Years ago I used to set myself a winter challenge of some sort for some training motivation. This has included all sorts of silly antics, all cycling though. When I look back it turns out about 5 years ago I had the idea of trying to attempt a solo self supported iron distance triathlon. As not much of a runner or swimmer it was definitely an out of comfort zone ambition even then!

Back in 2012 I put together my own charity challenge to ride the Kielder 100 MTB race, kayak 7 miles across Kielder Water and then run the Kielder Marathon. Swimming wasn’t possible in Kielder Water at that time unfortunately but the seeds were sown for an attempt at a more traditional triathlon. I completed this challenge but it was a long day!

The Ironman concept has always intrigued me and it’s probably the biggest and best known ultra distance mass participation event? However once I started looking into it more the price tag and also the tattoo bro culture wasn’t really for me. Structuring your year around one big time defined goal you’ve invested a lot in definitely doesn’t appeal so much any more. The almost constant lurgy the kids and friends share with us means getting to an event not ill is a big challenge. I’ve probably been ill or recovering from illness for half of the events I’ve done over the last few years.

Anyway at the time of the idea I never really got round to it as I was still doing a fair amount of bike racing, so the time distraction from that was too much. I also found that my calves were so stiff after running I couldn’t do it again for days or a week after.

Cue 2025, a year of a lot less bike racing greater focus on events where kids and family could come along for a weekend. So less singular focus but an opportunity to see if I could sort out my stiff calves and figure out how to swim longer.

Preparation:

First stop some of those newer squashy shoes from Hoka which instantly felt great. Then a really slow build up with a little bit of strengthening work for the calves. I only decided to see if I could get through the run training beyond a couple of miles in August and before that I hadn’t done any running for many years (if you could even call that tiny volume running). Gradually I managed to build up the miles but time was against me on the graph between target date and increase in volume required! I was pretty clear from the outset of this that it wasn’t about time but completion and the main issue I saw was being able to have the conditioning to get through the run assuming I could flap my way through the swim.

I managed to gradually build up to doing a half marathon a few weeks before the event which in my head confirmed that I would be able to do the full distance with gritted teeth.

As for the swim. Well for a few years now I’ve been taking a dip whilst the boys have their swimming lessons at the local pool (why does it take them YEARS to learn to swim?!). This gave me a whopping 25 minutes a week slot! I had intended to get some lessons if the running got to a point where I thought the whole triathlon was possible. Time passed though and I left it too late so I made do with a couple of YouTube video viewings and trying my best to apply them! In the weeks before I did manage to up my hours to two swims a week on occasions, but like the run it was more about getting a feel for if the distance was possible than any particular speed goal.

As for the biking, I haven’t done loads since the MB race in the summer, with a lot more time spent out riding with the kids. But I was pretty sure I could get through the 112 miles distance even in crappy conditions.

Next to confirm the date. For some weird reason I enjoy a bit of jeopardy in a challenge and something draws me to doing things over winter where darkness and shitty weather come in to play. In 2018 with a mate Alan I organised ‘Lap of my Mind’ a 4800 mile relay around the edge of the UK by bike. I took the last leg back to Bristol and it finished on the Winter Solstice. Although on average the Winter Solstice isn’t the worst weather day it’s certainly the darkest and something about the jeopardy of that intrigues me so I’m drawn to that day. Plus it’s a good time to build up a festive season calorie deficit. So Winter Solstice it was so long as there wasn’t ice on the roads, everything else I could deal with.

Course: 

As this was a DIY challenge I could pick what I liked. The idea of doing it locally appealed from a logistics sense. We certainly didn’t have anywhere near a perfect bike course but I could make the swim and run work OK. For the swim I decided to do at the local pool in Keynsham. Given my lack of swim experience doing it outdoors would be a bridge too far, so Keynsham pool it was, but with my poor technique and lack of tumble turn it wasn’t going to be fast!

For the bike leg I made two big loops, one up North East to Malmsbury and back to a van in Keynsham for a reload, then out West past the Chew Valley, Bristol Airport and back. I’d planned a refuel at the far end of each of the loops.

