OK, what you may not know is that whist my challenge this year is to run 600 miles on six continents, the icing on the cake for me, would be able to say I’ve run on all seven continents – and complete a marathon on Antarctica. Whilst I have my name on a waiting list to complete such a challenge, this may not be possible during this year, due to place limitations and funds (it costs anywhere between £4k and £10k to take part). What I didn’t realize, when I set out on my challenge this year, is that I might actually get the opportunity to train in Antarctic conditions whilst still in this country!

I kid you not, my second race weekend at Silverstone and to say the conditions were bleak is an understatement. We arrived in plenty of time but as we pulled up the wind was already blustery. I sat in the car for a while, before braving the elements and heading towards the track. The car park was quite a hike from the start line, which wasn’t helped by being so poorly sign posted, but by the time I reached the track, which didn’t have any shelter, the wind has significantly picked up.

I decided to loose my track suite bottoms and go with shorts because I thought once running I’d get warm… how wrong can you be! At the eight-mile marker the weather took a turn for the worse and it began to hale and snow… hard – it was a complete blizzard.

I’m not sure I can describe the pain of the hale hitting your legs, it’s a kind of stinging but it is hard to describe when you can’t actually feel your legs because you are so cold.

The conditions made for a great sense of camaraderie between runners though. No one could believe they were mad enough to be running in shorts in such bitter conditions – you had to laugh. It was at this point that I met up with Henry, a guy raising money for Wizz Kids. We ran together for a couple of miles and shouted encouragement to each other but sadly, most of our conversation got lost in the wind. We met up again towards the finish line, where we both enjoyed a short sprint to the end – obviously I don’t think my timing chip was working properly because the official results have him listed as crossing one second faster than me!

Despite the adverse weather, I was pleased with my time – 1hr34mins (I finished 421st out of some 6,000 runners). Running around the tarmac track, which usually sees wheels rather than heels, this flat course made for an enjoyable run. It was made all the more enjoyable with my meeting another colleague from B&Q, John Compton, at the start line. We enjoyed a couple of seven-minute miles together, before I quickly realised I’m much more of an eight-minute mile man! I daren’t reveal here how quickly John’s long legs carried him around the course – but needless to say, he waited patently for me at the finish! Congratulations John… next year!

I was really pleased to be awarded my first medal and find my time had improved by six minutes on last week’s half marathon.

I’m looking forward to next weekend’s 10k in Eastleigh – home to B&Q’s head office – where I’m being joined by 10 other runners all raising funds for CF Kids of Portsmouth.

Don’t forget next weekend both my chosen charities are still looking for volunteers to assist them with collections in B&Q’s nationwide.

P.S. Mum – Happy Mothers Day – sorry I couldn’t be with you. In these freezing conditions, you’ll be delighted you weren’t with me!