Diary of a 10 in 10 Supporter.

When my boyfriend, Stuart, said that he woud like to do the Brathay 10 in 10 challenge (that is 10 marathons in 10 consecutive days, following the same course around Lake Windermere every single day) I said I would support him 100%.  So I did my very best to do that.  I could have done more in the lead up to the event to help with his training, but it's been a rough few months and I did the best I could.  But I tried to make it up to him over the 10 day event itself.  This is what me and the dogs ended up doing for a week and a half....

Day 1

So today was the day Stu started his 10 marathons in 10 days challenge in aid of the Brathay Trust. Him and 17 others nutters running round Windermere every day for 10 days in a row.

Me and the Monochrome Chaos Collective will be going down to support him basically every day - it's just about an hour's drive from here. I thought about just taking one dog each day and alternating who gets to come with and who gets to stay at home but considering that Stu is taking about 4-5 hours over each marathon I wouldn't feel right leaving one of the boys for 7 hours so both it is. Chaos (I have been taking them out individually as we are all very much works in progress when it comes to acceptable behaviour in public).

Today I got down to Brathay *just* in time to see the start so I left the boys in the car for a tiny bit, nipped out to give Stu a good luck hug and cheer him off then it was back in the car to stalk him round the course. I planned to stop for the first cheer at about half way at Newby Bridge (there's a good dog friendly pub there - not that I had ulterior motives in the form of coffee and a sausage buttie ) which gave me plenty of time to call off at Wray Castle to give the dogs a run. They had their breakfast in the car park first because I had done my usual get up to late to do anything other than throw on clothes and take them for a quick toilet walk before setting off. Hugo was a bit confused and Oscar managed to steal half his breakfast without him noticing!

We had a nice walk along the lake shore and in some woods from the castle - we didn't go too far, I wasn't sure where I was going or quite how long I might have before Stu arrived at Newby Bridge but the boys made the most of it pelting about and swimming in the lake. Then it was back in the car and off to Newby Bridge.

I man-handled the Chaos into the pub and managed to eat my butty and get out the front with my coffee having only missed a few of the runners go past. I had seen one of the women going past and got myself outside asap - mistakenly thinking that there were a couple of men in front of the woman I had seen. I actually missed less runners than I thought because it turns out that she was in the lead and went on to be the first home today. Awesome job missus.

Oscar and Hugo were very good dogs waiting for their Dad to come past. The event's physio team showed up for a bit and gave the dogs lots of attention which they completely lapped up. Hugo surprised me by being a lot more settled than Oscar but I think Oscar could smell the river and wanted to be in it so he was complaining a bit.

Stu came past and stopped for a chat - in good spirits, taking it easy and surprising himself by not being worried about being a bit on the slow side. The dogs were very pleased to see him. Once he was on his way we piled back into the car and made our way to the next meeting point - ice cream mountain (otherwise known as  Miller Howe).

There's a nice bench at the top of a very steep hill there. Me and the boys settled ourselves in; Hugo even climbed onto the bench and stretched himself right out for a bit of a sunbathe in-between rain showers. We chatted to a few more of the runners here (any excuse to stop after the hill - lazy B8ggers ) and Hugo discovered that they were sweaty and I had a job on trying to stop him licking them all! Stu came past still in one piece, still chatting and cracking jokes which is a good sign.

Back in the car and into Ambleside to sit outside the Wateredge Inn. The barman very kindly carried my coke to my table for me as I tried to contain the Chaos! We were one mile ish from the end of the route here so the runners we saw going past looked quite done in. Stu still in good spirits though and I finally managed to find a bin to put the poos I'd had in the car all day in!

Finally we went back to the finish, had a brief chat with Stu before he had to go off to be fed and massaged and I had to start making my way back. I called in at Keswick on the way home and bought a chain lead coupler and a very short lead with a handle - I'm hoping this will help me contain the Chaos a little more effectively while I have to manage them both together. At least we'll have lots of practice for the next 9 days so we might actually be getting somewhere by the end... lots of getting in and out of the car practice too. Hugo point blank refuses to get into the car under his own steam - he seems reluctant to get into the crate with Oscar. I might actually try Oscar on the back seat tomorrow and see if I can get Hugo a bit keener to get into the crate (it used to be the other way round - Oscar would cry in the crate with Hugo but he seems to have decided it's fine now and Hugo is not liking it instead!)

On the whole they are very good dogs and stuff like this makes me feel grateful that we did so much socialising because they aren't phased by anything much at all and are so friendly towards everyone BUT it also makes me acutely aware of how far we have to go with the training, ESPECIALLY when actually trying to walk them both on a lead for even short distances.

We came home via the yard and they had a bit of a run round and a play with each other and one of the other livery's dogs and we did a bit of training. One final stop off at the Co-op for me to stock up on junk food and we finally got back home nearly 12 hours after leaving this morning! Phew, what a day! And we are going to be doing it all again tomorrow... and the day after... and the day after... etc etc. I think I'm going to take the camera a few days and get some pictures of the boys in supporter mode.

The Collective are fast asleep now - loads of sights and sounds from the day to process! I won't be long out of bed myself.

Day 2

So. Another day, another marathon. I actually managed to wake up on time (ish) this morning. Took the dogs for a quick morning ablutions walk and gave them breakfast while I packed up the car and then we were off. I was feeling mostly trepidation as Stu had texted me with news that his knee was VERY sore this morning having been only slightly niggling last night.

We managed to get there a reasonable amount of time before the start, enough time for the dogs to make friends with a number of people and for me to ascertain that Stu was really not in a good place mentally. The physios had given the knee a good pummelling and I was glad to hear that it wasn't a problem with the joint itself but with a tendon insertion... far less complicated and mostly caused by a tight muscle so stretching and pummelling could well sort it out. Still I think Stu was expecting to have to pull out and wasn't in a good mood.

I decided to head straight to Hawkshead (about 4 miles in) to see him there - it's around the 4/5 mile mark that the niggles and pains usually start easing off in this event so I wanted to see how he was doing at this point.

The dogs were completely out of control in Hawkshead. The lead I bought is short enough to ensure that they can't cause any nuisance to anyone else but my god they are hard to manage together. It upsets me because they are so good in other ways and well-behaved separately (mostly) but together... well complete strangers laugh at me with them. It's embarassing and I have no clue what to do about it short term. Long term - train, train, train obviously. Short term?

Anyway Stu eventually appeared he still wasn't happy and was pretty convinced that this would be his last day in the event. I soothed as best I could and sent him on his way with a plan of walking the ups and running the flats and downs just a bit faster (at a more natural pace for him - he was holding back yesterday to try not to overdo it but I think that might have caused its own problems!). Then me and the Collective fought our way back to the car.

I set off driving and managed to get out of the car park and onto the main road out of Hawkshead before it went a bit wrong. I pushed the clutch down and moved the stick into 2nd and then... then the clutch pedal didn't come back up. I was chugging along in second with no way to move up or down gears, well I certainly wasn't going to try doing anything until I could pull the car off the road somewhere - causing a traffic jam was not on the agenda although it looked like a call to the AA was. However, a minor miracle or moment of extreme serendipity... just as I was losing hope of finding anywhere to pull over while still near Hawkshead I turned a corner and see a GARAGE, as in a proper mechanical one where they fix cars and stuff! And it was OPEN!

