Weather damp, spirits not so!

It's chucking it down up here in Northern Scotland. Ideal for running! The outlook for the rest of the week is good with sunshine and highs of 18 degrees expected on Wednesday!

I've just had a few helpings of porridge and a large plate of beans on toast. ETA from John O'Groats is 11 o'clock.

Proud.

The long wait is finally over. The training and organisation are complete. Tomorrow (Friday) sees us travel nearly 400 miles to Wick (just south of John O'Groats) in readiness for the "big off" on Saturday morning. I've had good wishes from a great many people this week and especially today. The kindness and generosity shown by my friends, family and colleagues has been unprecedented. It really isn't a bad old world after all!

The magnitude of the event I'm about to undertake has not yet sunk in. Which is probably not a bad thing at this stage! I'm half expecting going back to work on Monday. That won't happen for another 7 weeks! I guess when I'm standing at the start line on Saturday I'll realise then that I've got an almighty challenge on my hands. In fact, 36 days of challenges!

One thing has remained constant over the last 13 years and still to this day serves as my biggest motivation. I feel extremely proud when I raise funds for St Benedict's Hospice. They were the people who cared for my Mam during here final days battling Lung Cancer. I know she would also be proud along with my Dad and Brother whom I lost very early in my life.

Who'd have thought that, when I set off for my first run around the block on a cold winter morning in January 1993, that I'd one day be contemplating running nearly 900 miles in 5 weeks. How true is that old saying - "The longest journeys start with just a few small steps".

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