In preparation for the point to pinnacle, I did the Tasman Trail run – and boy did I struggle!! It was 18km of single track through the bush in the drizzle and a large chunk of it was up a big hill! I walked a large proportion of the course and held my team mate back (though he didn’t complain at all), but after about 3 hours we crossed the finish line! At which point I could barely stand up and almost passed out. This didn’t feel like a positive precursor to the point to pinnacle, but I remained positive.

Continuing with training but also in need of some time out, my running buddy (Mark) and I decided to have a weekend away. We headed up to the East Coast, drank delicious wines, ate loads, relaxed and crammed in an 11km trail run of the Hazards – Wineglass Bay Circuit. It was a gorgeous day and we thoroughly enjoyed the amazing scenery.

Soon enough it was time to pound the pavement and head up ..to the pinnacle of course!

It was an overcast day, but not too cold, perfect for the Project Beans Running Team (Mark, Anna, Sue and I, and we were joined at the last minute by Klaas) to tackle the challenge.

We paced ourselves and slowly made our way up the mountain, Mark and I ran fairly consistently until the Springs (roughly 13km), after that we ran on and off for a few kilometres, before walking the last 5-6 kms, we made it over the finish line in just under 3 hours.

A year ago I had never even run 4km, yet 12 months later I ran the majority (and walked the rest) of the worlds toughest half marathon. It shows you what you can achieve when you set your mind to it.

I am very proud of myself and my team for achieving this goal, and for everyone who supported me along the way. I’d also like to say thanks to everyone who contributed to my fundraising efforts – together we raised almost $1000 for the Fight Cancer Foundation.