I never expected running 70 miles down the Pennine Way to be easy and experience of other ultra distance challenges warned me to expect a good degree of pain and discomfort. The day, however, turned out not only to be a successful fundraiser for Help for Heroes but proof that the older runners amongst us can still take on challenges.

Perhaps the training had been better, the pacing more sensible or maybe experience has shown me how to cope with the stresses of long runs better.

From the start at 3 am in Gargrave on Saturday the early pace was steady in spite of strong winds and driving rain. Once the rain had stopped, after about five hours, the unrelenting wind which strengthened on the higher moorland sections, was always going to be a limiting factor as tiredness set in.

As this was a one-off challenge there was no guidance in preparing a schedule and it was to be guesswork as to how to pace the run. Obviously a steady start was a must. I had prepared a schedule based on getting me to Kinder before darkness fell with a pace that seemed fairly slow. Even so, the wind was making it difficult to keep on target.

The mileages had been taken from Wainwrights guide and on one section a Garmin GPS monitor added a couple of miles which put me nearly half an hour late.

This was time that could not be clawed back as the second half of the run was mainly moorland, some sections paved but other rough and slow. The combination of wind and terrain set me back further and the last section over Bleaklow and Kinder was started an hour later than had been hoped.

Anyone who has been on Kinder in the daylight should be able to appreciate the problems that a night time traverse from Mill Hill to Edale Rocks would present and how this plus the strong winds would slow progress further.

When the silhouette of Edale Rocks came into view myself and the support team heaved a sigh of relief knowing that all that remained was the descent into the Edale valley and the run through the fields to the finish at the Nags Head

Conditions had lengthened what was already going to be a long time on my feet, to the extent that the run planned to finish just after dusk had us stumbling across kinder with head torches on. We finished just before 2 am, after running for 22 hrs 50 mins and long after the pub had closed.

The exact distance of the run is uncertain. There is a signpost in Gargrave pointing to Edale 70 miles away and the Wainwright guide indicates 70 miles. However, if you add the mileages in each section of the Paddy Dillon Cicerone guide the distance is 74.5 miles. I think I will settle for 70 miles, it still seems a very long way.

Response to the fundraising aspect of the run has been magnificent and Hlelp for Heroes has been a cause that has caught the imagination of so many people. At the moment the total amount raised or pledged is about £1,500 with more to come. When the gift aid element is added it could well reach towards £2,000. A heartfelt thank you to all have contributed.

There are further details of the run on my blog http://70at70forheroes.blogspot.com where there is a link to the online site for giving - www.bmycharity.com/70at70tohelpHeroes