I knew the run loop would be by far the hardest bit and the temptation was to do a shorter loop on repeat but I liked the idea and jeopardy (constant theme) of a one loop job, where there was no easy option to bail. So I ran out on the Bristol-Bath cycle path to Bath then along the Avon canal path and back via the Bath Two Tunnels cycle route. So actually a lot of off-road in total. I’d chosen to run home rather than back to the van expecting I’d collapse in a heap rather than have to faff getting the van home.

Preparation took a big hit in the couple of weeks preceding the event with my Mum having a severe post throat cancer operation complication, which following a cardiac arrest, left her with severe brain damage and unable to regain consciousness. I won’t dwell but it was an awful time whilst the doctors tried to find a way forward for her. In the end there was nothing more could be done and care was removed 5 days before the event. Mum was never one for any fuss and would have said ‘get on with ya bother’ to me if I’d said I didn’t feel like doing the challenge any more. So that’s what I committed to after she passed. Clearly this had the potential to go wrong in more ways than just physically at this point.

Rules:

Being a DIY job I could set my own rules. Clearly there were a lot of things I could do to make my life easier but I wanted to stay true to a self-supported vibe.

My swimming skills don’t stretch to tumble turns so there wasn’t much speed advantage indoors.

For the bike I thought about one big loop but this felt a bit risky given potential weather so I looped back to the van once. I only crossed over my route a couple of times. I could have put some gear and nutrition caches out on course but I felt this was a bit against the self-supported approach I’d committed to.

For the run I did one big loop and, as per the bike, I didn’t put any caches out but used taps and a petrol station – though it turned out I didn’t use much extra fuel anyway.

A few mates asked if they could come out and do a bit with me but again I sort of felt like the challenge I set was a solo endeavour and we all know how much easier things are with people with you.

Big Day

The event day came around scarily quickly and I still wasn’t really sure if I’d done enough to get round or whether I’d have an emotional meltdown and just divert to the pub. My main concern was the weather though as I decided that if it was icy the whole thing was a non-starter. Fortunately the forecast was OK for a least the first part of the day with rain forecast in the second half.

First in the door of the pool 7.30am, quickly in and off we went. It was nice and quiet at first so I quickly got in to it. Steady away was the aim and I managed the swim in 1 hr 21. With only a little bit of lane traffic I was pretty pleased with that time. First learning point was the challenge of getting changed into Lycra afterwards in the changing room – a right ball ache with sticky swim legs.

Out on the bike and the main aim was keeping it steady. I’d recently built up a lovely titanium Kinesis with some electric gears for the first time though I hadn’t done any super long rides on it. Fortunately it worked fine throughout.  Though mudguards and carrying a fair amount of gear will have slowed progress my total time of just under 8 hours was OK considering some mucky lanes and swirling winds. It was dark in the last hour and started to rain.

At the end of the bike I was feeling a little bit hungry so at the van transition I stuffed more food in. Unfortunately I got this a bit wrong and as soon as started running I knew I hadn’t got the balance of food and hydration right and got stomach cramps. The only solution is either chucking up or watering down the food. I chose the latter but that meant for nearly 3 hours of the run I survived on just water, one gel and a couple of petrol station Haribo.

The key was to get the transition right and starting to eat again for energy but not adding to the stomach issues. I was reduced to regular walking as my stomach just felt horrible with the bouncing of the running. The weather by this point had turned, getting rainy and colder.  Plus it was now dark. My Exposure headlight was doing a decent job through the murk but the flooding on the tow paths meant constant puddle dodging and climbing round railings at points to avoid full submersion!

I used water taps and a petrol station to top up but I was totally soaked inside and out so I had to keep moving just to keep warm. The Two Tunnels in Bath were some relief and being dry and a bit warmer for a while really helped motivation. The run was taking a long time though and the constant urge to walk was overwhelming. My muscles weren’t actually that bad considering but other parts of the body were causing serious issues. I had it in my head though that as long as I can still move forward I would be doing OK. Plus there wasn’t a great deal of choice in the middle of nowhere for most of the run! At times I closed my eyes and just laughed to myself how ridiculous the whole thing was, but then just kept moving forward.

I made it home to the doorstep and didn’t even make it through the door before being violently sick. Funny how the body and mind works really. Holding on to that for over 5 hours then letting it all go at the finish line. I made it upstairs before the main chundering event unfolded in the bathroom, with my whole body shaking. Sarah had fortunately run me a bath and eventually this calmed the severe shaking I was experiencing, as well as the vommiting, as my body totally gave up on me.

