Bob Hayward & Nick Baldock have now run 30 consecutive marathons out of the 34 it will take to get to John O’Groats from Land’s End and in doing so have covered over 750 miles. This is all in aid of Podge the 13 year old boy who was so badly burnt in an attack last May.

Beaches, oil rigs, sea gulls, salt & ozone, landscape like Devon or Cornwall, where are they? Oh yes Dornoch. The combination of flora and fauna is not quite what they’ve ever experienced, but lets just classify it as beautiful.

Bob wakes to stiff “adductors” very stiff, he almost has to teach his legs the basics of walking all over again. A few rounds of stretches, a slow walk, a stretch, an uncoordinated jog, a stretch, a faster walk, a slow grinding jog and all the time he is repeating his “mantra” of “easier – softer – freer, easier – softer – freer” and visualising a string tied from each knee to an angel in the heavens pulling him along (well, after a while this running goes to your head).

Despite the slow start they are ahead on time by breakfast and remain well on track until the last section. It must have been a long break for lunch or a media phone call or arranging their next massage from the dynamic duo of Kirsty & Nick.

Just beyond Tain they crossed a fairly new bridge (one of the longest cast and push constructions in Europe – well, any excuse for a boast!) The bridge cuts something like 20 miles off the old A9 route through Bonar Bridge and Spinningdale. That’s a days running almost for a northerly contribution of no more than 5 miles! Thank you Oh great and wonderful Scottish Executive, thank you!

Talking of tarmac it is amazing how many different types of road surface they have run on. You’ve got your loose chip, your smooth asphalt, your rolled stone and tar, then there is the pitted, the cracked, those with holes of all sorts of sizes. They have also become expert at Hedgerows, boy they’ve seen more of these than they care to mention.

Thanks to Ewan @ Brughfield House Hotel in Dornoch they were able to use a real shower and have their massage in doors for a change! – Oh, the girls worked hard as you can see on their photo of the day.

The saying of the day and may be of the week has to be when Nick & Bob were on an open stretch of road, no houses or buildings around when a passing Range Rover pulled along side our galant joggers (who were actually running at the time) the driver leans his head out the window and asks in all seriousness “Are you cycling?” Unfortuantely taken unaware as they were by the insisive question they meekly replied “No, we are running!” to which the driver shook his head and drove off. Now I ask you, what on earth was going through his mind? What must they as “runners” have looked like to make him think we might be cycling? The mind boggles!!!