And to make it even better they were amazing! The guy got in the car to see what had happened to the clutch and was completely unphased by getting a grinning Oscar in his ear (he was on the back seat as I was trying to get Hugo liking the crate a bit more - it had been going alright actually!) and started chatting about his spaniel. He then broke the news that he couldn't fix it today but was really lovely when I explained my predicament and then event etc and offered me a courtesy car. He even went and fetched the dog-friendly courtesy car from the customer that had it, driving their car up to them instead of waiting for them to bring it back in when it was due all in an effort to help me make Newby Bridge on time to see Stu through! And he had no issue with the dogs being on the back seat of the courtesy car even when I said they would probably be muddy at some point - he said it's the car they give to farmers with dogs and I should see the state it usually comes back in!

So what was looking like a very bad situation was turned around by some truly awesome customer service. I mean we cannot even begin to afford a hefty repair bill on The Shed (Stu's car ) but we'll just have to and at least I wasn't getting a tow home while Stu was in a head melt-down out on the road!

So me and the Collective piled ourselves and our stuff into our boy racer courtesy car and resumed our chase around the lake - definitely no time for a walk before Newby Bridge now and the walk from the car park to the front of the pub was more frantic we-haven't-been-off-lead-yet-today pulling. We got there *just* in time to catch Stu. He was feeling much, much better. The knee pain had eased off a lot with the slightly faster running just loosening everything off a bit and he was happy that he would finish this one and that had lifted him no end. I wasn't going to mention the car if he'd still be in a complete funk but I decided to tell him now, mostly so he wouldn't be looking out for The Shed on the road and wondering where the heck I was... or see Hugo and Oscar in the back of a strange car and completely panic! He took it quite well considering. The main problem is that The Shed is our only car now since my ickle Ka catastrophically failed its MOT last week and has had to be PTS by the car vet. But that's a whole other story.

Newby Bridge done with, we made our way to ice cream mountain where today there was actually and ice cream van! Hurrah! I somehow managed to tie the Collective to a bench while also holding an ice cream. They had a good time here, getting lots of attention from other people supporting the runners and the runners themselves, and I had an interesting chat with an elderly couple who came and ate their lunch on the bench while managing to stop The MCC from "helping" them with their lunch.

Most of the runners were looking tired by this point - 22 miles into the second marathon. Interestingly the women looked a lot more comfortable than the men on the whole, including Sally who was in the lead again by a fair distance. A couple of runners stopped for ice-cream - very sensible. It's a bit of a tradition - one year a runner gave the ice-cream man a load of money at the start of the week and got an ice-cream made for him every day. It takes a special kind of person to do an event like this To be honest though - it may sound like the kind of thing only super-athletes should even contemplate but the vast majority of the participants are just ordinary runners with a few normal paced marathons under their belt looking for a bigger challenge and it's amazing what ordinary people can do.

Stu came through tired but not working as hard as some of the others - good at this stage in the event I think. Muscles sore all over but knee about the same as it was at Newby Bridge, mentally a lot more sound as well - back to cracking "jokes"

I saw a couple more people through then headed towards the finish with a brief junk food pit stop and toilet break on the way. The dogs seemed very comfortable with the back seat arrangement and the pair of them curled up for a bit of a sleep. Despite no proper walk yet the mental effort of meeting their Public was clearly taking its toll.

Back at the hall there was more waiting around on benches to be done.  The chief physio came over with a box of ice cubes because he was waiting for a runner coming in who needed to get iced straight away - not just Stu suffering this early on then! Hugo stole an ice-cube! But it was OK cos the physio was very taken with Hugo - so yet again Hugo gets away with bad behaviour on the grounds of being cute!

Stu arrived and was much more upbeat then he had been all day. Well he had finished his second marathon in a row so it’s not surprising. But I think surviving today has left him much more confident for the rest of the event and he was chattery and buzzing. Much better than 5 hours previously - running marathons is clearly good for you. While he was getting fed and stretched me and the doggies discovered a path down to the lake and a little woodland peninsula jutting out into the lake. Finally some off-lead running for the boys! They made the most of it, swimming, running, jumping over stuff. We played around for about half an hour or more then headed back up to the hall. They started being a lot better on the lead at this point. Still awful but better. We stayed just long enough to see Stu through his ice-bath (10 minutes in 3 degrees Just the legs though, not full body immersion!) and then headed home boy racer style. Well actually quite sedately in a boy racer car - I quite enjoy how it handles though and could get more boy racer-y before Monday.

The Collective fell fast asleep on the back seat and didn't look too enthusiastic when we pulled up at the yard so I just left them in the car while I sorted the horses. When we eventually got home I took them for a quick walk up the road for a wee and both of them had bed-head fur on their sides and bums. And now they are curled up together on the sofa. Tired and more bonded (Oscar would usually move away from Hugo-snuggles but he seems happy to snuggle today). This has got to be a good thing.

We'll be off to bed soon I think! Same again tomorrow, well hopefully with less knee niggles, less car breakdowns and more walkies for dogs!

Day 3

Stu had a really, really tough day today. In a lot of pain and going to some dark places mentally. I still think he can do it but he has to get over the hurdle of believing he can do it and getting into a more positive place in his head out on the course. He seems alright while he's not running - quite upbeat, cracking jokes, doing his full time in the ice bath, letting the physio team pummel him into oblivion - it just goes downhill when he's running.

He walked it in from 18 miles today, as his feet were hurting on every step. However this has meant that his legs are not too sore this evening and his nigglesome knee seems to have improved. I don't know what to say to him to keep him going. I hate seeing him in pain and I wish I could take the pain on myself rather than watch him go through it! As dramatic as that sounds it's true.

I'm not sure I can manage a blow by blow account today, it was quite traumatic. I arrived in good time for the start even after having a complete freak out at a petrol station on the way over. I couldn't get the fuel cap off the courtesy car! Completely not getting anywhere with it for about 5 minutes, possibly more. Eventually I had to do the whole pathetic woman thing and ask a passing bloke for assistance. Horrible. Especially when he just turned it and it came away. Then the bloody car wouldn't start, it had locked up somehow and I couldn't turn the key until I flew into a proper rage and violently wobbled the steering wheel about a bit - then the key turned finally! I'm not doing all that well with cars at the moment.

Stu was in good spirits at the start so I decided to miss out Hawkshead and meet him for the first time at Newby Bridge. I drove down to Newby Bridge and took the dogs for a really lovely walk in some woods I discovered. There were lots of sticks for Hugo and lots of mud for Oscar so they were happy. I had chips and coffee at the pub and cheered a few runners past. Sally wasn't in the lead today - Matt ran a stormer and managed to get home before her. The other runners are starting to recognise and smile at me and the Collective now; a couple even stop for a Hugo assault - Hugo just loves to lick their sweaty faces!

Stu was not happy at Newby Bridge so I made another support stop at Tower Wood (I think it was called Tower Wood) where he seemed even less happy - just keeping going. By Ice Cream Mountain he had started walking and had dropped right back behind the others. The lady running the show, her partner and the physios had all been chivvying him along. I gave him a hug at the top of the hill and said some stuff - I don't know if the stuff I'm saying helps. Then he carried on - walking but moving still.

We had got quite cold waiting on Ice Cream Mountain - Hugo had started shivvering so I had put Oscar's hi-vis coat on him (it's much too big but he looked cute!) and then I sat down on the bench and they got up too, one on each side and cuddled into me - all of us after each other's body heat. It was cute and felt like we were a proper little pack.

After Stu came through I went down into Ambleside - I found a good pet shop and bought more dog treats... I might pop in tomorrow and get Hugo a little jacket of his own - but only if Stu is doing ok I think; I don't want him to drop out and realise I've spent (wasted in his eyes) more money on unnecessary (and it would be unnecessary really) on the dogs when we still don't know how much The Shed will be costing to fix. I moved on from Ambleside before Stu came through - I knew he was in a bad place and didn't want to overly fuss him. So I drove back to the hall to wait there.

I did a bit of loose lead walking training with the Collective - they can walk to heal, together, well away from any upright surfaces, for a few paces if I have a handful of treats. It's a starting point I suppose!

Everyone came out to see Stu in - I'm not sure it's what he really wanted but it's what he got. As soon as he finished he pulled me off to one side and said he was done and going to come home. Between me and The Boss Lady we managed to persuade him to stay and see if BodyRehab could magic him back on the road tomorrow. He went and had a shower for a loooooong time. Eventually he came out, had food and went in the ice bath and was out just in time to go in to dinner for more food. I hope BodyRehab can sort him out this evening.

The Collective spent quite a bit of time sitting in the car while I did my best to look after Stu after the end of his run - but they were ever so good and didn't chew it to pieces or get into the front and steal anything. They just slept - Hugo stretched out on the seat and Oscar curled up in the foot well behind the passenger seat. I had the horses on full livery today so I just popped in and fed them (I can't be bothered to explain to the yard what to feed them - much easier to just call in and do it myself!!). I've done the same tomorrow so I can hang around and offer all the support I can again. Also I have no idea what the situation with the car will be tomorrow. It could be another tough day - I just hope Stu finds the mental strength he needs to carry on, I so, so want him to do this - to achieve this. Please send vibes!

I won't be long out of bed - I want to get there really early tomorrow.

Day 4

Another tough day out there for Stu today. But unlike yesterday where it started bad and got worse, today he started awful and got better. I think he worked through a lot of stuff in his head out on the course today and came home strong. Over 7 hours but time is irrelevant at this stage.

The bad news is that the problems he was getting with his feet yesterday have been diagnosed by the physios as Plantar Fasciitis - the big PF.  This is Bad News for runners and has the power to turn runners into ex-runners. So it's a worry. But he started today when I wasn't sure that he would. And he walked. It was a slow start. I went to find a cafe in Skewith Bridge that had been mentioned - I found it but had a freak out because there were loads of dogs tied up outside and two near the door went mental barking at Hugo and Oscar as we tried to go in. Oscar has been having some bad experiences with other dogs lately so I was really wary about going in but the owner of the dogs came out and held them while I walked past. She didn't move them though, or take them inside with her after asking if dogs were allowed... Then I went in and sat down - I wasn't sure if it was counter or table service and found myself a bit at a loss because the furniture wasn't secure enough to tie the dogs too while I went and ordered and I couldn't see any of the staff to ask anything... then a woman on the next table let her little old dog come over to "say hello" to Oscar who I was actually trying to get to focus on me. Her dog then proceeded to have pop at Oscar. Great. Just what he needs. I didn't say anything but ended up getting in a complete tiz and just leaving. Going places on your own with two dogs is actually really hard. Well it is for me.

Anyway - I got us to Hawkshead and we walked up through the town and there was no sign of anyone. I was completely confused about times and managed to convince myself I'd missed him.. I hadn't but I had missed all the others. I drove on for a bit and stopped at the next water stop. It looked like he hadn't been through from the state of the bottles so I decided to wait it out. I let the dogs have a swim in the lake to tire them out a bit - I could see this panning out as a day of mostly waiting around for them so took the opportunity to give them a bit of Fun for Dogs while I could. I was waiting a while so I decided to head back along the road to Hawkshead and if I didn't see him to head in Newby Bridge direction until I found somebody to do with the event as I hadn't seen anybody yet. I was quite relieved when I saw him heading towards me down the road - walking, and walking well! Not the agonised shuffle that had been all he could manage earlier, and he smiled! Best feeling ever. It was something of a resigned smile but the really dark clouds had gone from his face and I was so relieved.

I turned round and headed back to the lake edge stop I'd been at before. He came in and went out again in good spirits. His feet had basically spasmed massively at about 1.5 miles, making him scream and hit the deck apparently but then, with a few further spasms, had eased off and he could now walk fairy freely although running was still out of the question.

The boxes with the drinks were being collected in before Stu got to them so I became chief bottle hoarder from then on and met him at pretty much every drinks stop on route - they are about every two miles so I was seeing him every 30-40 minutes. The dogs were perfect and just sat in the car. Things really started picking up at about half way... I had just sat down with a sandwich and a small bucket of chips at the pub at Newby Bridge - the first time I have indulged in a full lunch at the pub, I thought I had loads of time you see - and he just appeared. Well before I was expecting him and looking reasonably happy! I was so, so glad. I finished up lunch and walked back to the car and the dogs actually walked quite nicely on the lead back to the car - things were really looking up.

After Newby Bridge I didn't see Stu again until Tower Wood, but when I drove past him on the road he was running - bloody running! Compared to not even being able to walk 15 steps before stopping in pain this morning. I couldn't actually believe my eyes. At Tower Wood he explained he was counting steps, 100 walk, 50 run and repeat. He did this all the way back along the lake it kept him focussed as he got tired and the rain started (serious rain by the way, heavy almost tropical stuff). I saw him at Storrs Hall and then again at Ice Cream Mountain - he ran up the hill there and I didn't even see because he was there so much sooner than I expected. he tapped on the car window while I was reading my book!

I caught him for the final time out on the course at Brockhole and he was still going strong so I decided to just head straight to the finish.

I let the dogs have a run around on the lawn where the finish line is and they had quite a good play about until The Boss Lady came out and politely enough told me that they needed to be on a lead. I had kind of guessed that might be the case but had let them off anyway to see if I could get away with it - they have been such good support dogs after all and they weren't doing any harm or causing any nuisance... but no. Fair enough I suppose.

Stu arrived a little later than I had predicted but he arrived in once piece and still running. Food, stretches, ice bath, more food, shower, sorting next day’s bottles then more treatment from the physios and hopefully back on the road tomorrow. I stuck around for it all, getting the dogs out of the car as much as I could but again they were so good and patient with being left when I needed to. I had to fill up with fuel on the way home and couldn't get the blasted fuel cap off again. The same man from the petrol station helped me again. I just don't think I have the strength in my hands to do it cos he did exactly what I'd been doing but he got it to turn where I just couldn't. I finally got the horses fed at 9pm, then the dogs fed as soon as I got in. I'm not sure where the time has gone since I got in, mostly looking at blog updates from the other runners as I missed them all out on the course today. And watching yesterday's and today's video highlights. The dogs got onto the end of yesterday's - they are so embarrassingly out of control but I wasn't in a place to be trying to control them at that point either!

Last wees then bed now.