I wouldn’t say it was the most pleasant way to finish. I’d got myself in to such a focused zone I don’t think I had the jubilation I was hoping for. Just a sense of relief.

Looking back, given the lack of training, it’s pretty good to have ticked it off. Hopefully I can keep up a bit of running but not sure I’ll be rushing back to that distance any time soon.

Maybe it’s something that others might fancy having a go at though and perhaps creating some sort of Everesting style hall of fame. During training I was on a run through the Two Tunnels and bumped into Sean Conway (who completed 105 Ironmans back to back in 2023) which must have been fate given I’ve always thought he would be the man to figurehead something akin to an ‘Everesting’ movement for triathlons. I think you could have loads of different variants to suit any level, supported vs self supported, various distances, time of year etc.

Stats:

Swim
2.4 miles (plus a length as I finished at the wrong end)
1 hr 21 mins
869 calories
500ml energy drink
1x gel
60g carb

Bike
113 miles
7 hours 59mins
4 litres energy drink (80g of powder per litre)
1 litre water at refill stops
4 gels
4 energy bars
2 bananaz
1 protein bar
1 cereal bar
Total approx 615g=76g per hour
3679 calories
Average heart rate 153bpm

Run
26.2miles
5 hours 26mins
3 gels
5 Haribo
2 litres of water
1 litre energy drink
280g=50g per hour
3248 calories
Average heart rate 151bpm

Total transition (faff) time 38 minutes

Total 15 hours 24 mins

Total training August- December 21st

We made the road trip down with fellow MTB Epics organiser Vince and mate Tim meeting Soph there in our lush scenic view apartment.

A quick warm up spin the day before then early to bed for the 4.45am alarm to make the 6am start time. Unfortunately the alarm went off and I’m not entirely sure I went to sleep at all, we’ve all had that dreaded feeling!

The start line was something to behold with a mix of 1000 riders taking on a range of distances from the 70km to 140km (though you can chose on the fly if you want).

Off we went up the first climb of MANY. Next time you go to a ski resort and stand in the valley looking up at all the tops of the lift stations then imagine spending a whole day riding up to the top of each and every one….

There was some sketchy riding even on the uphills! I was a bit concerned that the uphill water bars were providing a technical challenge for some riders suggesting the rooty trails in the woods might prove to be too much for many!

Sure enough when we eventually hit the first singletrack there was a queue as the speedy uphill riders with zero descending skills faffed at the mere sight of a root. Fortunately we would get to ride this lush section later in the race again without the crowds. The second descent was a lot more spicy with some enduro corner options cutting lines to allow overtaking of lots of riders (most walking) on the main trail. Loamy goodness all the way mixed with some alpine meadow singletrack was welcome but the frequent height loss on gravel roads was a bit sad at times after all that work. Having my front brake fade half way down the longest descents made things interesting and unwittingly warp speed! I must admit though the 0.0001 descending on tarmac roads was a welcome relief to increase the average speed.

Getting to my first planned station significantly later than anticipated whilst riding OK was a bit of a shock, suggesting we were in for a long day. The route frequently peaked over 1700m and those peaks were often reached by vertical gravel tracks that after the first few hours of battling them became more and more frequently a long, sweaty and gasping hike.

I started getting some really bad pain in my inner thighs which I couldn’t figure out but threatened to be a game ender if it carried on. Fortunately I managed to remember that a recent seatpost change might have set my saddle a bit high and sure enough after lowering it a bit the pain slowly eased. At this point I was starting to get the dreaded feeling of cramp and once we looped back to Megeve I was worried about spending the next 7 hours holding it off. A spectator saw me stretching at one point and gave me some sort of cramp tablet I was grateful for (will have to look that one up).

I met Soph briefly at a feed station before she flew past me on the climb on her way to second place overall in the ladies! I was in self preservation and survival mode now as it dawned on me why so many people don’t finish this event.

I eventually came across Tim who had been up front sitting in a meadow contemplating life just after the 100km point. Shortly after he declared he was quitting but then made a miraculous recovery to make the last cut off with a minute to spare!

