At 09:58 I stood all alone in the steady rain by Alfred's statue. I was just beginning to believe that nobody else would be foolish enough to join me and I could slink off home when, damn it, at the very last minute Louis and Nick turned up. So three not so wise men set off into the deluge, boots steadily filling up with water on the way to The Snug Cafe at Bishop's Court Farm. Luckily the cafe lived up to it's name with a large log burner on the go, a good food offering and a nice atmosphere. One for future use I think.

As an added bonus - we had arrived just in time to catch the breakfast menu so we tucked in. Moral lifted by this and by a slight easing of the rain, we powered on to the finish. There is nothing like a bit of rain to make you put your head down and get on with it, right?

Louis & Nick claimed to have enjoyed the experience but I'm still a bit conflicted.