Stu is setting off early tomorrow, just an hour's head start to hopefully make the evening a little less rushed and not fall off the back of the field so much. I took on most of his support today as they Brathay team had to keep up with the others and neither Stu nor myself want any other runners to suffer support-wise because the team are having to spread themselves too thin over the course. Hopefully it'll be better tomorrow.

Day 5

I'm finding the support quite stressful, especially through the rough patch. You wait by the roadside knowing roughly when he'll get there, and just hoping that it's still going ok, that he's still upbeat and moving... And you just don't know until he shows up, and then there's the relief of him being fine and happy or the quick thinking that needs to be done to drum up the right words of support and encouragement to keep him going.

Stu had an early start today, going off at 9am - an hour and a half before the main start. I didn't get there in time; just missed him due to the MCC not getting their sh*t (literally ) together after being jumped all over by over the road neighbours in season bitch (not on a lead, my two were; WTF can you do?) when I nipped them out for morning ablutions. They were so distracted by her and her wees that getting them to have a poop themselves took twice as long as normal. And then there was someone driving at 30 miles an hour when 50 is more than doable. But there's always someone going 30 when you need to go faster round here so I should be used to it by now.

I dropped some things off at the hall, had a quick chat with a couple of people who told me that Stu had been in good spirits this morning. I drove off to catch him up. And indeed he was in a good mood, such a relief. Looking good as well, walking well and had covered a good distance by the time I caught him. A quick chat and I pressed on to meet him in Hawkshead. I like stopping in Hawkshead despite having to pay for the parking there. I found a place to get coffee and tiffin (for breakfast! Healthy.) and they very kindly turned the patio heaters on for me so I could sit outside and wait for Stu. While I was waiting one of the runners, Rob came through. He'd had an 8am start but Stu was catching him - he was obviously having a bad time. He came, went, then came BACK to ask me if I would mind going back to the hall to get his phone for him - his girlfriend was due back from a trip and he wanted to phone her on the way round but had forgotten his phone! So I said of course I would go and get it once I had seen Stu through Hawkshead. It wasn't all that long before Stu appeared, happy as larry, got cuddles from me and the doggies then headed off again.

I drove back to Brathay just in time for the main start, seeing me come back worried a few people and I had to shout out of the car window that Stu was fine I was just coming back for something several times. The runners have really bonded and really care about how everyone else is doing. There is no sense of competitive-ness. Just a friendly between boys and girls at the pointy end of the race but other than that the focus is on getting everybody round. One chap had a dreadful day today and another runner went out AFTER his marathon and walked a mile or so back in with him. And everyone asks me how Stu is getting on as they pass or tells me they've seen him and he's doing well.

Today has been a bit of a blur to be honest, another long day for Stu but 25 minutes ish less time on the run than yesterday and he seemed in an even better mood all the way around. I managed to walk the dogs near Newby Bridge after getting Rob's phone to him and briefly seeing Stu on the way there. I was at Newby Bridge to watch the front runners go past - they are flying, getting faster each day some of them.

I then followed Stu quite closely up the other side of the lake, seeing more and more people as he was overtaken by people who had started later but were moving faster. I took some photos of him today as well, partly because he was in a better mood and partly because someone had promised him more sponsorship if he wore the shorts he was wearing today so I had to get photographic evidence. I saw him at Brockhole for the last time before the finish then just had enough time to get Hugo a coat from the pet shop in Ambleside and drive back up to Brathay before he came running in, still happy.

I can't believe what he is achieving. I knew he was stubborn but I didn't know he was quite this stubborn and I thought the stubborness was going to work against him for a while there i.e. he would dig his heals in and refuse to carry on. I also can't believe what the physio team are achieving with his feet - they haven't got any worse despite two more marathons since the really bad day with them, and they may even have loosened off more than they were at the start of the event.

Half way through now - a milestone but still a long way to go on depleted reserves.

I can't go and support tomorrow because I have my one and only tutoring client and doggie training classes that I need to be back for. It's going to be so hard not being there...

Day 6

I've had a good day off even if it was a bit weird not being there! I managed to keep myself busy after having a massive lie in; I don't know how I can be so tired from just supporting!

Stu had another good day and has clocked a sub-6 time... nearly an hour faster than yesterday! I cried a little bit when I got the text - I am so, so, so proud of him. You meet someone, think they are awesome, fall in love, live with them for a few years and then they do something like this and you see them in a new light. I always knew this strength of character was there but to see him use it like this deepens my admiration of him indescribably. Sorry soppiness over.

Looking forward to tomorrow. A friend had made some of her famous flapjack and has sent it in the post because she's hurt her back and can't make it here in person. But we have the flapjack. I have to pick it up from the depot tomorrow morning (it's a slight detour on my way down but worth it!) because I missed the postie this morning during my massive lie in!

The race at the pointy end between boys and girls continues with Sally still ahead, clocking another win today. Matt has won several days but his overall time is slower thanks to a relatively slow Day 2. The fast guys who are clocking decent times day after day after day are amazing. But so are the guys who are taking their time over it! Davey was out for over 8 hours yesterday and came in smiling and laughing and apparently the same again today! Amazing strength of character.

Right, off to bed - no lie in tomorrow!!

Day 7

I'm not sure what happened today but it turned out to be a really tough day for Stu and he clocked his longest time out on the course so far.

I made it in good time for the start despite having to take a rather long detour to pick up the flapjack our friend had sent up. I found Stu in the bar/living room area writing a blog about not wanting to mess it up so close to the end and seeming like he was feeling quite "flat". Still his feet were kind of ok. But he was clearly tired and in quite a bit of background pain. I think I made it worse because it had kind of reached the point where I had to tell him how much the car was going to be costing us to fix and we had one of those depressing conversations about money that we seem to be having a lot since I finished work.

Oscar had done an excited squeal when I turned up the drive to Brathay this morning so I brought him out to see his Dad start the race. I left Hugo in the car so Oscar could get some proper attention without Hugo interfering. I think both Oscar and Stu were quite happy about that. And I was pleased that Oscar then walked nicely on a reasonably loose lead all the way back up the drive... all is not lost on the eventually being able to control my dogs front.

I drove out to the first drinks station. Stu had set off with a jacket and waterproof trousers on over his running kit, mainly to discourage him from running too soon and I met him at the first drinks stop to take them off him. I'm not sure why Stu was setting off with the main start really at this point but The Boss Lady had suggested he would get better support - however by the first drink stop he was already well behind. But in good spirits, seeming slightly more relaxed and upbeat than he had before the start. He ditched jacket and trousers and set off again wanting to get some running started.

I drove to the garage to swap cars and pay for the repair. I gave the chap there a couple of bottles of beer just to say thank you for going the extra mile ( pun intended). I transferred all my accumulated stuff, including the two dogs, from the courtesy car to The Shed and in the end didn't have too long to wait before OH appeared. He was in a happy enough place to hug his car!

I then drove not much further on and let the MCC disturb the lake at the fisheries. There was a swan swimming about threateningly (is that possible?) and a few ducks. Oscar ignored them all and carried on with his swimming and occasional excited barking as usual. Hugo decided to try and chase the ducks but responded very well to a "leave it" (I timed it so it was just as his nads hit the cold water - it didn't take much persuasion for him to back off the chase at that point ). I was just getting the dogs back to the car to get dried off and jumper and coat on, Oscar was shivering and cold breathing worse than he's ever done I think, when Stu ran past on the road with a shout out. Again he seemed fine.