The last 3 significant climbs became a bit of a torture fest and I began to really struggle at one point with my breathing whilst pushing up another wall of dirt. I couldn’t get my breath back and resorted to an everesting summit hike approach of 10 steps then stop to breath. It was really hot and I think the effort had taken its toll and my heart rate was really low for the relative effort. I wondered whether that might be game over as being short of breath isn’t a good sign. I eventually made it up to the top where there were some medics but I knew if I mentioned shortness of breath I might be strapped to a stretcher or something drastic! It was downhill for a while after that so I thought I’d see how I felt. A bit more food and water seemed to slowly get me back feeling a bit more normal. I had also had a lot of caffeine during the day through both in my bottles and through frequent red ambulances (coke) at the feed stations.

The prediction of the poor rider skills came to fruition with the majority of riders walking anything resembling a technical section. It was fun dodging the bodies at times but in the second half of the race it was much quieter and people were more than happy to move aside. Though by that stage I was riding cautiously.

The race has strict cut off times and in the time I had spent walking up the mountains stages I lost most of the buffer I had to the last cut off at 132km. I made it with 20 minutes to spare. Red Ambulance no 6 and as much food as I could stomach was quickly shovelled in for the last stretch. At this point there was a bit more banter amongst riders which was entirely lacking the rest of the day, with little or no chat being offered by others riders. Not quite sure why but maybe they are taking it too seriously relative to their mid pack status. Either way I missed the chats that usually carry me through these sorts of things. At least the views throughout were seriously epic to keep the distraction up. I did somehow manage to identify 3 other brits whilst riding, I think mostly they overheard me attempting to chat to the locals or else hear the whinges about riders blocking the track!

The last section was a bit more chilled with a lovely flowy descent which was welcome after some brutal arm pump inducing ones earlier. Rolling in at 8.25pm made for a 14 hour plus ride on what has to have been the hardest day on the bike I’ve ever done (the most time spent off it as well). It wasn’t quite so much jubilation as relief. It was ace to see Soph at the finish have smashed round and catch her podium presentation. Tim arrived in a bit later and the battle story telling began in earnest.

Pretty pleased and surprised I made it round given the circumstances. Past finishers (of which there aren’t many) get their name on a wall in the event village maybe to encourage you to go back and have a picture next to your name. I’m not sure that’s sufficient to get me back to do it again. Bike events are for riding not walking. We all know how it goes though and some of the trails were epic and will stick in the memory more than the climbing.

I’ve raced here a couple of times and its absolutely jam packed with fun features all the way round with 95% of the course on singletrack. It also drains pretty well which is good given the weather of late!

I’d had some lurgy the week before but it seemed to have just about been clearing up in the couple of days before so having taken it seriously easy to recover based on coach Lee’s (Lee Eaton from Advance Cycle Coaching I was ready to give it a bash and see what happened. 

Disaster struck the night before when I couldn’t find my trusty pit table so I had to improvise with a bodged alternative. As it turned out I needn’t have bothered worrying about the seconds saved given what was to come. The course cut up pretty bad in places so a rinse of the drivechain was required most laps, so I was stopping anyway. Thanks to Squirt Lube though the mud easily washes off though rather than becoming grinding paste. 

I was clearly a bit out of practice from the off, not paying attention from the start gun, so was still chatting as half the field disappeared up the first climb. The plan was to start slow though to give the body a chance to not get into a state of shock given my recent illness. It seemed to work and I gradually felt my way into the race, eventually catching a few familiar race companions. This was a decent marker that I was going much better than I thought. It drizzled most of the race but it was pretty warm still and the slippy conditions suited my penchant for adversity, so I was enjoying myself. 

I managed to stay upright throughout mostly due to a Barzo tyre I fitted on the front midweek which turned out to be a sensible decision. A last lap push to catch some fast guy on a singlespeed failed but it was good to have that feeling of having pushed to the end. My hand was pretty achy throughout but healing is going to take a while yet. 

Post race I was in the car and away inside 10 minutes to get back to family duties but buzzing on having surprised myself given the less than ideal year behind me. It turned out I managed 4th in my age category and 13th overall. 

Hoping to get to the next couple of rounds of the Gorricks as they are belting events.

