Well it's a long story!!
The long answer is that it has become a personal ambition to do something a bit hard.
This is due, in no small part, to the inspiration gained from witnessing the extreme determination and courage of my friend John Jones. John lost his right leg in a motorcycle accident in May 2008. Five months later he was given his new prosthetic leg and 3 months after that we (John, Dylan Morris and myself) stood shoulder to shoulder on top of the frozen summit of Pen y Fan.
So.......my initial plan was to run one of the 4 Deserts races across the Gobi desert and at the same time raise money for BLESMA - the British Limbless Ex-Service Man's Association, who were instrumental in John's recovery. The stories I was told by Phil Adams, 4 Deserts racer and lunatic ultra marathon runner played a significant part in this decision. Lastly but by no means the least of my influences, Sir Ranulph Fiennes and his autobiography Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know inspired me to get out there and do something before I got fat and old!
So I started to run and took part in a few events within a few months, the best of which was Llanelli half marathon that I completed in a respectable 1hr 34 mins in horrendous conditionsin 2009. I didn't listen to Phil's advice and ended up training way too much and ruined the meniscus cartilage in my right knee (although I still maintain this was due to squats during circuit training as oppose to running too much).
Anyway..... as a result, and mountain biking being my preferred sport, I changed the event to the self titled White to Black. This was a solo, entirely self supported attempt at cycling from Mont Blanc, Chamonix to Mynydd Du (Black Mountain) in the Brecon Beacons via Switzerland.
I started out well on the 25th July 2010 and rode over 300 miles in 3 days to reach the Loire Valley but was forced to stop with IT band friction syndrome.
While back at work a week later, nursing my knackered right leg I heard about Richard Parks' 7 summits in 24hrs on Pen y Fan and had my eureka moment!! "I can beat that".......
............so that's why.
