JOGLE Ultra (Trans England) from John O'Groats to Lands End in 16 days 864 miles, England

12. stage at 05/01/2012 from Chepstow to Taunton, (day: 57.5miles / overall.: 703.4miles)

Tonight it had rained like crazy. In the bus you can hear the rain drops hitting. In the morning it still rained. But it was not as bad anymore. After I had breakfast Rory brought me back to the Severn Bridge. I finished yesterdays stage there. Before I left, I decided not to take my camera with me. It was too wet and I did not want to spoil it. It was for sure I will be wet all over today.

The Severn Bridge was one of the biggest suspension bridges on the world (Wikipedia). Yesterday we would have a beautiful view and sun shine. Today it was wind and the rain whipped into the face. After Rory had done some photos I continued towards Bristol. It would be a wonderful part, but not in these conditions. Luckily there was almost no wind. In Bristol we passed the old harbour. It was one of the leavings of the once so famous inland port city. Neil Bryant originally would guide me through Bristol. He was the third person that had finished that race before. But when he arrived in Bristol I already had passed it. So we met later.

By now it had stopped raining. Still the water ran down the road. The cars and lorries spattered it everywhere. I had to be careful not get showered. As we got closer to Taunton, the weather got better. Still the results of the rain during the last days were visible. It seemed we were lucky with the weather. In bad condition runners will have stopped much earlier. In the end we had bright sunshine and blue sky. It was almost possible to run in a t-shirt. Still it was not easier to run on the roads. From time to time we had parts with heavy traffic and no space to avoid.

From the finish line it was a long way back. Rory brought Neil to the next train station before we went back.

Results:

Fotos of the day: