So what was next?

Following the extreme highs of achieving the charity goals of January, I felt really enthusiastic about running and what may come next. Over February I ran only 28 miles, but one of those runs was my longest to date which was a 12.49 miler!

At this stage I was still very much drinking regularly and that definitely had a negative effect on how frequently I ran and the distance/pace of those runs. On one of these drunken evenings out with the boys, my brother text me and said there was a race coming up to which I thought absolutely yes why not I have ran loads this year so far and this was to be my first race!

Living out in Roos (East Yorkshire) for all my life I knew Spurn Point very well. It's basically a sperm shaped bit of land (sand?) which is being pushed around by the sea and will likely cease to be there at some point.

After sobering up I got the race details, The Spurn 7.

Those who have ran this know what it's about. You start on a little bit of tarmac and then head onto the beach and onto a bit more rough ground, then some more sand, then a bit of corroded concrete. Oh and it's raining sideways and it's cold.

I was really quite excited about this race, the experience, seeing what it's all about. I did have a slight handicap going into the race though. The day prior was a very dear friends 30th birthday, so of course I obliged and we headed to York for the day. Many many Guinness later and it was time for home. For me this really made getting going a bit rough, that and the weather was gross. For one of the lads who was also at the 30th celebrations, well he's more experienced at handling that much booze and running because he turned up and won the bloody thing (well done Gand).

I did make it through though, I paced well with a couple of friends for about 70% of it and then thought I'd push on solo for the remainder. The last 100m my brother (after completing ahead of me because he's a beast) came along side me and pushed the sprint finish with me. What a feeling.

First race done. What an amazing experience to be around all of the clubs and runners.

Definitely not the last race I would be competing in.