Second from Jonathon Ross...!

Again, more apologies! Jonathon Ross is on fire;

Training again seems to have suffered. I had to buy new trainers after my last pair were punctured by a stone. Never had that happen before. The bruising from the stone has died down and I can now run OK. A short 8 miles on Wednesday was followed by 12 miles on Friday. Each was enjoyable but my knees are hurting a lot!

I managed 30 miles yesterday (Tuesday) but had to walk for a while due to the pain in my knees. I have since seen a fitness advisor. They said that I need to do more stretching and improve the muscles in my legs.

I have now decided not to run anymore long distances before the day. Instead I'll keep to 10 milers and workouts on the cross trainer. My tapering down was due to start soon anyway - judging by my fellow bloggers, I'm not the only one to start an early slow down. One extra problem I have is that last October I trapped my sciatic nerve and was laid flat for three days. Despite extensive physio I have very little feeling below the left knee! This doesn't affect my running but it makes the muscles very tight.

On Saturday we went, as a family, to Cardiff to attend a memorial for my nephew Tom. He sadly died last year aged 24. The memorial was in the form of a music evening in a pub. Tom had been a keen musician and all his friends had laid on a series of 'tunes'. Some played wonderfully and some would not have got through the first round of 'Britains Got Talent'. It was a good evening. Despite the circumstances it was great to spend time with my boys and one of their girlfriends. The journey back was full of reminiscings of childhood embarassments and funny stories. It has made me think that we really must spend more time together.

I have a fair knowledge of the run route as far as Lyndhurst. It is fairly flat, any slopes are gentle. The countryside is East Dorset and the New Forest so it very attractive. Past Lyndhurst it is more built up. Tarrant Rushton itself is no longer a working airstrip but you still get a great sense of history when you visit it. Some of the old wartime buildings are still standing (although they are derelict). It will certainly be quite a moving event when we set off.

Good luck to you all - nearly there!

Looking forward to sharing a tent with some of you, I will apologise now for my snoring!!