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Welcome to Paul and Cathy's blog . . . . . please scroll down for new posts

2009-12-31T22:11:00.009+02:00

Let us introduce ourselves.

Our names are Paul and Cathy Middleton.

That's us clinging to the top of an engine on one of the planes we fly.

You can find out about how we got to be where we are in the 'A short history of us' on the right (quite an interesting story if we say so ourselves).

This blog is basically a collection of the e-mail updates we have sent out since we joined Mercy Air in 2003, as well as some of the personal family activities we have got up to. Click on a year and read from bottom to top and it should give you a good idea of what we do.

Not quite the Iron Man - more the Tin Man!

2009-11-07T19:14:00.003+02:00

Another attempt at a full body work out with a local triathlon with about 40 others.

Paul was second last out of the lake narrowly beating a 10 year old boy.

Then there was a bit of biking which he did a bit better at...

Followed by a run.

All this effort did win him a water bottle and a pair of socks for second placed veteran although we're not sure there was a third!

P n' C

The second coming of the Ancient of Days

2009-10-29T11:48:00.008+02:00

My dad last visited us about eight years ago when he spent two weeks with us in Lesotho. His second visit has just finished, and he was here for the last three weeks to see what we do and check up on us!

We got him out flying a few times...
And had to dress him up once to make him look official!

We got out a few times on the mountain bike...

and a mate of mine took him fishing.

We also spent a day in the Kruger Park and saw a shed load of animals, including more Rhino than you could shake a stick at.

We also got a pic of a lion from about two feet away.

On the day before he left we went to Blyde River Canyon

Not being one to sit still for long, in his spare time he decided to wash our planes, dig our garden and paint our house - which did need doing.

In return Cathy made sure he went back looking smart...

Other than that he met most of our friends, came to our church and took us out for lots of meals.

Good old dad!

Back in Black

2009-10-09T11:25:00.004+02:00

Just in case you think life here is all play and no work, this is just to let you know that last week ended up being quite busy.

Paul did two last minute flights to Mozambique. The request for the one was very late in the afternoon and he ended up coming back in the dark. There was no moon and in that part of Moz there are no towns, so just like AC/DC he spent two hours coming 'Back in Black'. Very black as it happens so the only notable view untill the aproach lights at the end, was of the cockpit.

Paul

Top ten finish in local race!

2009-10-07T14:37:00.003+02:00

As winter recedes into the distant chilly past, the weekend race calendar starts to fill up with opportunities to test your mettle against other like minded exponents and of course, oneself.

Being able to get out for a ride in the morning for an hour before work, and even sneak in an hour after work in the light has helped, and in one of the first races recently Paul was able to record a top ten finish.

Jostling for position at the start.

Sounds impressive but the race in question was a low key triathlon - so low key in fact that only six people bothered to enter the 'big' race (800m swim, 20km bike and 5km run).

The agony of the low key triathlon runner.

Despite being joint last at the end of the swim, Paul battled hard on the bike, and managed to hold his position on the run, to narrowly finish fourth.

He commented after wards that all his training in the bath didn't seem to have paid off, and the fact that it was only a 100m walking commute to work each day likely hampered his preparation for the run.

Durbs

2009-10-01T09:11:00.002+02:00

Last Thursday we went down to Durban to see Matthew and his girlfriend Annie for the weekend.

It was a long drive (8 hrs) but then getting to most places in SA involve a long drive.

We did a few toiuristy things including going to a Sharks v Cheetahs rugby match.

During which Cathy had a hard time concealing her excitement!

We went to uShaka, a big aquarium near the harbour.
Here's Cathy getting up close, but fortunatley not too personal with a hammer head shark.

We saw Matthew's new car - a GSM Flamingo, and one of only 128 ever made.

Then it was a long drive back home again on the Monday.

Paul and Cathy

Hippo birdies two ewes

2009-09-11T16:51:00.002+02:00

September 11th.

Famous for many things:
1297 - Scotsman William Wallace defeated the English forces of Sir Hugh de Cressingham at the Battle of Stirling Bridge.
1609 - Explorer Henry Hudson sailed into New York harbor and discovered Manhattan Island and the Hudson River.
1910 - In Hollywood, the first commercially successful electric bus line opened.
1974 - "Little House On The Prairie" made its television debut.
2001 - World Trade Centre attacks.

