I hadn’t quite expected Chris’ grilling of what my five year goals were as we climbed the woodland path from Lynmouth to Rockford Inn but I think I rose to the occasion of being put on the spot by listing all the big races that I have planned for the next four years, the places I want to run, the adventures that I would like to complete. Not sure that was the answer he was looking for, and I swear I heard his eyes roll behind me, but that is the answer he got …

Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly, the four year plan has been formulating in my mind, bubbling away, transforming into something tangible but had not been externalised and thereby, in speaking my plan out loud it now involves a new level of commitment.

In four years time I hit a milestone birthday … running the Marathon Des Sables in the April of 2023, potentially running one of the stages on my big birthday, is the plan! The stepping stones to MDS will be UltraX Jordan, a multi day race in 2022 … a chance to test the legs in a similar environment and conditions but without having to carry all of my kit. Seems like a logical step in preparation for MDS in my mind. In 2021 the big race will be the Kerry Way Ultra 200km. No logical reasoning in this stepping stone to MDS, just a test of distance and mental resolve through a beautiful landscape.

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So the first stepping stone in 2020, the beginning of the four year plan … to bookend my running year with Pure Trail events and every Pure Trail event in between, aiming to run the longest distance of all their races, although I may regret saying that if the rumours become reality. It means at this point in time the 2020 challenge will be Tsunami 24 … a 75 mile race along the South West Coast from Bude Castle to Westward Ho and back within 24 hours. With 5000 metres of elevation that is one massive challenge when my little legs have only run 31 miles at the Hurtwood 50k in December 2018.

The Hurtwood finish line was the moment when a shadow of the next crazy idea took hold. Nothing definite, the steps towards the MDS goal unclear. A walk along the South West Coast from Hartland Quay to Gull Rock and back again, testing my legs along 5 kms with 300 metres elevation that form a small part of the Tsunami 24, was the moment I mentally signed up for my next ultra.