I sorted the poor shivering dogs and drove down to the YMCA place. I caught a few others going through here, Kaz looking strong and happy, Jim and "Foxy" having difficult days. I had a long chat with a cyclist who stopped to ask me what the runners were doing ("10 times round the SAME course??" ). I left the doggies huddling together on the back seat of the car and strolled back along the road with some flapjack to meet Stu and walk him into this stop. Something in my head must have sensed that he might be starting to struggle as I haven't had the urge to do this yet. Just as I was thinking I'd gone too far and would hold him up to much on the way back to the drink stop he appeared, running a bit then slowing to a brisk walk as he caught me. He might be walking bits but he's walking them fast and I had to stride out to keep up! He had eaten some bits and bobs that the Brathay support team had given him but was grateful for the flapjack and decided to carry it to eat later. I can't remember what we talked about on the way back to the car but he seemed ok, just tired and wanting to keep moving.

I moved on to Newby Bridge where I'm pleased to report the dogs walked relatively nicely to and from the car. Relatively.

I think it must have been somewhere between the YMCA place and Newby Bridge that the pain and the tiredness really kicked in because he was basically in tears when he came round the corner at Newby Bridge and almost begged me to let him stop at that point. It is so, so hard to not go "ok, that's it, let’s go home" at that point. But I know how amazing he is doing and how much he'd kick himself if he dropped out now, he just can't see those things when it gets bad. He carried on quite quickly and I drove round to Fell Foot.

From now on the strategy for me would be to stop at every water station or near it, make sure he has everything he needed administer hugs and send him on his way. Fell Foot, Tower Wood and Storrs Hall were all similar - he arrived, said he didn't want food but started on an energy gel and kept moving on. I was worried about him not eating, especially as he hadn't eaten the flapjack I had given him round the back of the lake. He's not very good when he doesn't keep taking in glucose while running - but at least he was having the gels.

I arrived at Ice Cream Mountain just as Jim got there - he was having a tired day and struggling but I had finally found someone who wanted a bit of flapjack!

I was waiting at Ice Cream Mountain for quite a while, I sat on the tail gate of the Shed with the boot open and the MCC in the crate next to me and read a bit of my book. The Boss Lady appeared and said Stu was on his way up the hill. He arrived looking completely done in, saying he was tired and utterly drained of reserves of mental and physical strength. He sat down on the step behind the bench and finally said "have you got any food? A hot drink?" I went and made him a coffee and The Boss Lady furnished him with a jam sandwich and a caramel shortbread. And he came back - when he arrived it had been like he wasn't quite there, spaced and tearful. As the food went down he appeared behind his eyes again and smiled a bit - although obviously still tired and wanting to stop.

As a bit of a laugh the boys had painted their nails on the traditional 10 in 10 "Ladies Day" (where the women athletes set off first- just a fun tradition). And Stu asked if I could get some nail varnish remover to have at the finish because he had been wanting to take it off for a couple of days and now looking at it was making him cry. As was the fact that all the public loos down this side of the lake seemed to cost 20p to go in. He's been weeing in beech trees instead, by the way!

After his picnic, which I think all in all saw him through to the end of the run today, I drove on to meet him at Brockhole which was a quick hug and cry stop. Then I drove back to Booths in Windermere to get nail polish remover before heading for the finish.

I got both dogs out of the car at the hall and they got lots off cuddles off the people who had come out to see Stu in. I was pleased because I think they spent a lot of time in the car today so I was glad to get them out and involved. Stu walked in not looking happy and did a quick interview to camera before having a hug and another cry and being escorted to the athlete's room to start the rebuilding process. I took the dogs for a quick run up and down the path to the lake, not a proper blast but just enough to keep the edge off then it was back in the car for them. Very guilty feelings but I needed to be with Stu.

I went to the athlete's room to find him eating soup and chatting to two physios while he had cryo-boots on both feet and a cryocuff on his left knee (basically it's like icing them but with specially design techy kit). He was chatting, tired and drained but ok. During the stretching someone popped in and cracked a joke - something about this being the athlete's room so what were you lot (Stu and two other athletes) doing in here... just a joke in intention but it went down like a lead balloon behind Stu's eyes. He'd just had another day of being last home and it wasn't what he needed to hear at that point. His mood plummeted for the next hour while we had dinner and a quick sort out of stuff and a coffee after dinner. There was lots of swearing and some frustration about having to go around that effing lake another effing time.

I was struggling to know what to do or say then Rob appeared with his girlfriend and they chatted to us and it just made Stu lift again. I think Rob knew what to say because he has had a really rough ride too and he just tapped into the key that brought Stu back from the dark place he had gone.

While Stu got himself ready for his ice bath I went up to the accommodation to sort out his bottles for tomorrow's drinks stations. I had a bit of a cry on the way up there, just guilt and frustration and the strain of watching Stu going through this. But I felt better once I'd got his bottles all sorted out - I felt like I'd actually helped then. It's hard because you know that just being there out on the road is helping but you don't get that feedback because a lot of the time on a day like today he's in such a bad place that saying "thank you, you're helping" is just not possible; and reassuring me that I'm not a spare part is the last thing he needs to be thinking about doing and would actually negate the purpose of me being there! So doing something practical to help got my mind back in a better place.

I got back down to the hall just as he was coming out of the shower and walking over to the treatment room for his daily hour of torture. I carried his bag and walked with him and he was getting back to a better place. We had a nice, normal chat and lots of hugs before he went in for treatment. I just hope they can beat three more marathons out of him...

So I was setting off home late and I didn't manage to get to the stables to feed the horses... they'll be fine with just hay in reality but I am feeling guilty about it. And the dogs were very, very excited about their dinner as it was so late coming as well.

Right. Stu is going off with the early crew tomorrow - very sensible given how little of other people he saw today and how much I think that contributed to the down turn of the day. Also it's Friday tomorrow, there will be more people out on the course cheering them on, people have started arriving for the marathon on Sunday now and one of our friends will be out on the course cheering him on too - she may even bike with him for a bit which will be brilliant, it's what I would have done if I didn't have the dogs to look after.

3 more days, I have everything crossed that he can summon up some deeper reserves of courage and mental and physical strength to get him through!

Day 8

I tried to get up early to get down to Brathay for 8am today and failed miserably. So I didn't head up to the hall, just straight off towards Hawkshead to try and catch up with him.

I found him not as far away as I hoped, walking and a bit grumpy. But much more himself then when I left him yesterday. When asked how he was he replied "I want to go home, the car's here, you're here let's just go" - or something along those lines. I declined. I drove on to the fisheries, not that far ahead. I decided not to let Oscar swim today so kept the dogs in the car - it was far too cold today given how cold he got yesterday! He's lost weight over the last 10 days - my fault, they've been quite busy and I haven't upped their feed and they've missed a couple of meals as well. Not loads but it only takes one or two days with slightly less food than he needs and the weight falls off Oscar. But the weight loss has made him very vulnerable to the cold I found out yesterday so I wasn't taking any risks with him today (and he's had lots of grub today to try and get a layer of fat on him again).