And the birthdays of:
D.H. Lawrence 1885
Ferdinand Marcos (Philippines) 1917
Mickey Hart (Grateful Dead) 1943
Phil May (The Pretty Things) 1944

and the lovely Cathy Middleton 19??

Happy birthday Cathy.

Trailing the Otter

2009-09-09T11:48:00.014+02:00

The last time we went away together for any length of time (on a non work related trip) was almost two years ago. It was brilliant therefore to get away last week to do the Otter Trail with some friends. This is a five day, 45 km walk along a secluded bit of the south coast and South Africa's most popular trail which needs to be booked a year in advance.

It was a 1600+ km, 18 hour drive through the night to get there - and back again, but it was well worth it.

The scenery is spectacular and rugged.

And good for sunsets.

Also pretty good for long exposure, moonlit night time shots.

You stay in basic huts right next to the beech, but have to carry everything else with you (food, sleeping bag etc). Each night we cooked outside round a fire.

It might only be 45 km but the going is often tough - especially with big rucksacks.

The trail is noted for many things but one of the most daunting is a river crossing on day four. When we did this walk eight years ago one of our group had major problems here.
We crossed at low tide but still needed to swim about 100m. Trouble was that low tide was at 08:00 and it's a four hour walk from the hut. This meant we were up at 03:15 and had to walk 2 1/2 hours in the dark to get there.

Day three huts are on the right in the pic below and also required a river crossing to get to them.

We saw wales, dolphins, shed loads of birds, buck, some big insects

and a scorpion!
Oh, and we even saw an otter!

Cathy felled a small tree with her bare teeth and then wrang the sap out so we could use it for cooking later that evening!

After the walk we took a day to do a mountain bike trail and then drove back - on our wedding anniversary.

When we left we were having a fire each night to keep warm. We get back to find the day time temperatures are over 30 deg. I guess spring must have arrived!

P n' C

Happy Anniversary

2009-08-22T10:53:00.006+02:00

Today is sort of special for us.

Not just because of it being a very pleasant sunny Saturday with a calm breeze, birds twirping in the trees and the local troop of monkeys entertaining us by playing chase across our roof.

No, today, 22nd August 1994 was the day we drove to Manchester Airport to start our journey to southern Africa courtesy of a big fat KLM 747.

FIFTEEN YEARS - and we only originally came for three!

We would venture to say that it feels like a lot less – less than ten perhaps, but if we do think back we can't believe how much we've crammed into the last 15 years. Four years with the Durham LINK in Lesotho, then the years at flight school and now over six years with Mercy Air in South Africa.

There have been many ups and downs (mostly ups as we remember them) but we must give God the credit for sticking by us and leading us through the maze of life in Africa and blessing us beyond belief. After arriving in Lesotho in the middle of a military curfew in 94 we didn't for one moment ever envisage ourselves sitting here in White River doing what we're doing now.

We must also, of course, say thank you to those of you who have prayed for us and given so generously to make it possible for us to continue here.

So how are we celebrating this event? Not with any pomp and ceremony I'm afraid. This last week Paul has been busy in the office getting a lot of paperwork sorted. Cathy has been working at the rural clinic and teaching at Africa School of Missions’ School of Health. Matthew, probably blissfully unaware of the significance of the date (we will write later and remind him though), is still in Durban taking photographs.

He has done very well. He completed almost all of his formative education in Africa. From a skinny eight year old in primary school, all the way through high school to now having surpassed his parent’s academic achievements and trawled his way through university, emerging with a Degree.

The early Africa years:

Somewhere in-between:

More recently:

Unfortunately we haven't been able to scan any pics of when we first arrived but just so you can know the effect that all this has had on us:

Thank you again.

Paul, Cathy and Matthew

The other side of the coin

2009-08-20T09:41:00.002+02:00

As we detailed recently with the landing gear incident, things don’t always go as planned.

We like to tell of how we make a difference in southern Africa and of how peoples lives are changed for the good because of the work Mercy Air does.

I was mentally formulating another blog after the phone rang last night, asking whether we were available to transfer a man with a broken leg from Beira to Maputo in Mozambique.

I went back to the office to do a quote and fax it off to the medical company in Maputo. I also had to apply for an emergency flight permit to enter Moz as well as Air Force authority to fly in South Africa, as we are in the middle of a test week for flight restrictions around the stadia that will be used for next years footy World Cup.

