Night Team:

After some initial success with day 1 we were all in high spirits for the second day. A good breakfast and the promise of good weather helped to combat the tiredness we all felt through lack of sleep! However, the day started with a few minor hiccups. Firstly, upon trying to perform the transition between the afternoon team and night team we found that the runners in the afternoon team were lost. After many phone calls, a bit of map reading and trusting sat nav, the night team eventually found the afternoon team but 10 minutes late, so Ed's shift became a bit shorter.

More importantly, we learned that our baton which we had decided to pass between runners on the journey had snapped. Although we had spares it would not be until the morning team arrived that we would be able to regain one. Nevertheless we continued and made good progress towards the Severn Bridge which was our target for the morning.

Ed kicked us off just after Taunton and ran well through the first few hills to find himself on a plateau leading all the way to Bridgewater. Carlos cycled behind him for support.

Just after Bridgewater, Rich took over just as the terrain became more hilly! The air was cool making it ideal night for running and Rich took full advantage making good tracks. Most of the roads he was running down were unlit country roads and very occassionally did he go through populated areas.

Carlos took over at Blackell for the 01:00-05:00 shift which would see him heading into Bristol pretty much descending all the way allowing him to set a good pace. At the 1st pit-stop with the car-crew liberal amounts of Vaseline were applied to thoroughly chaffed thighs! Heading into Bristol, Carlos was rewarded with some stunning views of the Severn. The toll on the Severn bridge is £5 - so to stop the morning team from having to fork out a tenner the night shift had to get over the bridge - which meant Carlos had to run approx 8 miles in the last hour of his shift! We managed to get over the bridge in time but a wrong turn by Carlos forced a late exchange with the morning team while Carlos found his way out of a field he shouldn't have been in!

All in all, a cracking night of running, by now the team has been losing a fair bit of sleep so we will try to catch up as much as possible during the day before our 3rd round of runs.

Morning Team:

The girls felt that their pre-run legs were okay, not too sore, but not too fresh either. Met the night team boys just inside of Wales after crossing the Severn bridge. We were a bit late meeting the boys as Carlos went the wrong way, completely inexcusable after just 4 hours of running and no sleep :)!

Anna and Charlie were running 05:00-07:00 with Rachel on bike for the first hour then Gemma on bike for the second. Anna's shift was very picturesque, loads of downhills which was really nice. Route went through Tintern. Started worrying about my quads and knees through the downhills. Cheesey had her second running roadside pooh.

Gemma took over from Anna and Charlie at 7am and she felt a lot better than yesterday. The first part of her run was in the Wye Valley - very scenic. The second hour, however, was a lot harder as it got very hilly again, but she felt good in the end.

Rachel took over from Gemma and had a great run, although she wasn't looking forward to it at first. The route went through Hereford and then on towards Leominster. Gemma kept Rachel's pace up well in the first hour. Rachel's legs were aching afterwards, but was hoping it was nothing serious and that tomorrow's run will be just as good. Thanks to Mark, good supporting for the last hour.

Anna had a great run in her final hour, but it started raining. Charlie joined Anna for the last 10 minutes. All-in-all a brilliant day - bring in on!

Afternoon Team:

Lesley began the afternoon shift, and had a much better day. Cooler weather and achilles felt much better, contributed to a much more enjoyable experience, although there were a lot of lorries and greenfly around!
Michael took over from Lesley at 2pm. Cooler temperatures, fewer hills and nice scenery doing the trick. But again there were a lot of lorries and greenfly. Pete ran from 4:15 - 6:30 and found it harder. Legs felt very heavy, and he had a dodgy tummy, but the scenery was great and he enjoyed it lots.
Lesley did the last half hour in Shrewsbury. Shrewsbury was nice, but a bug in the eye, not so good. Pleased that the Garmin worked ok tonight!