Anyway, going off course. There was a previous 10 in 10 competitor at the fisheries and I had a lovely chat with her - she was quite emotional as I talked about what had been happening with Stu during the week. I think she had a pretty rough time when she did hers and could truly empathise with how Stu must be feeling. She was a lovely lady though and I felt very reassured by our conversation. She went and hid in the bushes as Stu approached to get some candid pictures without him really realising she was there. He spotted her fairly quickly though cos she was wearing hi-viz! Stu was still grumpy - the plan was to walk it in today so he was just annoyed about the long day ahead.

He went in his way. Just as I was getting back into the car and thinking about taking the doggies for a walk somewhere our friend, H, and her mum pulled up in the parking space next to me. I was so happy to see her, and especially glad that she had already seen Stu on the road and he had been really pleased to see her. She was going to join him on her bike for a bit of a chat over the next few miles - just what he needed at this stage and one of the things I haven't been able to do for him due to having the dogs. We sorted out a reconvene at Newby Bridge in an hour and a half or so and I went off to walk the dogs, safe in the knowledge that Stu would be fine all the way to Newby Bridge now.

So while he and H were chatting about bicycles, cars and work I took the dogs for a walk. I found a lovely wood with a little car park right next to the road and the footpath going straight away from the road up into the woods - no need for much lead-walking hurrah! Just to get them out of the car park and away from the road and then off they went. Happy dogs and happy me. We had a really good walk today, it was perfect dog walking woodland although I suspect there might be a few ticks to deal with over the next couple of days! Hugo has one on his belly right next to a nipple and I found one crawling on Oscar at Newby Bridge.

Just as I was feeding the dogs brunch by the car after our walk H's mum drove past, turned around and came and joined me. H and Stu were not far away so we gave them a cheer as they went past. Stu demanded chips at Newby Bridge so off we sped to get them ordered.

There was a small gathering of support at Newby Bridge today, it will be bigger tomorrow and probably even bigger on marathon day although I'm not sure how road closures will effect getting there. Stu and H arrived at the same time as the chips and Stu had a pit stop and ate some chips and drank some coffee. Just as the front runners of the main start started to come past. A bit different at the front today. Sally had her bad day and was back in fifth and "the flying Scotsman" Fozzy was running well in third, having been fifth in most of the runs up until now. Matt won it today and it's still a close call over who will "win" overall, the times are very close. It seems strange to think of times and winning and stuff because that's really not what this event is about - but it's interesting, especially as we could have an outright win for a woman for the first time in the history of the event.

Stu toddled off again fairly quickly, I think seeing the others coming past spurred him on - he was pleased to have not been caught until Newby Bridge as well. H stopped riding with him as the road up the near side of the lake is not good for a runner-bike collaboration, too narrow with too much traffic for it to be safe. I am sooooo grateful to H for showing up and supporting like that though, it made the difference today.

We saw him next just after Tower Wood - there was a coach in my usual spot so we pulled in just a little bit along. Cheered him past then moved on to Ice Cream Mountain. One of last year's runners was at Ice Cream Mountain and we had a good chat about dogs! He remembered Oscar from us supporting last year. Hugo loves Ice Cream Mountain because there is a bench for him to stand on and lots of the runners let him lick their sweaty faces at this point! It's doing his training no good but it seems to cheer the runners up!

Stu arrived a while after the person infront of him but still in good spirits. We said goodbye to H and her mum who where off home again - it was so good to see them, it really helped me through today after yesterday.

I went to buy "the world's supply of compeed and some sharp scissors" in a chemist in Ambleside and made my way back up to the finish. I had lost track of where Stu was really but cheered a few other people in before finding out that he would be half an hour or so yet. I was going to take the dogs for another little walk down to the lake but it was still cold and the pair of them anticipated and were dragging me towards the path to the lake so I changed my mind and decided to have an individual training session each instead. Which led to someone commenting on how well-behaved they were. the first time that could possibly have been said all week; although someone else said it at dinner - not really about them being well-behaved but just being lovely, friendly, happy dogs.

Stu walked in, said a few words to the ever-present camera and came to give me a hug. He had a bit of a freak when Hugo jumped up at him, which is really understandable he's feeling so fragile at the moment but it did upset me because I've been stressing so much trying to keep them under control. As he went back inside I went back to the car and had a big cry about generally being rubbish at everything (I didn't mention that I knocked the glass out of the wing-mirror of The Shed this morning did I? I drove too close to a wall and had to stop at Ambleside post office to buy packing tape and scissors to stick the glass bit back onto the mirror bit), not being able to control the dogs, upsetting Stu, not doing the right things as a supporter etc, etc, etc. Basically fell apart for a bit. But I had to get myself back in and not disappear or else he would worry, although part of me just wanted to drive off at that point. I wasn't really angry just felt truly useless and un-needed at that moment in time. It passed though - it's just my demons and insecurities coming to the fore as I get tired.

As soon as I got back to the athlete's room and Stu was all concerned about me those feelings vanished. We went through the eat, stretch, ice bath, shower routine then I stopped for dinner again before a lovely half hour in the bar with a cup of coffee while Stu caught up with his donations page and comments on his blogs. He is so pleased with all the donations, they have really kept him going - so if you are reading this and have donated THANK YOU so much.

I then had to reluctantly leave to come back and feed the horses. I cried a bit more on the way home. Not for any real reason just the emotions of putting heart and soul into something so intense.

Day 9

It just keeps getting harder and harder. And Stu just keep going. I don't think he realises how incredible it is that he hasn't just stopped and refused to go on - he says he's had no choice - that other people have made him carry on (when the fact is he could have broken down and absolutely refused to budge at any point), he says he's not strong enough to do it - while, in fact, doing it.

He isn't getting that him doing it is just as valuable and just as much of an accomplishment as the guys at the front. Yes, they've done more training and were better prepared BUT there's more to running and more to this event than being physically prepared - it's mental grit that gets you round whether you are taking 20 minutes per mile or 7 minutes per mile. And he's shown that in bucket-loads. He says he doesn't feel spurred on to finish because he doesn't feel like it is a self-defining thing for him anymore. He's tired and in pain, A LOT of pain, and generally just very pissed off and grumpy.

He'll start tomorrow though, and I'm 99% sure he'll finish but it would be just like him to be contrary enough to sack it half way through the last day.

Today was hard, another really tough one. I have a feeling of dread as I drove down this morning and it was confirmed when I found him walking into Hawkshead as down and out as I have seen him for the whole 9 days. He was crying, saying it was pointless and wanting to come home. It makes my heart ache cos I just want to bundle him into the car and bring him home and make him a nice cup of tea. But you find yourself saying "well you can't come home, you have to carry on" because aiding and abetting the demons that are trying to make him stop is not an option. He walked on without saying much else and I had a cry. I very nearly drove home. What was the point of me being there when I couldn't seem to help at all.

I decided that the best bet would be to not see him for a bit, and let him work through it on his own. So I took the dogs for a looooong walk. They had a really fantastic time in the woods, weirdly I found that all the bits of woods I have been in over the last 9 days all join up, I had such a jolt when I suddenly recognised a wall and realised I had been walking through woods I had approached from a different angle on another day for about 10 minutes! The funny thing is that there is a massive great big folly on the top of the hill and I had walked past it and thought "oh look, there must be two of them" as I'd seen it earlier in the week. But no, it was the same one.