A whole bunch of other things needed to be sorted out. Headsets, GPS, airport fees money, sat phone, food and drinks, blankets, survival kit, check the weather etc. I did the flight planning at home whilst having my dinner.

At nine o clock we got a call that the quote had been accepted and that the flight was definitely on. That meant bigger alterations to the plane. Seats had to be removed and a stretcher fitted but all this by torch light as the hanger has no lights. All that took time but we were in bed by 11:00.

Half past five this morning I was up again – breakfast, check the weather, when just as I was leaving the house the phone rang. It was the paramedic in Maputo saying that the patient had died during the night so the flight was off. Apparently he had two broken femurs and internal bleeding. I had expected someone with a badly broken ankle so this came as quite a shock.

All dressed up with no-where to go. The 210 this morning before taking the stretcher out.

So, no dramatic story or photos of another successful mercy mission accomplished against the odds. Just a tired head and another hour spent this morning returning the plane to normal passenger use.

You get quite psyched and focused when preparing for these last minute emergency requests. But when they are called off at the last minute you can feel very flat, especially when time hasn’t even given you a chance to help. Although uncommon, it’s just another aspect of the job that usually doesn’t usually get told.

Paul and Cathy

Ministry play time

2009-08-18T14:15:00.001+02:00

We would admit that we do get to have a fair amount of fun.

Depending on your view point, my 60 km and Cathy's 35 km mountain bike race this last weekend would prove that.

The week before though saw another opportunity for frivolity when Julian and Annie Bullen and two of their friends visited us. We arrived in Lesotho within 3 weeks of the Bullen's in 1994 to work for our respective missions and have been good friends ever since. They are currently living in Angoche way up in Mozambique working with the Koti people, but have to leave the country every three months to renew their visas.

This is where Mercy Air really comes in handy for many missionaries as we are an ideal place to stay whilst paperwork, meical visits, vehicles etc are sorted out. We are also in a good area to chill out and partake in some serious R n' R, which can be as refreshing as staying in bed all morning - I'm told!

So, we chilled in the evenings, had some meals together, chatted, prayed a little... and then we turned our eyes to the hills.

We have a friend at our church in White River who runs the local adrenalin spot called Induna Adventures, and we arranged with him for a two hour blat around the forrests on quad bikes. Considering the lifestyle in Mozambique this was a real oportunity for Julian and Annie to let their heir down - and for Cathy to tie hers up!

So, ministry? - of course. Every one needs their batterys charging somehow. Fun? - need I say more!

Paul

Big Enough For a Boeing

2009-08-06T15:14:00.005+02:00

A Boeing landed at Mercy Air the other day.

We all rushed out to watch and it was quite an event, especially considering our airstrip is only 600m (1970 ft) long.

It managed with no problem at all in the end and actually only used less than 200m to land, stop and turn round. All this was possible due to the fact that it was a Boeing Stearman with a top speed of 120 mph and a landing speed of only50 mph.

It is here for some maintenance - so we took it apart...

Paul

African winter

2009-08-01T20:44:00.002+02:00

Africa is normally hot, and often very hot.

Every now and then small parts of it get quite cool - almost cold.

When that happens where we live we have to take appropriate action, usually in the form of a pickup full of wood - or two, from the local sawmill.

What doesn't get consumed by the fire in an effort to keep us toasty in the evenings, often runs a danger of getting turned into something else useful.

Paul

Similar in a very different way

2009-08-01T20:17:00.005+02:00

A recent BBC article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8179453.stm

and a interestingly similar one from this blog:

http://pcm-mercyair.blogspot.com/2009/02/would-passenger-number-3160-please.html

One of 14 that I had escape - but he was one of almost 4000.

Paul

Oh Happy Day

2009-07-23T14:59:00.003+02:00

All days are slightly different depending on the criteria one uses to measure them, but today was a good day.

Firstly, I got my wife back from two weeks visiting her family in the UK.

Secondly, we went to the Department of Home Affairs in Nelspruit and was told that my application for a work permit had been approved.

I have been on a volunteer temporary residence permit for the last six years (two, three year visas), which is the maximum they allow. The only way to go from here then, was to advertise and apply for my own job and get a work permit. This involved a small mountain of paperwork that would send shivers down even the most liberal tree huggers spine. The desired result was achieved however, and the relevant piece of green paper that allows me a further three years sojurn in South Africa, is now firmly affixed in my passport.

