Hard start in Penrith for Mike...

6am saw Mike literally hobble then stop/start into a very gingerly light jog on this 56.4 mile day that has over 1000 metres of climb... Watching him move away from the start my only thought was - How in the hell is he going to get to the end of the day?

I must say that my heart went out to him as I could see the pain on his face. Mike's a very gritty, private, hard guy but today he's more mellow and said he was worried about his ever swelling feet and is thinking of getting some bigger shoes as the toe box in his present trainers is also now tight across the top of his feet.

From my own experience, I know this helps for a while but bigger shoes allow the feet to swell more and bash the ends of the toes too... I am sure many people who have run The Marathon des Sables can vouch for that one.

Anyway, back to Penrith and the first ten miles are now a private battle for him to warm up his swollen ankle and tired legs so that he can get on the 4mph pace needed to cover today's distance, including the 425 metres of Shap.

Come on Mike, dig deep...