I eventually made my way to Newby Bridge and was bought a coffee there by a lovely couple, one of whom did the event last year. A few of the front runners came past then Stu appeared. He was being kept company by Steve, a very muscley, slightly scary-looking (in an intimidating athlete kind of way) chap, who has run the event 4 times and has done the second fastest 10 in 10 ever (I think, this info may be incorrect). Stu stopped for a bit of my coffee, a heartfelt apology about being grumpy when he saw me earlier and a pit stop in the inn. Then he stripped off his warmer kit... and set off over the bridge at a run.

He then ran all the way to Ice Cream Mountain with Steve urging him on. I saw him at Tower Wood in the middle of this running bit and he said "the scary man is making me run" and seemed a good deal happier. But by the time he got to Ice Cream Mountain (which he ran up by the way! ) he was needing to back off. The Boss Lady called Steve off the "support" role at this point - Stu was done in and only needed to roll it in to the finish at his own pace now.

He even managed to run into the finish. He's not been himself at the finish most days - just a tired, vague, in-pain and distant version of himself. It takes him some time to come round and little things can send him spiralling away again. I just try and be calm and patient and save my crying for later... I am planning a complete break down on Monday to take his mind off the post-event blues.

We had a message from the yard waiting on Stu's phone - my horse had had a fairly serious coughing fit and the yard are keeping a close eye on her and just wanted to let us know. I went to see her this evening to feed them and she was ok, breathing perhaps a little wheezy if you were listening for it. I'm going to completely clean out her bed on Monday and order in some more dust-free bedding. She's fine I think but it's a worrying message to get when you are an hour away and completely caught up in this Other Thing you are finding hard to deal with anyway. I think it was a jolt of reality for Stu though because he really came back to himself for a good long time after that.

It was quite busy at Brathay and around the course today which is great for some people but I don't think Stu was enjoying it - he seems to feel somewhat embarrassed by his performance in his darker moments. Simply due to the less than ideal training meaning he's not having the runs he would have hoped for. But noone else is thinking like that, just him.

I'm so tired now that I can't hold the trains of thought I need to write a decent blog update.

Stu is setting off at 7am tomorrow, there are presentations and stuff so all the runners need to be back for a certain time. I best go to bed so I have a hope in hell of supporting him during the first part of the run. It's going to be difficult logistics tomorrow as it's proper marathon day and I'm not really going to be able to drive to the hall to park, so I'll have to park in Ambleside and walk in when I go up to see him finish and won't be able to leave the dogs in the car as they'll be too far away to check on/get out of the car if the weather turns hot.

One more day. It's tempting to say "just" one more day, "just" one more marathon. But there is no such thing as "just" a marathon - it's a long way even on fresh legs; on legs with 9 consecutive marathons already in them it's a bloody long way. Keep your fingers and toes and paws crossed for a good day tomorrow.

Day 10

So yesterday. What a day. I managed a decent early start even after removing about 5 ticks from Oscar's chest and neck (I also got 3 more later in the day and there is still a couple on him now that I have to get ASAP - they're all dead I think from the Frontline but are still attached because his skin swells around them quite a bit). Bit of a tick-fest in those lovely woods I found - they must be rammed full of deer as well.

Had a quiet drive down for the most part, just a small knot of traffic getting into Brathay Hall, people arriving early for the marathon. It was exciting to see the marathon preparations, it brought home that this was the last day and that was a good feeling! I had arrived about an hour after Stu and the other early starters Rob and Toks had set off. Roughly the same as yesterday except an hour earlier. Yesterday I saw Stu before Hawkshead looking miserable so I was keeping my fingers crossed that it wouldn't be a repeat performance today.

I was delayed slightly in catching up with them by a Highway Maintenance truck coming towards me completely not slowing down as we approached a narrow bit of road together... keeping mind I'm now driving the Shed and have already done the passenger side wing-mirror in on a wall by just misjudging the size, I would really have appreciated some room. I had a car right up my back side and was already in the narrow bit so although I slowed down a lot couldn't take any real evasive action. The truck could have, but didn't he just kept coming at speed and completely destroyed my driver's side wing-mirror as a result. I screamed and swore. To be fair the truck did stop as if checking if I was going to stop as well, so not a complete hit and run BUT I couldn't stop because the driver behind me remained firmly up my back side and the road was still narrow. By the time I pulled over the truck was gone. It didn't stop me getting out, standing in the middle of the road and screaming swearies in their direction for a few minutes... I managed to get an impressive echo off the hills and felt a lot better for it even if I did look like a mad woman!

After pulling myself back together I parcel taped up the wing-mirror which was basically pointless as the glass had actually broken and I couldn't see much useful out of it anyway! At least both sides matched!

I passed Toks not long after, walking the final one in, still smiling despite having been in pain for many days - the woman is a complete hero. She has 3 kids and most of her training for this event has been done at 4am or even earlier, before the kids got up! And she has been on her feet the longest out of all of them and she always had a smile for everyone. I pipped and waved and expected to see Stu around the next corner. Nope. Not around the next corner. Not before Hawkshead. I really hadn't expected him to have got to Hawkshead yet so I was fairly convinced that he must be going through the village and I was going to miss him as the route for cars goes around the village. I looked back into the village as I passed but couldn't see him and decided to carry on down the road and if I got to the fisheries and still hadn't seen him to wait there. A few more bends in the road and I was convinced he must have been in the village, probably in the publics as has become habit. And then I saw Rob's hat bobbing along ahead - I had a moment of being completely convinced I had missed Stu because Rob has been running stronger than Stu for a good few days... but then I saw Stu a few meters ahead of Rob and he was bloody RUNNING! What a fantastic sight!

They weren't too far from the fisheries so I just drove past, pipped and waved and got happy waves in return. Joy!

I waited at the fisheries and it wasn't long before Rob and Stu arrived chatting, smiling, running. Running after 10 days of pain, still in pain. Amazing, both of them. They've had a rough ride and it transpires that at least one person connected with the event had a bet on that they wouldn't finish (which actually makes me quite cross) but they both did so in that person's FACE. I got hugs all round. Stu was in good spirits and enjoying being able to run. But neither of them had had any water top-ups because the first few boxes (with their specially made up drinks bottles in) hadn't got out in time for the early starters going through (in fact they didn't see an official 10 in 10 box until about mile 16!). Luckily I had a bottle of water in the car and Rob topped up his bottle and Stu had a good drink - it was a warm day and they both needed it. Then they were off and running again.

I got the dogs out of the car for a bit of a swim and a play at the fisheries. Oscar had a fantastic time but got really, really cold again. I really MUST get a bit of weight put on him if only to save him from getting so, so cold after every swim. I decided that as well as putting his jumper on it would be a good plan to sit him in the front with the heaters on and I also had Stu's old down gilet to hand so I wrapped that around him as well. He stayed snuggled up on the front seat like that until I got them out of the car again at Newby Bridge - so a good hour or so - and was completely content. Spoilt doggie.

I drove on and passed them just before where the next drink stop would have been and gave Stu another drink. Then I pressed on to the YMCA stop.

