From the beginning of my UTA100 journey I set myself the following goals: Base: Finish; Target: 20hrs; Stretch: 18hrs. After an extended training season, in often treacherous conditions, the race is finally here. I’ve put in all the effort to get this far, and I am now hours away from finding out if I have done enough.

Ok, so it turns out that yes I am more stupid than I gave myself credit for (see part 1). Suckered into an event that I know is impossible unless I commit 100% to my training. This time it is different. I now have family commitments, a wife, two young kids and less flexibility in my work. And my training load will be significantly more than I’ve ever done before.

Yesterday I completed something that I have long thought I would never be able to achieve, and not only did I finish it, but I smashed all my expectations. The story is hard to tell, without going back to the beginning. As it turns out this 100km (62mi) trail run didn’t just take me 13 hrs and 55mins to get to the finish line, it was the previous 12 years that got me to this point.