Paul

A funny thing happened on the way to the airport…

2009-07-21T15:25:00.009+02:00

Through prayer and the hard work of the maintenance staff we at Mercy Air enjoy many hours of hassle free flying. Aircraft are however machines, and are not immune from the odd mechanical wobbly every now and then. One such example that happened a short while ago is detailed below:

Here’s a pic I took sitting on the runway of our local international airport.

Coming down the runway towards me are two fire trucks and a support vehicle. Not normally a good sign! We have to back up a few minutes to find out why.

What’s wrong with this picture?

Not too hard to spot that the blades of the propeller are usually supposed to be going round whilst you’re flying.

So, I’m landing with one engine shut down and the reason for this is detailed in the next picture.

When you select gear down you are supposed to get three greens (lower left) to indicate that each wheel is down and locked. Meatloaf might believe that ‘Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad’, but in aviation, three out of three is immeasurably better. We don’t have a green for the left main gear and despite flying past the tower a couple of times for them to look at it through binoculars, and the gear looking safe, we decide not to take a chance of a gear collapse and subsequent prop strike by landing with the left engine stopped.

As you can tell by the level horizon in the first picture, the landing went well and we stopped and got out to find that the gear was in fact solidly down. It was then no major hassle to fly back to Mercy Air with the gear down and have the boys in the hanger look at it.

Ten minutes later the plane was in our hanger and up on jacks whilst men with huge toolboxes (and a dog) descended on it.

Didn’t take long to find that a wire on a small squat switch connected to the gear leg, had broken off. The very same wire that is supposed to send a bit of electric through a green light bulb in the cockpit to tell me that things in the gear department are good.

A spot of solder and a few test gear swings and we were on our way again to fuel up at the start of our 10 day missions’ trip.

As it turned out, safety was never an issue in this case, but it just goes to show how something so small can close an international airport for ten minutes and cause a minor emergency. We were thankful that it didn’t happen later on the flight to Jo’burg, Botswana, Zim or Mozambique. We were also thankful for the level of maintenance we get from the staff at Mercy Air that inevitably helps avoid far more consequential adventures.

Paul

A long interesting day...

2009-07-16T21:04:00.000+02:00

I was up well before dawn today to fly to Moz again.

First stop was Maputo.
You can often feel quite big and important when you're flying in and out of airports... until someone like this parks behind you.

Basically we flew for two hours... and then drove for two more hours... to get to a clearing in the middle of nowhere... full of pineapples...
Where we looked at them for 30 minutes.

There are lots of different sorts of pineapples - but they all looked pretty much the same to me.
They got really excited about this one...

So much so that we ate it.

On the drive back we stopped to have some food sold to us.

Hmmm

Later flying back into Maputo I saw the sun set from a plane for the third time in five days.

Paul

A Testing Time

2009-07-15T12:36:00.000+02:00

On Monday morning, myself and John (another Mercy Air pilot) shot off to Johannesburg to renew our instrument rating.

This is likely the one flight in any given year that you don't really look forward to. Flying with an examiner who puts you through your paces to assess whether you're still capable of flying safely in inclement weather - or not!

The flight had been arranged at short notice (the night before in fact) to fit in with other Mercy Air flights and the examiners schedule, so there wasn't much time to prep for it.

Below is the ground track from my GPS that shows what the test looked like - steep turns left and right, inbound/outbound tracking of radials on and NDB and VOR, and an approach to an airport.

It took the best part of the whole day - in fact we returned to Nelspruit after dark, but the good news is that we both passed, and are legally allowed to fly around with our heads in the clouds for another year.

Paul

Just when you thought it was safe to wind down for the weekend…

2009-07-14T17:56:00.005+02:00

I got a call at 12:00 on Friday asking if we were available to do a medevac out of Mozambique. Our Beech 18 was already in Moz on a mission’s trip but we had the 310 and someone to fly it – me, so yes, I guess we were available.

Half an hour later they called back to say that the flight was on, so we hurriedly prepared the plane to carry a stretcher, after which I set off for the local international airport to fuel up and clear customs and immigration.

First was a quick stop in Maputo to pick up the paramedic and then a two and a half hour flight to land in Beira just after dark, for more fuel. We had rung up before to verify, but it turns out that had only got fuel in Beira that morning! From there it was another hour up to Quelimane to collect the patient and his parents.

