The results for the Winter Tanners have finally appeared. It was not a race – the LDWA make that abundantly clear. Still, it is good to compare yourself with others. And comparing myself with others, I did alright: second, in fact, in 4 hours, 20 minutes. I trailed the leader by two minutes; he was a mere 4 seconds per mile faster. Of course, in an event where there was two-hour starting window, I had no idea the margins were so tight.

The runner in question was Huw Lobb, who in 2004 became the first runner to beat the leading horse in the annual daftness that is the Man Versus Horse Marathon in Mid-Wales. Lobb is also a very distinguished long-distance athlete, with a 2 hours, 14 minutes marathon PB to his name. It would have been a proud scalp, even if he was only jogging round.