; this was going to be a tough run.

A short push over another boggy field got me into transition where everything was (not much as I was paddling in my running shoes). The first attempt to leave saw me forget my bib, and on the second attempt I forgot the map, only being rescued as dad dashed down the road shouting after me!

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Stage 2

After a very efficient transition I was out on the bike for the road cycle of around 26km to Buttermere lake.

Within the first couple of hundred metres I made what was to be one of just two navigation mistakes for the whole race as I got the wrong road and went on a tour of the village rather than cutting the corner off.

After an initial road section the route jumped onto a disused railway cycleway which gave a nice traffic-free ride for good few kms on a mix of tarmac and smooth gravel.

The ride went surprisingly easily with just a few reasonable climbs and a lovely long fast descent down to the lake past Loweswater.

Everything felt good and I bashed the stage out in about an hour and 20 minutes to arrive at the transition feeling pretty good.

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Stage one

As we waited on the Whitehaven quay the wind was blowing a gale and it was clear there was no way the kayaking would be going ahead and sure enough the organisers announced that we would start with a run around the headland in place of the paddle. We therefore had a nice 12km or so run along the sea cliffs down to St Bees.

At 10am the countdown ended and 100 or so racers dashed off across the quay heading for the eest coast. Fortunately someone had had the foresight to work out how we actually got on to the coast trail and led us up a set of sets and out to the path.

The trail to St Bees runs right along the cliff edge so had great views out to the crashing sea whcih confirmed that we really did want to be out there.

The field soon spread out with everyone setting their own pace on the first of the many legs, with me toddling along somewhere around the middle.

I was slightly concerned that my Heart Rate (166 average) was way above what I was aiming for but short of slowing right down there wasn't much to be done so I plugged on.

Soon enough St Bees loomed into view and we dropped down off the cliffs for a dash to the car park for our first change on to the bike.

I was greeted by a fully prepared bike and was on my way in short order to head out on to stage 2.

And it's all over

320 (ish) km, 7,500m of ascent and about 19,000 calories and the race is done with.

It was a rather cramped journey home as me, Liam and his gear squashed into the back of the car for the trek back south. Getting out was something of a challenge as everything had seized up and it turned my feet and legs were doing good balloon impressions; presumably fluid build up from the bashing they'd taken followed by being sat still for 4 hours.

Things are slowly getting unpacked and put away as the race fades into memories, soon enough that's all there be other than the nice. Liam has fled these shores for a well earned holiday before heading back to NZ to resume training for the NZ Coast-to-Coast race - first multinational coast-to-coast champion maybe?

I can't see me doing any paddling so the kayak is going to have to go - if anyone wants a very reasonably priced Prijon Seayak in nearly mint condition, let me know. All associated gear also available.

I think that's all for now. My intention is to write up each stage to capture thoughts, impressions and the detailed route should anyone have an interest in this epic route. It seems the race will be repeated in 2 years, so get training!

A final thanks - Vicki, Amelia and Oliver for putting up with the hours of training and absences, mum and dad for their great support crew work, AvonCraft and Edmonton Canoe Club for huge amounts of help with the art of kayaking, ForGoodnessShakes for a truly marvellous recovery and racetime drink, and Cycledealia for all their help and advice with all things biking.

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Winning isn't everything, but wanting to is.