In the beautiful setting of Sedbergh, i should have known better than to let the green hills and blue skies fool me.

As ever registration was a breeze. Helpful, well staffed marshals at hand from start to finish and a friendly atmosphere .

I ran London marathon 4 weeks ago and the fact it was sunny and 26 miles in length they had nothing in common!!! 

The race starts with about 6 miles of climb and i reassured myself that if i took it steady then it was "only" 20 miles, down hill home (IDIOT). 

Up hill was a lovely path, downhill, not so much. The mud began! 

I was really enjoying myself, i whilst i ran alone, there was always other runners offering support. 

The feed station at 14 miles was a welcome sight. Chance for a little rest, flapjack and cola. 

Off again and the real work began. 

Whoever put the last 12 miles together is just plain wrong. 

Loads or twists and turns, sharp little drops and climbs over nasty paths. 

The final insult came at mile 23 with a frankly insulting climb (welcome to hell sign). Thank goodness for the marshal half way up who talked to me when i felt like dying and all the other runners offering encouragement. I felt sorry for the marshals at the top, bet they had many swears. 

Then it was a mile down hill to the finish. Ive never been so glad to see that big red arch. 

I was blown. But medal around neck and a cold diet coke seems to cure most ills. 

It was a brutal introduction to fell marathons. In a perverse way i loved hating it and woukd recommend to anyone looking for a challenge. 

Just fantastic