Having lost my Dad last year it was the first in my lifetime without him at the table...

...and that made things different but the family traditions continued as I hope they will for time immortal.

Last month I also saw my youngest Oliver receive his Chief Scouts Award badge, the highest in the Scouts, something I to was awarded some 40 years previously and then my daughter Hayley turn 21, another thing I never thought I would see.
What those and other things have reminded me is that its all to easy in life to give up or accept what we are told without putting up even the most modest of defences yet just a bit of belief and effort can make a world of difference to the outcome.
Medically, I was amazed that my January blood results had my scores at the lowest ever at 0-05 so the drugs are still doing their stuff and hopefully my own alchemy of diet, exercise and positivity are combining to keep me going.

My plans for this year were due to start last weekend however three weeks ago my friend Chris who I met on my first MDS desert race in 2016 was about to complete his 52nd official marathon race in a year for charity so I surprised him by turning up and running with him. Now for me road marathons are a thing of the past as my knees and ankles hate them but fortunately for me it was half off road and Chris was not at his sub 4 hour best after 51 previous marathons so we plodded around together. It was quite inspirational to run with someone else who has certainly put himself out for a cause as like me he had paid for every marathon and bit of travel plus given up virtually every weekend in a year so well done Chris.

A couple of weeks ago, I read on the BBC news page a story about someone talking about what to (or not to) say to someone with cancer. The article was biased around the sufferer talking about how they felt when people said certain things. I know all too well that frequently people say things to me that gets me thinking on the dark side however it made me think that articles like that are not as helpful as they intend to be. You see, I don't ever want people to tread on eggshells when talking to me. I want them to speak freely and say what they think. I would be mortified if people didn't say what was on their mind to me and worse still I know that some people avoid speaking to me as they don't know what to say. In my opinion its more important when you are ill that people treat you as normal (unless they ask not to be) as possible so for what its worth, if you ever have a friend who is not well or struggling with something, starting a potentially awkward conversation is better than no conversation at all.

Back to last week, I was ill, as in really ill, could not get out of bed or eat for 2 days ill, I have not been like that for many years but by Friday I was feeling just about ok.
The next two days were a 66 mile XNRG Pilgrims race along the North Downs Way, my first official challenge race of this year and I was about to bail.

Then I got one of those lovely emails that said "Gary" had sponsored me and I thought that if I don't even try then my mantras and wise words become just shallow and meaningless, furthermore I am taking money under false pretences. My wife said that if I had to drop out after a day she would pick me up so that was it. An early Saturday start saw me plodding from Farnham to Redhill. The weather was cold but virtually wind free and lots of snow , the views incredible. I shuffled along in company as the voice of BBC Surrey cricket Mark "Churchy" who I had run with when he took on his own challenge late last year joined me for his first ultra doing the first 33 miles. On day two I did most of the day alone after chatting with Duncan and Phil for a bit (friends from previous somewhat hotter races), just great time for me to reflect on how thankful I was just to be there.

I would like to say I smashed it but that would be untrue however I did start and I did finish and I didn't come last. My time was slow as I walked most of both days because I was not 100% and in any case my arctic training has me walking not running but none of that really mattered. I tried and in the end succeeded. Yet again would have been easy to not put my foot on the start line so thanks to Gary and my wife for motivating me enough to start.

So whats next? Most definitely the hardest racing challenge of my lifetime, one of the toughest races in the world and the one I am most likely to not complete. Last year I took on this race and ended up completing the shorter 120 mile race. This year I will not have the option of finishing then as its the full beast of 380 miles non stop pulling my sledge in around -50c or quit. Last year it was the hardest thing I had ever done so this year if I am to succeed I have to do what I did last time 3 times over and a bit more. I travel in less than 4 weeks, I am probably not prepared enough but it will have to do!

If you want to and are able to support Prostate Cancer UK whilst motivating me to get my foot on that start line please visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/kevin-webber7 as with your support you can help stop prostate cancer being a killer in years to come and therefore save other families from having to go through what mine are right now, thank you.

I have a bit of watch this space thing to announce where some of you may want to join me on a couple of opportunities but at this stage one is being planned and the other I am sworn to secrecy!! rest assured I will share as soon as I can!
Finally, I do hope that all is well with you and those important to you, I love getting your emails and I do try to respond to them all but it can take time, sorry.
I will be writing once more before I go to the Arctic and leave you a photo of me this weekend on the Pilgrims challenge sporting my sprouting dodgy but frostbite saving Arctic beard!
My thought for the month is apt I think for all of us at times :-
Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain.
Thanks for reading
Take care, Kev