A trip to the lakes in the summer of 2006 opened my eyes to the great outdoors, a charity challenge I entered with friends meant a number of training walks took place that year, the first being a walk up Helvellyn in the Lake District, along Striding Edge and back down Swiril Edge. I struggled walking for a few days after that walk, probably the first real exercise I'd done since leaving school, but once the pain depleted I couldn't get over the awesomeness of the Lake District and the sense of achievement, views, people I'd met, the whole package .
I've gone on since then to walking and hiking all over the UK, almost every fell in the Lakes in fact, it was the start of something special, I also met my now Wife Sarah not long after that and got married in the Lakes in 2015 Eskdale, so all in all quite life changing.
In order to keep fit outside of hiking I took up running more seriously following a few half baked jogs around the block, entering Manchester Marathon in 2012 I can honestly say it was the hardest thing I'd ever done. Anyone who runs regular will remember this as possibly the worst weather Manchester could throw at us in April, but freezing cold and absolutely shattered I finished in 4:07 minutes. What a feeling, Sarah was there to meet me at the finish, I remember hobbling back to the car and spending the rest of the day recovering. The training for Manchester took over my life in the build up, and whilst it was a buzz to complete the event I felt a bit empty now it was all over, what would I talk to people about? How would I motivate myself? Would I lose my fitness and put the pounds back on? So, only one thing to do, enter another Marathon of course, so Chester Marathon in 2012 was entered, and so it began, I was now hooked!
After running the Windermere Marathon in 2013 I was unusually quite emotional at the finish, the course is very different gravy to anything else I'd run, very hilly in places and just brutal in terms of the undulating roads, really caught me out and completely put me into the red. It was a Marathon I had to run, it was in the Lake District of course, due to this we made a weekend out of it and travelled up Saturday morning before the race, so we could spend sometime in the best place in the world (even if it is really hilly) and take in the atmosphere. Whilst at race headquarters Brathay hall the day before the race we noticed some runners finishing their 9th marathon in 9 days, in various states of pain and elation. Wow I thought, THAT is hardcore, no way on this earth you'll get me doing that, not on your life, what do you think I am mad, no chance, move on, forget about it, that's it, ok.....no.
So in June 2017 I put in my application, I thought I won't get in anyway, and even Sarah my ever supportive wife said it's too much for anyone to do is that. But hey I thought, I'll be able to "dine out"on telling people I entered the 10 in 10 and didn't get it, well, what can you do, I tried.....Only problem being I got a call from Aly Knowles from Brathay Challenges, to the tune of "Hi Sean, it's Aly from Brathay, are you sitting down?, well you are in Brathay team 2018,....welcome aboard, life will never be the same again"
Holy crap........
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