Day 241 - Sat 29th May ~ 19500km, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

Having taken a worryingly long bus tour of the Comrades route yesterday, I was deeply troubled to discover just how many brutal hills lie in wait between here and Durban despite it supposedly being a downhill year! Passing signs for places like 'A Valley of a Thousand Hills' my legs were soon spasming at just the prospect of tackling the rugged terrain and by the time we reached the end of the route, distant stares had replaced fellow runners animated expressions and the entire bus was in total silence as people contemplated what kind of pain they would be suffering from at this stage of the race. At least the presence of my folks over here has ensured that I've got 10 days of serious carbo loading under my belt, so hopefully gravity may even help me out on some of the downhills. Indeed my mum was so concerned by the amount of food I'm eating and the stories of street food I've consumed along the way that she insisted on buying me a course of anti worming medication!

The great news is that my mate James has flown out to run the Comrades with me and our other friends Sammy, Danny and Sam have also flown out to provide some encouraging banter from the roadside and, in the boys case, cycle with me back to Rustenburg for England's first game. The biggest challenge may well be getting up in time to make the 5.30am start in the cold and dark.

The excitement and tension is now building by the minute and I have probably consumed enough pasta to run home after the World Cup! Having never run beyond marathon distance and had to fit my training around 7-10hr days spent cycling my preperation has been far from conventional and I therefore have absolutely no idea how my body will respond tomorrow or what time I can hope to achieve! At least I have the reassurance of a pre-race malt loaf to set me on my way.

If you wish to follow our progress online through the Comrades website (http://www.comrades.com/), my no is 29239 and James's is 34098. Alternatively if you are in South Africa you can text our no's to 38132 for regular SMS updates. 

Thanks as always for all of your messsages of encouragement, comments and donations. Special thanks also to Carol, Fritz, Amy and Rob for welcoming me and my shady friends into their home and also Trevor & Carine of the lovely 'Above the Rest' B&B for so generously having me to stay for free this week - you saved my folks quite a few Rand!