Phil vs Nature: Fundraising for Blood Cancer

It was 10 minutes to the briefing and I was stuck behind a bus on a single track road. I couldn't find any Kendal mint cake for sale anywhere. I'd not had any proper breakfast. Could it get worse? Yes, actually. I was 6 km in and my bladder burst. Back up a couple of hours from that, and as we'd left the hotel in Morecambe a little later than planned, the choice was made to get some grub en-route to the start. A very swift supermarket stop and two small handfuls of dry granola from the box, and I decided no breakfast was better than some. The briefing began as I made my way down from the car park. I got there just in time to hear all about wise old Cedric and his 19th century tractor , and how he was responsible for stopping us sinking in the first part of the run. "Be safe" my wife whispered as we hugged, and I set off to on to the beach. Running across Morecambe Bay was quite surreal. It is a potentially dangerous crossing with strong tides and q...

The Lake District. Home of the greatest and most famous glucose based peppermint flavoured confectionary that has ever existed. However before we get to that, let's turn back time to just under a couple of weeks ago: I'm sat on the grass at the finish line for Man vs Coast. It's so hot, and so sunny, with not a hint of cloud in the sky. I've spent hours following distance markers and trying to count down the miles whilst the kilometres add up. My thighs are literally stuck together with salt water chafe, and every time I move I'm peeling them apart taking more skin off. My calves are red raw with sunburn, having continually washed off all of the cream I topped up at every pit stop. My feet are blistered and swollen, and feel a bit like walking on hot coals. Someone said to me "will you ever do this again?" and unequivocally, the answer is no. I feel terrible. Five days of stretching, therapy, and regular moisturising later... and I'm pa...

It was nearing 18.00 when I finally saw "the end". The relief washed over me, and I punched the air with excitement! Before I got there though, a whole other range of emotions and feelings had been milling around. Gathered under the inflatable starting archway, I was nervous, but ran a final check over my bag, put on my sunglasses, and we were off. About 10 seconds later, I was in the sea for the first time. Now this was early on in the day - I was a 09.10 start - and it was bright and clear, but a little chilly in the water. Gasps and whoops as the mass start piled in for a deep wade and a short swim out to an inflatable log, we mostly avoided each other's flailing arms and legs to make it out again safely, and run down the beach. By this point we were a couple of miles in, and we reached another water based activity. And luckily the activity was a couple of miles out to sea. Or so it seemed by the time we'd swum out there. It can't have been mor...

Back at the start when I signed up to save a life , this all seemed so distant. Something not to worry about. It would be fine! And then I read this: "THE MOST EXPOSED ADVENTURE RUN IN BRITAIN" screamed the headline. "BUGGER" screamed I. And just like that, here we are for the inaugural Man vs Coast, 2018 edition.  It's a long bloody way Cornwall is, and so is the race. An estimated 23 miles - though with the Rat Race distance marking I've experienced before I'm not certain it won't be longer - from St Michael's Mount to Lands End, via the Cornish coasts of course. Yes. Coasts. North and South. Uh-huh. The company is at pains to point out that it's a running event. But runners will be fully immersed. And runners will need to swim. And jump off a cliff. Rat Race say to expect brooding moorland, alongside beaches, waves, rough-hewn rocks, water jumps, and some of their signature obstacles - though which ones will be a surpri...