Our largest ever team entry saw Andrew Burgess, Phil Simcock, Steve Horridge, Carl Nelson, Graham Dean and Jacqui Simcock take the start line and survive the brutal event.  Hats off in particular to Phil for consecutive V50 podiums, as well as Steve, Graham and Jacqui for their first ever starts.

We will be back next September!

Previous reluctance to do the Strathpuffer 24 was mainly as it was such a long way away and I could almost get to Finale 24 in the same time in sunny Italy! The last year has been a bit brutal on many fronts and I will spare you the sob stories covering collarbone woes, a 3-month (and still going) twitchy eye from stress blah blah etc. With the year tipped on its head a bit due to the above I had just started to get some more consistent riding going in early autumn 2023 but without the prospect of a big goal on the horizon until well in to the following year I was a bit nervous I might then struggle to get properly back on the training waggon (which also helps me be better at life in general). So with the lack of my party trick event the 24-hour MTB race suffering thing in 2023 I even thought about the mental idea of some sort of self curated DIY solo 24-hour event where people just rock up and we set a GPX course and see who does the most laps counted by Strava or whatever. Clearly the stress had really gotten to me by this point if I thought that might be a good idea! So looking forward there was only option in 2024 – Strathpuffer 24 – that might scratch that ultra suffering itch. Perhaps not the greatest rationale to commit to but honestly I thought, well if there’s nothing else on I should see if I can get an entry!

Long term sponsors Exposure Lights came to the rescue and got me an entry and not longer after, from pointing out there wasn’t a UK 24hr MTB National Champs in the diary they also helped the organisers upgrade the race to champs status, whoop, some better motivation there I think. But now I had an entry I could only go if I could secure the essential pit crew needed to give it a proper go. 17 hours of darkness, January in North Scotland, not the most attractive proposition for a pit crew. MTB Epics co-organiser Vince stepped up after doing an awesome job at the Newnham 24/12 back in 2021 (my last 24 hour outing). A phone call to Team JMC head man Budge to firstly run by him my idea of a DIY 24-hour event (which he promptly told me was a ridiculous idea) merged in to seeing if he was planning to take any team setup to the Puffer and ended up in him agreeing to come up and support me amongst others, what a legend!

So entry and pit crew sorted. A lot of panic cleaning bikes and fixing them from total neglect in the run-up plus attempting to get some decent training onboard then followed. I was ill over Xmas including spending most of Xmas Day in bed and in and out for the next few days, not ideal prep. If the race was a week earlier I’m not sure I would have gone. Even the week before my heartrate was pretty elevated but we were all in by this point so it was a case of crack on. On the plus side I did lose 2kg through not being able to eat!

The predicted logistical faff was indeed a faff but aided massively by the Team JMC community plus Vince. The time away from home is mad as well so thanks to Sarah for understanding the need!

The setup at Puffer was a bit chaotic to start with as the mass of people trying to get the best spots on the trackside queued for quite a while at registration. After a long drive up on the Friday we realised we weren’t likely to get a large enough spot low-down near the start so we went to the top of the hill to ensure we had enough space for all the Team JMC racers and pit crew to be together – which was good for space but a bit isolated for the pit crew gang. As always there was a really good group of JMCers each with their own goals but all having a laugh together. It really is a great group of people, you should really get involved if you want to go to events and hang out with an amazingly supportive group.

Race time: After the usual hectic pre-race panic I got right to the front of the Le Mans style run, fully intending to go immediately backwards but a quick sprint to the bike and fast couple of inital laps saw me in and around the top 3. Despite the recent illnesses I felt decent and also my collarbone was working OK as well. The weight lost over Xmas certainly helped on the big long first climb!

The course was way more technical and physical than I thought. There wasn’t any proper ice but it was pretty muddy and cut up in places. An absolutely brilliant mix but super rough in places. Interesting to see a lot of enduro riders seem to enter this one and I can see why! I know people say about it not being a Puffer without ice but seriously, fuck that. Ice and collarbones are not a match made in heaven so I was glad it was just standard nails rather than nails hard plus ice of doom. We did have some snow at least to aid the purists sense of achievement towards the end.

