As you may have read, we’ve had a few setbacks recently that have affected our training.  I’ve also come to the (some would say blindingly obvious) conclusion that I am not as young as I used to be!

A few weeks ago I decided to do some walking around the Derbyshire villages where I first saw the poster for the Leaden Boot Challenge.  I left early on the bank holiday Monday morning and spent the day exploring some of the hills and valleys.  It really is a beautiful area, and one I would like to explore more.  However, I overdid it by wandering around all day, and despite a hot bath spent the next few days struggling to walk properly, let alone run.  My right knee in particular was giving me lots of grief and I didn’t think my leg muscles would ever stop aching.  A touch of middle aged angst crept in as I began to doubt whether I was capable of completing the Challenge at all, which was pretty depressing as I secretly think of myself as still in my early 20s…

This angst wasn’t helped by my attempt the following weekend to ‘get a normal marathon under my belt’, ignoring the warning signs from my knee.  11 miles in, I was forced to stop and limp home after the pain in my knee became unbearable.  (My daughter Maddy had some words of consolation though: “No offence Dad, but you smell” – she’s always been good at empathy).

As I started to lose confidence completely, I was helped by family and friends.  Nicki has always been there with a supportive word or two:

• “You idiot”
• “You took so long I thought you’d been hit by a bus”
• “I could walk it quicker than that”

and was the first to reassure me.  Other family and friends have been equally helpful:

• “There’s no way you’ll do that!”
• “You must be bloody mad!”
• “Oh, Hi Dad, have you just got up?”*

*(from my 7 year old when I returned from a run dripping and panting)

Seriously though, over the past couple of weeks I’ve bounced back, having taken the advice to rest my knee and get back into it gradually.  Nicki has been amazingly supportive, especially considering the huge stress she has been under, and ‘Saint Jean’ (my Mum) has been a logistical lifesaver as always.  I have to give Darren Goddard a special mention too, for his insanely positive Facebook comments (you should be a motivational speaker Darren!).

In the end, one sentence from Nicki turned it around for me: “Remember why you’re doing it”.  I realised I’d turned this into a personal quest, when in reality it’s not about me at all, it’s about Tom.  It’s about trying desperately to raise money to fund research that could make a real difference to his life and to the lives of so many other children like him.

So whether I complete this Challenge in 6 hours like a super hero, in 9 hours on my hands and knees, or not at all, it doesn’t really matter.  I’m going to give it my best shot, remembering the real reason I’m there.  We all need support sometimes.