28km

That's the distance of my first trail race. In truth, I'm not fully prepared: lingering discomfort in my forefoot is likely to play a part in this run.

I am familiar with most of the course having lived there for three years and run most of the parts separately; this will, however, be my furthest run in 15 years and will be a great indicator of how my prep is going towards the longer trail in April.

Having looked at the times posted for 2007 I expect to be one of the last of the hundred or so runners; I'm trying not to think too much about how that is likely to feel. One might ask why do this run if there is little to be taken from it in terms of performance; for me, it's clear: I want to take part in a race; I want to see what effect spectators and other runners have on my 'strategy'; I want to put the constraints on myself which insist I turn up at a particular time, start running for a set distance and not stop till I've given my current best. This is a necessary discipline and I want a taste of it.

Wish me luck!