Was it really that long?

I have had the pleasure of a 250 mile (~400 km) road trip to pick up an elderly relative who is staying for Christmas, I did not relish the idea of the journey but was lucky enough for my girls to join me and have a good few conversations about this and that.

As we joined the M4 motorway that takes you past Heathrow Airport to Bristol I noted that the distance to our turn off was 87 miles, the distance of the Ridgeway race I took part in back in August. I told the girls to look out and we could get a feel of exactly how far I ran/walked/limped and crawled during the run. It was astounding when you compress the journey into just over an hour and a bit.

Ever so often the girls would say "What were you doing now?" and I would say "Having a hotdog with extra mustard and ketchup on the side" or "Drinking a cup of tea with 4 sugars" or "Drinking vegetable soup with jam sandwiches"

I think they think that all I do on these races is I eat and drink...they are not wrong.

I am still astounded that viewing the distance like we did just showed the enormity of the tasks ultrarunners undertake, I know secretly my girls were amazed.