Turns out he had been in a bad car accident and had a complicated compound fracture of his femur (broke his leg – but in a very bad way).

It took a while to load him and for the paramedic to do the checks, but at 21:00 we were on our way for the three and a half hour flight back to S.A.

The weather was about as good as it gets for night flying, and fortunately I had remembered to take my MP3 player along as there was next to no one to talk to on the radio at that time of night.

We landed in SA at half past twelve and met the ambulance and officials.

Again, thank you for your support that makes help like this possible to those who need it.

Paul

Mission Holiday

2009-06-26T22:21:00.008+02:00

Most mission groups we fly find a couple of days after they return to South Africa from their outreach to go and visit the Kruger National Park. It's only 40 minutes drive from where we live and it would be crime not to take advantage of the opportunity.

Yesterday we flew a group who are doing things the other way round - a bit like having pudding before your main course. They are spending a short time at a lodge before we fly them to the north of Mozambique next week (the longer route to the north and west below).

This involved flying into Jo'burg Int. to meet them from their flight from Spain and then take them to a remote dirt strip in the very north of the Kruger Park (the smaller triangle to the left in the pic above but still 5 hours flying).

With the Confederations Cup still on, the red tape involved in flying anywhere near Johannesburg was a bit of a headache but but towing the line is always better than arguing with a jet fighter!

We go to Jhb Int only a few times a year but you always feel slightly more important when you're around bigger planes.

This 777 was right behind us in the taxi out to the holding point for take off.

I always take it as a compliment when your passengers sleep - even if thay have just come off a 10 hr flight from Europe!

Finally to our dirt strip in the N of Kruger.

The passengers shot off for drinks while we unloaded the luggage.

We will pick them up again this Monday for their Mozambique leg.

Thanks

Paul

Sugar Water

2009-06-24T12:04:00.010+02:00

Cathy and I have just got back from a ten day missions trip to Zimbabwe and Mozambique with a group from Sugar Creek Baptist Church in Houston, Texas.

We picked them up in Jo’burg and flew them to Bulawayo where they worked with an orphan programe run by African Outreach Ministries. In particular they worked with the ladies who look after the orphans by giving health talks and helping with the food distribution programe.

Then we flew on to Inhambane in Mozambique where they met five more people from another church in Houston. Now, being from Houston, a number of the group knew a thing or two about drilling wells. Enough in fact that some of them were also members of a ministry called Living Water International (www.water.cc) who demonstrate the love of God by providing desperately needed clean water and medical attention in third word countries, and who have sunk over seven thousand wells around the world. They had raised money to get drilling equipment driven in from Maputo and we helped with the drilling of a well in the village of Masavane just south of Inhambane. Whilst the lads did this the ladies gave health promotion talks and in the evenings we showed the Jesus Film to over 400 people on a big screen under the stars at the well site.

We flew back on Sunday just in time for Paul to watch the British Grand Prix, the 20/20 cricket final and then Brazil v Italy in the Confederations Cup!

Cathy doing a talk to a group of care givers in Bulawayo.

While that was going on the lads played games with the orphans.

Then the food arrived. Each bag weighed 50 Kg.

The group with the food - we're in the middle.

Cathy helping to share it out.

Then we flew 3 hours to Vilanculos, Moz. Lots of space in Africa.

And then 1 hour low level down the coast to Inhambane.

We flew in formation for a while.

Even the drive to the village was a bit of an adventure.

The next day we started helping with the drilling.

And found water at about 36 metres.

Paul went in search of coconuts.

And we had a dedication service on the last day.

And a night baptism in the sea to finish off.

Thanks

Paul and Cathy

A long way home

2009-06-05T12:18:00.008+02:00

Never in the history of me, have I spent so long in a plane – on my own.

Monday morning I was up before dawn to eat breakfast and pre-flight the plane for the days journey. A short five minute flight later I was at the local international airport just before it opened to fuel up and clear customs and immigration. My first destination was two and a half hours away in the coastal town of Beira where I met a Canadian film crew who had been in Mozambique for two weeks and now wanted to go to Malawi to complete their work.

The crew were part of a church in Toronto that has a media ministry (www.livingtruth.ca). They film the work of local churches working in needy areas around the globe and then broadcast it on commercial channels worldwide, helping to raise awareness and money.