The mud quickly became a factor in my race as despite some super slick bikes changes we had a bit of a miscommunication in the pits about lubing setup on the bikes which meant 10 minutes in to each lap I was getting a dry drive chain and horrible grinding noises which took a while to figure out and in the meantime had burned a hole in the amount of metal on my cogs. We sorted it out though which was music to my ears (literally). Having the pit crew to help with this sort of stuff was vital. However thrown into the mix was a rear mech explosion a few hours in after it somehow found a rock on the least rocky bit of the whole course. Jockey wheels, bolts and washers everywhere, I have no idea how I managed to stop in time to retrieve it all, bend it back together and carry on. I reckon it would have been an hour walk otherwise. My spirits took a bit of a dive at this point if I’m honest. Normally I’d be a bit more resilient in this sort of situation but for reasons I can’t yet fully explain the couple of bits of bad luck got to me and the enthusiasm waned. Vince and Budge did an amazing job of managing to fit a spare rear mech and get things working again despite their hatred of SRAM [Budge -it’s made of cheese]! My hardtail was bloody hard work though in the interim and my hands were suffering (just like everyone else’s of course). In all the bike swap chaos I missed grabbing a fresh bottle on two consecutive laps and had to stop at the marshal station for water which put me a bit behind in calories, adding to the self pity head space bonanza. My stomach was going well though and I’ve recently discovered adding some home brew energy mix to the Torq powder helps get a lot more calories in easily. When it started getting a bit tough mentally I actually had a sit down for a few minutes, which on stepping into the JMC pit was like stepping in to a warzone A&E department with a couple of other rider bodies in there looking worse for wear for various reasons. For anyone who knows my approach to 24-hour racing I probably haven’t sat down in one, and I mean at all, for one second since about ten years ago, so something was a bit different here, the Puffer is no joke!

Strangely though we plugged on through the night and I had some sense that I was still riding reasonably competitively. Everyone is suffering just as much remember. I loved the technicality and variety of the course and as always chatting to other people. The support up the first climb was like a party atmosphere, just brilliant. I didn’t quite feel that competitive buzz for some reason though and despite going OK I struggled to get the adrenaline going enough to really hurt myself as normal. On reflection one reason could have been that with the ridiculous challenges presented by last year it was hard to engage my head fully in the event and immerse myself.  Even just getting there and not being ill on the day felt like THE victory and perhaps completing the thing was just the aim rather than doing the whole thing trying to win. I can’t figure out yet if it’s because 24-hour racing doesn’t quite hold the same joy due to the sacrifices it now takes in the run-up, during and afterwards (more on the after in a bit). Is it worth it type questions?! Or whether it was just being a bit grumpy or something, who knows, answers on a postcard please. A few weeks later and the satisfaction is sinking in a bit more and I’ve pulled my head out of my arse a bit and I’m certainly feeling a lot more positive about how I rode.

Back to the racing…I was sandwiched in no mans land between 4th and 6th with an hour gap effectively each side so unusually for me I just sat up for the last couple of laps and held position as 5th seemed like a pretty decent result in the circumstances. I was also thinking a bit that I didn’t want to smash myself and return home after having taken all the time away to then be totally useless on return! In hindsight I really regret I wasn’t in the headspace to push hard for those last 6 hours where I can gain a real sense of satisfaction. I was actually nearly on the podium however unfortunately 3 out of 4 in front of me happened to be in my age category, ah well.

I should have realised at the start that my result was destiny though:

UK 24 Champs Palamares
2016 1st
2017 2nd
2018 3rd
2019 DNF (nerve damaged hand, was running 4th)
2020 Covid
2021 4th
2022 Did not attend
2023 Did not attend
2024 5th

Looking at the riders around me they were absolutely not messers with former champs and people putting in some serious training hours. My average of 10.5 hours a week including ebike commuting with the kids and a strength session to get 5th place is a bit bonkers really.  I’m speaking to Lee Eaton (my coach) about that at Advance Cycle Coaching as I’m not quite sure how the maths works around those numbers!

Massive thanks of course to the pit crew gang once again and sorry I was a bit miserable at times. My nerve damaged hand issue flared massively the night after and I had to get up every hour to shake it out and stop the horrible burning sensation. My finger tips are still numb so some more investigation work is needed there. I think some of the shorter races and who knows even some non-selfish pairs type racing could be interesting to mix things up this year amongst the event organising with MTB Epics.

Puffer bucket list ticked.