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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