On this occasion they were on a follow up trip to assess and document the impact that their visit a year earlier had had. Then they had helped raise money for Hands@Work, an organisation that Mercy Air knows well as we have flown them many times in the past.

Their schedule was very tight and the cost in time and money of using a scheduled airline to get from Beira to Lilongwe would mean that they would have to change planes numerous times and lose a whole day and a night in transit. All this was made harder by the fact that they had a huge amount of film equipment. Using Mercy Air enabled them to get where they wanted in 2 ½ hours, save that day and a whole load of hassle - all for about the same price.

Not much of a hands on action mission shot, but the best I can come up with is this photo of us all at 11,000ft somewhere over northern Mozambique on our way to Lilongwe.

The two guys in the back are the cameramen and Charles Price is the pastor/presenter on the right.

Unfortunately I only stayed one night with them in Malawi otherwise it would of been good to have gone with them to see the work first hand. I departed the next morning on my own for South Africa. We have recently upgraded the aircraft I was flying and one of the benefits is more payload and greater endurance – the latter enabling me to fly for over five hours, 1500km, and still land with 1 ½ hours fuel left in the tanks.

The bottom right hand figure is the flight timer in the plane when I landed, 5h 06m.

Thank you.

Paul

From bush to clinic

2009-05-13T16:40:00.010+02:00

Five years ago Ron and I took a team from Times Square Church, New York, to a site south of Inhambane, Moz, where we spent a week clearing an area of land and digging foundations. Two of the only pictures I now have of that are of Ron attacking trees with his chainsaw and one me taking a coconut break.

Yesterday we flew a team of eight people representing the various medical donor companies out to the same site where they inspected the clinic and maternity unit that has recently been completed.

From the above photo to the one below - a complete contrast. Doctors for Life and Medical Mission International were the main partners.

Despite its remote location, the clinic has modern facilities - two consulting rooms, a pharmacy and a maternity unit.

One of the doctors attends to a local child.

We saw the sun set over the remoteness of Mozambique on the way back...

And landed in the dark at Maputo to drop the passengers off and refuel before flying back to South Africa.

It was good to go back and see the transformation from what we had experienced five years previously. It bought a sense of completeness having seen the contrast of the finished product, a product that will now give so much more to the community.

Thanks again to those of you who help make things like this possible.

Paul

Would passenger number 3160 please return to his box.

2009-02-23T21:50:00.008+02:00

International Passenger Tax when flying out of Mozambique is US $30. Had we of been charged this amount for today’s flight we would have had to fork out $33,000.00. Fortunately today’s passengers were classed as cargo, and so the 11,000 Nile Crocodiles we had on board our two aircraft traveled tax free.

It was a hectic couple of days. We started in dripping 35 degree humidity and flew two and a half hours north to Beira and then on to Caia on the banks of the Zambezi, where we were met by an enthusiastic crowd of locals.

We loaded 550 boxes of crocs.

Each box contained 20 of the cute little creatures!

Half way through loading, we had some weather which made some of the boxes quite wet. This was not good.

There's not much to do in Caia, so we went to bed at 7:30 and were up at 4:30 the next morning to fly back. The weather still wasn’t brilliant and delayed us, but we got back to Beira to find that things weren’t as they should be…

We had to do some search, locate and recovery.

After a lot of official paperwork and a top up of fuel we were back up into the weather and on our way to South Africa. In heavy rain the view forwards was bland for most of the way.

The view to the passengers in the back wasn’t so great either!

Eventually we got back on the ground this time to the welcome of more officials than you can shake a stick at.

And more absentees to be located and returned to their allocated boxes.

So, the end of an interesting and very novel experience. Not the kind of thing one gets to do each day.

The long cycle to freedom.

2009-02-21T11:35:00.003+02:00

Cathy and I went for a bike ride today. Nothing unusual in that except we didn't cycle together this time, although we were both at the same place.

We had joined 3000 other people and had entered two different mountain bike races of the Sabie Classic. Cathy did the 40 km and one of my 'mates' had talked me into doing the 100 km which involved 2300 m (7550 ft) of ascent.

It was a long way and we weren't even close to competitive but... we did finish, beating the 8hr 15 min cut off by 7 minutes.

We were pleased we did it but don't intend making a habit of this type of thing - until maybe next year!