Up until my first attempt at the now discontinued South Wales Marathon Walk, a magnificent Challenge event from one side of the Brecon Beacons National park, to the other, on recollection, the furthest i had ever walked in a single day, was 22miles.
I walked along the roads when on holiday in the Yorkshire Dales, when i was 17yrs old, and kept walking and walking all day, back to the campsite i was staying at with friends.
They calculated i had walked in excess of 20miles, and i t certainly felt like it.
Years later, after continually trumping up and down the escarpments of the main Beacons, in all weather, i bought a copy of Chris Barbers book on Exploring the Brecon Beacons, in Chrickhowell Adventure Gear in Brecon.
That was in about 1981 or there abouts, just after the book was released.
In the back was a great adventure, of a Challenge walk, that i think was originally started by his father back in 1947.
At the time, it was still one of the oldest continually run Challenge Walk in the country, so had been going continually since that date.
I sent my money off to his home in llanfoist outside Abergavenny, and turned up to the Red lion inn in Llandeusant outside Llandovery, in early June.
Roughly 52 to 53 miles to the outside of Capel Y Fin Youth Hostel, having traversed over the seven highest peaks in the National park, i arrived, totally spent, not being able to feel my legs due to fatigue.
I had walked all day, starting at 4am in the morning, and around 16hrs later, completed my first of seven South Wales Marathon Walks.
I had walked almost three times further than i had ever walked before, and was dead chuffed with my effort.
It just goes to show, our bodies are willing to push through a lot of discomfort if we explore our inner selves.