Where did you stay?

Purbeck Hotel ,Swanage

How did you get to the location/race?

What an adventure... A flight to London, 3 trains to Bournemouth then a bus to Swanage (the one that goes on the ferry!).

Were you running for a cause?

No just wanted to catchup with my son at University and have another go at this amazing race as the weather was so bad last year.

How was the race organisation beforehand?

Endurance life events seem to be very well organised. In this case a storm was coming and we had to keep track on the website right up to 4pm the day before. Thankfully they organised a contingency route.

Did you have a specific race strategy, and if so, did you stick to it or have to adapt during the race?

Yes, last year we did a lot of falling, sliding and just being clumsy due to how wet and muddy it was, we realised others ahead could cope better with this so we have been asking people how. Our approach was to take smaller steps and try to focus on being upright over pace etc.

Were there any unexpected challenges you faced during the race?

Oddly enough in a storm when you know its windy and just 100 miles away a red weather alert is in force? The wind took us by surprise as we crested a hill around 150m in height. The sheer force (not gusts) of permanent wind on this hill was phenomenal, it ripped at our faces and would have unsettled any runner or hiker. We had to run almost lie down sideways in it for about 5 solid minutes and honestly for me life choices started flashing up. Each runner masked their face as best they could but if you made eye contact there was just this knowing feeling mutual respect called "We definitely should not be here"!.

How did you manage to overcome those challenges?

There was such a buzz going on around us. Many people had come very far and in a storm we were certain it would be cancelled so the joy of still having a run on half marathon contingency route was amazing.

What was the best bit?

Flying through the checkpoints grabbing things we didn't need and just cracking on with it.

What was the worst bit?

1 kilometre from the finish I pulled out my phone to take a photo of a tall mast wooden ship. It was at this point 20km in when I'd stayed mostly dry and not fallen...I fell properly into mud becoming from head to toe. It took hours to clean my phone and am barred from a pub in Swanage for making a mess.

How were the crowds/supporters?

People came out of their houses and even up to some challenging places just to cheer people on in a storm, not that you could hear that with the howling wind but the sentiment was felt as we passed).

What would you do differently next time?

Just turn up and hope for a better forecast.

What advice would you give other runners doing this race?

If you run Jersey trails you can run this but remember the ups and downs are 2 - 3 times the size in places so if you hate steps when you get to the steps you will really hate them. Be prepared to train on the trails at its wettest and muddiest point and you will be fine no matter what weather you face.

How did you celebrate completing your race?

We watched the Paradox orchestra do 50 years of Pink Floyd covers and it was amazing. The wine was good too.

What's next?

I'm thinking about the Guernsey marathon travel permitting and then maybe more mountains mid to late summer.