There was a drinks station for the marathon that wasn't yet set up or manned, just trestle tables and crates of water bottles. Although it felt a bit like steeling I got my scissors (which I had bought along with the packing tape to fix the first wing-mirror break) and let myself into one of the crates of water bottles in readiness. Rob came through first and was very, very pleased to see my handiwork. I gave him a full top up of the bottle he was carrying and he drank some more too. He asked me to take a couple more bottles in my car so that he could refill his bottle at Newby Bridge as well, I was happy to oblige.

Stu had fallen a way behind Rob by now and when he came in his mood had taken a down-turn and he was saying that his ankle was now hurting him quite badly. The only part of him that hasn't given him trouble for 9 days was now joining the Pain Party. Damn it. But he drank water and took a bottle and carried on.

I made my way to Newby Bridge where there was more evidence of marathon prep with a coned off temporary "pavement" and signal controlled traffic. I brought water through to my supporting spot from the car and waited. Rob came through still going well. Got his water top up and was off again. He's a legend - he has done the whole thing in Vibram Five Fingers - which are basically like foot gloves and as close to barefoot running as you can get without actually being barefoot. He's struggled with an existing injury but not done any more damage - no knee or hip niggles at all, which seems to me that there must be something in the barefoot running thing...

I seemed to be waiting for Stu for a loooong time and he really wasn't in a good place when he arrived. He was disappointed about his ankle and disappointed that he had been enjoying the run a lot before it started to hurt. I think he wanted to stop but it was like "No Way Kiddo" at this point, not pulling out with 13 miles to go! He had water, a hug and a short pep-talk and was off again. He needed food but I hadn't brought any from the car so I pulled into a driveway just ahead of him once I caught up and he had a bit of flapjack. He was walking and properly grumpy. I drove on to stop at Tower Wood to give him time to work through the grumpyness.

I sat and read for a bit at Tower Wood. Rob came through and was glad to see and official bottle stop was waiting for him. Sally's support arrived - lots of them, quite loud and brash. It made me feel a bit inadequate, just me and the dogs. But I got over myself. The 10 in 10 front runners started coming through. Quite a few of them had passed Stu by know and I wondered how his head would be when he got here. I was glad when Sally's support team moved on, I needed more head space then sharing the lay-by with them was allowing me - but Sally has had a storming event (winning over all and setting a new women’s record by over an hour over all) and deserved that level of support, it just hard to cope with the noise and excitement for another runner when you are concerned about "your" runner.

Stu arrived, still a bit despondent but more himself (less darkness behind the eyes). He sat on the tail gate of the Shed for a bit and had a few Hugo kisses and Oscar head-butts which seemed to help. I tried to make him hear reason - that his challenge was so different from the front runners who were passing him now. Their challenge was about times and places (as well as just getting round) his challenge, because of the difficult months leading up to the event, was just to get here and get round and he'd done it now (10 miles to go) and he just needed to try and enjoy that and give himself credit for it. I think for the first time something I said actually broke into the dark place in his head because he started smiling and looking even more himself then. Matt came in - much further back in the field then he has been for much of the event, running well still but in pain. He stopped for a quick chat before pressing on and I think that lifted Stu even more - Matt is such a lovely genuine guy and Stu has a lot of respect for him so him stopping for some words of encouragement really helped and when he got going again Stu seemed a lot happier and more determined.

I drove on to Ice Cream Mountain.

I shared an ice cream with the dogs again (just a little bit - I had most of it ) before getting them out of the car and tying them to our usual spot on the bench. It's weird when you've been supporting pretty much alone for 10 days with just sporadic company to find yourself in a throng of people at what is usually another quiet spot. I felt a bit forthright taking over the bench but no-one was sat on it and I needed to tie the dogs up somewhere.

Keith, Sally, Fozzy, Paul came and went - storming for home by this point, each face set in determination - Keith going for the outright win, Sally trying to stay close enough to him to keep the outright winner spot herself (she did it - they all got "chicked" good lass - she's worked hard, ran very well and thoroughly earned the win). Fozzy just flying round to his fastest time of the whole event and Mr Consistency, Paul, clocking another time within 5 minutes of all the other times he's done.

The dogs got hugs from Matt's kids who were waiting to cheer their Dad through. I was so pleased because both dogs behaved beautifully with them. Even Hugo limited himself to a gentle lick on the arm of the little boy talking to him, rather than going full on for the face as he tends to do with adults. They may be effing awful to walk anywhere together on lead but I couldn't be more pleased with how friendly and well-socialised they have proved themselves to be over the past 10 days. Sooooo many people have said what lovely dogs they are.

The front runners of the marathon started to come past, they had set off an hour later than the 10 in 10 lot but were "only" doing the one so were clocking faster times. Some more 10 in 10ers, Rob, still storming, Howard and Jeff both letting me know that they had passed Stu and that he was "going well" this made me happy, had we had an upturn again?

And then Stu came up the hill. RUNNING up Ice Cream Mountain and beating someone who was doing just the one marathon to the top! He was happy again and my heart just soured sky high. He had finally succumbed to taking some pain killers (he's done the whole event not taking any while running, where as some of the others have been fully drugged up! ). It's the best strategy for preventing long term damage but it has made the struggle that much harder. He was also very much enjoying playing supporter to the marathon runners coming past him as well as getting pats on the back from them for his achievement - I think it was starting to hit home what he has done.

He set off running again and I bundled the dogs back into the car and set off towards the finish. I very nearly had a complete breakdown just before Brathay as there was a looong queue of traffic waiting at the temporary traffic lights. And I didn't get through on the first change and I still had to get onto the car parking field and get the dogs to the finish (too hot to leave them in the car) in time to see Stu come in. I was having a proper panic that I had been doing this for 10 days and would end up missing him at the finish! It would have killed me if I had. But fortunately I got there in plenty of time in the end.

He stormed into the finish, having passed several people on the hill up the drive. A sprint finish after 262 miles, many of them in pain. Unbelievable. I gave him his medal and a hug and he came over to see the doggies as well. I felt swelled up like a balloon with emotions. It was amazing.

The next couple of hours involved sitting around with the dogs, struggling to walk them anywhere meaningful so we spent a lot of time sat on the steps on the Hall. But lots of people came and talked to us and it made me realise what lovely people we have had the privilege of sharing the last 10 days with. Hugo particularly liked Rob's partner and fully turned on the cute for her.

There was the presentation where they got their lumps of rock/trophies presented to them by legendary fell-runner Joss Naylor and once the marathon and fun day was all wrapped up there was an evening gathering in the bar followed by a meal. Lots of tired happy people, lots of applause, thank yous and tears. The lots of goodbyes. I hope we stay in touch with the people we have met.

Finally I got to bring Stu home and let him sleep! Then I had to get up to drive him into work this morning.... yes straight back to work for him! I'm knackered and have come home to chill out and maybe have a good afternoon nap! It's going to take a while to get over the experience but it was wonderful, so worth it and HE DID IT.

I don't know what Stu's next challenge will be, if he'll ever want to do another challenge quite like that one. But I know what mine is. It's a long term goal but next year I am going to run the Brathay Windermere Marathon. No doubt about it - and I'm going to train properly and try to get a decent time. Because if Stu can do it 10 times then I can do it properly once!


Thank you so, so much to those who have sponsored Stu. The money coming in really helped motivate him round.

If anyone else would like to donate to this fabulous charity this is the place to do it; Stuart Pyper is fundraising for Brathay Trust