Some great blood results but I'm taking NOTHING for granted

No one really knows why, but I hope the blend of drugs they give me and the things I do personally are what is doing the trick as both of those things remain pretty much in my sphere of control.
At work I have just changed jobs and started a secondment within Nat West. For some time now I have been supported fantastically by my old team but as things were changing for them it became clear that something needed to happen to help me continue to do what I can to be here whilst doing my bit for Prostate Cancer UK and equally importantly raise the profile of the Bank a little more as without their support the last few years would have been a very different story for me. The people who have helped facilitate this recent move know who they are and I am grateful beyond words.

So now I am in a role that I hope will give me a better platform to give back a bit to Nat West/RBS for all their support for me and at the same time encourage the teams within and others externally to try to live a bit better and do what they can to help others.

The Bank have successfully run a campaign “Do Good Feel Good” internally that gives staff the opportunity to do something for others and as a bi product of their efforts feel more worthwhile in the process. I was already involved in some amazing events last year but hope that I can encourage more to put themselves out for good causes in 2019 as I witnessed the all round positivity the activities caused. I have had a fantastic welcome by my new colleagues and the certainty that they have brought me does wonders for my wellbeing.

February has been a month of birthday celebrations for my family too, my wife Sarah reached a significant birthday and my son Ben and I both chalked off another year. Those are all years that I never thought I would see 4 years ago however I savour not just every date of significance but every day as they are all something that none of us should ever take for granted.

And so to my main events, running (or plodding as I seem reduced to). I have been balancing training with injury since my last big race in Cambodia leading up to my departure this Saturday to Canada for my attempt at the 6633 Arctic Ultra. I guess the sensible thing to do would be have 6 months off and rest but that seems such a waste as there are no guarantees that other things would not get in the way by then. That means I have done some big days training and then had a day off where as ideally I would be doing back to back to back big days (big is 6 hour plus training). I did however do a mega challenge. It was suggested that I plod 6.5 miles every three hours for 24 hours. What that meant was that after being up all day I set off at 6-00pm got home 100 minutes later, set up my arctic tent, got in for a snooze, got up after an hour and then went out again at 9-00pm and did all that again for eight sessions. In total that saw me do just over a double marathon in 23 hours of which I was actually moving for just over 13 hours. Inevitably, the stop start nature was a bit of a challenge and I pulled a calf muscle but its fine now and is a good confidence boost as in the Arctic I wont be going further than a double marathon in any day that said its still about 45 miles a day for 9 consecutive days!

Since then I have done some lighter training but mainly sorting out all my kit and systems, it really is an arctic adventure and whilst nothing like the famous explorers of old to me, an ordinary bloke with a bad illness it really is pushing me to the limit and making me feel quite adventurous.

So what does the race actually entail? Some of you may remember that I tried this race last year but then I had the option to finish at 120 miles opposed to 384 miles being the full race. I think the ability to stop and effectively finish the race 2nd lured me to stop but to be honest I could not have done another 260 miles in any case. This time I have only entered the long race so finishing any earlier means that I quit and that is something I really don’t want to do. The race is only partially supported which means at checkpoints as far away as 80 miles apart I can get hot water and medical attention but nothing else. That means sleeping in the snow, on my own (the race only has about 20 entrants so you are pretty much on your own after day 1) plus things like managing water to avoid having to melt snow for water too often and eating as much as I can as I will burn about 8,000 calories a day and to eat more than 4,000 is quite a challenge so I may end up on a crash diet of 36,000 calories deficiency over the race or 18 days consumption in the normal world.

Last year the thought of wild animals’ played in my head and hallucinations amongst competitors and I were common (I was convinced that someone had fly tipped a filing cabinet on the course but of course when I tried to touch it there was none!). Finally of course there is the cold. The guy who won last years race has just been pulled out of another due to frostbite, it was common last year and temperatures of -50c have to be expected at times. I do have a tracker on my sledge which means that if you really are bored you can follow my dot move slowly up the course. I am told that access to that tracker will be on the race website - go to my upcoming races on this site and you'll find the 6633 website link right there... The race actually starts Thursday 7th March UK time 18-30 and the cut off is Saturday 16th March, I will need every minute they give me if I am to complete this as finishing is all I care about and it is going to be physically tough for me. When I get home late March I then have two weeks before I am off on my next challenge, a hot one to balance things out but I will save that until next time!

Why am I doing this? There are lots of reasons. Just to be on the start line will be a success in my situation when just like the birthdays I mentioned at the start, I never thought I would be here now but its so much more, its to feel alive, push myself, prove to my kids and anyone that giving up should only be a physical thing and never a mental one and of course to raise funds and awareness for Prostate Cancer UK. Its not why I do it but I don’t know of anyone else who has incurable prostate cancer doing something as extreme as this to raise profile and funds for them and that kind of makes me feel (selfishly) proud too.

If you want to support this fantastic cause, are able to and give me even more reasons not to quit please do visit - you can find a direct link right here on my home page. Thank you to the 99 of you who already have this time round.

I have met so many wonderful people since I have been ill. I guess my situation makes me have my eyes and ears open more than ever before. Recently I have met someone who brought tears to my eyes as they have supported me so much yet in my opinion it is they who need support more than I. They clearly have not shared their challenges with others but need so much to be understood so that they can do what’s right for them however they bottle it up and carry on pleasing others whilst hurting themselves. If you ever find yourself in that situation please share and put yourself first as in the long run you and those around you will benefit from that personal attention, its not being selfish! That leads me to my “wise words” this month :- Today is your life, the only life you are sure of so make the most of it today, do something positive, something for you, something good, something that makes you happy, makes others smile, makes you feel alive and then when you go to bed look back on today and say to yourself “Today I lived”.

Have a great day, be good and take care of yourself and those important to you.
Take care, Kev