So, 4 weeks to go till the first of my extreme challenges, the first being the 'Hardmoors 55'!  This is going to be my furthest run to date, this will be the hardest thing I have ever put my body through, yet strangely I am very excited by the challenge or the unknown.  This run will be crossing the Yorkshire Moors, beginning in Guisborough and going via Osmotherley and on to Helmsley.  This will be great, I can't wait, the scenery and hills will make this amazing.  It will also make this incredibly painful I imagine, and that is what I am going to prepare for!

This helped me decide the only way I am ever going to get this dream or ambition to actually happen is to actually sign up, put pen to paper, cross the t's and dot the i's!  This is the best thing I can advise anyone to do as it gives you focus, a goal, something to actually create a training plan for and then execute.  It also puts in perspective your goal, it allows you to be honest with yourself and recognise your strengths and weakness and therefore be able to prepare yourself for the task in hand.

Looking back, when we set off to do the Yorkshire 3 Peaks which is Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough, it was like running into the unknown for Mad Dog and myself!  Early start one cold bleak Bank Holiday morning in April 2013, coinciding with my 38th Birthday.  With a great sense of excitement, not only getting out on the hills but at doing something neither of us had really ever envisaged being able to do.  We set off from the car park, packs on our backs and water bottles at the ready!  I remember aching a lot before long on our ascent of Pen-y-ghent which for those who have done this route will know, we had barely began.  We had a minor set back with the navigation, I seem to recount, at the top of this first peak by running off in the wrong direction observing the view we both only knew too well was in the wrong place.  We hastely corrected ourselves by what I can only describe as a crazed run as the crow fly's straight across to where we had decided the actual trail was. This had already made our run much harder due the heather jumping and ditch avoiding we had just done, toughest obstacle race you can find, off Piste running!  We headed over to Whernside along the incredibly tough path which agonisingly allows you to see the future, not like Marty in Back to the Future but like in if you look in front of you for as far as you can see, the path is that long!  We made it to the viaduct after a bit of a struggle now very low on water and provisions.  We managed to stock up at the amazing Ice Cream van which supplied us with water bottles and flapjack, awesome, now we can crack on.  After trudging over Whernside loving the view of what we had already achieved.  The problem was, the task that laid in front of us being Inglebrough.  This from memory wasn't too great a problem apart from the incredibly steep ascent to the peak.  All we kept talking about was the fact its an easy 10k run down from the top to the car park, so all we had to do was focus on reaching the Peak.  Now, whilst we were enjoying the incredible scenery and a unique experience, Mad Dog could only keep torturing himself (and me) over his 'cheese sandwiches' which unfortunately for him were still on the back seat of the car probably melting and becoming very undesirable.  The problem for me was that he kept mentioning them as if they were the all time greatest sandwiches this earth had ever known, and making them out to be the saviour to all our pains.  In return, I have never let him forget the cheese sarnies, and they still get a special mention even now ha ha!

Flying down from the top well into the final 10k sprint (I wish) we pass a number of walkers slogging it out on the way up passing on the normal pleasantaries.  This time though it was to my bad fortune, mad dog was up ahead with a good pace on and I was just passing a couple, I said hello and tried to smile but instead for the first time on the whole run I trip and tumbled landing on my hip.  Thankfully only a few miles to go but the bruise soon came up, it was a beaut!  Finally back at the car I headed straight for the full bottle of juice and started gulping it down with the great sense of achievement and success, Mad dog was full on devouring yes you guessed it the melted, manky, miserable, supposed cheese sandwiches!  

This run will always stay strong in my memory as one of my favourite runs ever as surpassed all I had ever done and all I thought I could do.  Hence today's message, Dream big work hard, as we can achieve great things with effort and hard work.

What are your dreams, and what are you going to do to achieve them!!!