Adam Looking forward to round two... Keep safe, Adam

Ste The whole trip sounded quality mate, but just to clarify did you only go to Peru to make yourself feel tall? Looking forward to seeing you on Sunday, Dave's making me chef so expect plenty of cinder like burgers and bangers. FYI Greg - just the one for me (at the moment)

Dad Neil the diary of events has been amazing on the tour despite the rather inclement weather in NZ. You should go into journalism, your accounts of events have been most enlightening and am really pleased you have managed to see and do so much. Well done Andy on the run, a fantastic time, what time did your Dad get ? Chris and I had a great weekend in Scotland on the Balmoral run, we have managed to make our first contribution towards the £10k for team Stinson, unfortunately I think my next run won't be until the Boro 10 k as I am having the Hernia op in two weeks and will miss the Redcar half marathon.Still it is the start of May today and you will be home at the end of the month, really looking forward to seeing you again, have an enjoyable last few days in NZ. Best wishes Dad and Chris x

Neil Once again, many congrats on that time Dwol - apart from Mr Crazy Lee and his mountain goat challenges, I think your effort kicks all our a*ses! Defo up for a surf when I get back - you'll have to get Austin Powers waxed first though, as the number one rule in surfing is to look cool. I suppose you could adopt 'The Hoff' look!

dwol alright everyone, am almost back in the land of the walking, forget running, for at least a week. legs soo stiff, why is it almost impossible to go downstairs? good job i live in a bungalow! really pleased with my time (3hrs 2mins) managed to knock off 14 mins from previous best and just about given myself the motivation i need for next year, must beat 3hrs. as for advice on aches greg, probably not the best to ask, considering my current state, but rumour has it that stretching after exercise is very good, but i just tend to lie down and collapse. gels and water a def yes, used them for first time and they made a massive difference, again rumour has it that frequent small sips are best. not sure on diet, my weak point. as for time running, i always try to build up to the same time that i will be running for in the race. you dont have to run as fast or as far but time on your feet is very important. hope have been some help, next time you back will go for run. cheers adam and good luck hi neil, hope all is well, surfing on saltburn when you get back? andy

Greg Thanks mate...... I'd like to ask Ste how many hole in ones he's got but he'll probably say two so I'll just keep quiet! Dwol - what an amazing effort, unreal. You and Adam have inspired me! On that note, I have a few questions that you might be able to help with: 1. How do I minimise the 24-48 aches after training? 2. How much should I be eating on a normal day? (same as usual)? 3. Do you eat anything else when running - gels? 4. How far should I run before the marathon? 3 hours or so, or more? Thanks for your help guys, your efforts are amazing. Adam - good luck for the Fred Whitton challenge, it sounds brutal.

Neil After writing my last blog, I realised I'd missed out one very important story that little bro wouldn't be happy about me not recounting. Greg took Thursday afternoon off work so we could play a round of golf before I left. The usual wayward tee shots and shanks into various undergrowth were order of the day. That was, until we approach the signature hole. The elevated 180 yd par 3 16th from the top of a cliff, down to the green below. Greg teed up with his trusty 7 iron that gets used for everything. He then proceeded to launch one onto the green, bouncing a couple of times, before ending up in the hole. As much as it pains me to say it, I witnessed him hit a hole in one! There you go Greg - I told everyone.

Adam Dwol, Good luck with the Marathon, have a good race. Adam

Adam Mr Stinson, Just a cheeky update with things at this end… We never made it to Rome, our flights were cancelled. We were a little disappointed at the time, but made up for it with a trip to the lakes, with four days of fantastic weather. Charley got some good horse riding on the beach and I bagged a couple of long rides. Tonight I have just completed my first bike race; it was hardcore to say the least!! 40miles with an average speed of 28mph and sprints every 5miles… I placed quite high in a few of the sprints but found it very hard. Looking forward to the next update. Travel safe,

Dwol Alright mate, just been checking out all your latest photos, looks like you are having far too much fun, especially the surfing ones! Reminded me of my surfing debut, and your surroundings looked just like mine, the cold north sea at saltburn! Looks quality though mate, really jealous. Will be travelling down to London on the train at fri dinner time, to register on sat for the race. Katie far too excited about going to London, she thinks she will be able to meet the queen. Starting to get nervous now about the run, just want to get on with it. Times wise, need to beat 3:11 my dads best time. but just want to get as close to 3hrs as poss. hope your running is going well. katie broken her arm, she is ok, but it took a pink pot to cheer her up. If anyone would like to sponsor me, am part of team stinson, so just log on to www.justgiving.com/teamstinson we would all really appreciate the support. cheers, Andy.

Greg Well first time I've logged on in 2 months as I've had the pleasure of 'living' the message board. I'll have to start incorporating it into the daily routine again. The past 8 weeks has flown and I think I'm more exhausted than Neil. I took him to the airport at 5 this morning for the flight to NZ - no erupting volcanos here thank God. Probably an experience neither of us will forget - Kangaroo Valley canoeing weekend, dragonboating, Melbourne (JB bringing it home), Great Ocean Road, Sailing around the Whitsundays, wine tasting in the Hunter Valley etc etc - it has been awesome. Good luck for the next fortnight mate before we reconvene in Lima - woo hoo.

paul wilson Dear Neil, Sorry for the silence. came back to England for Easter and time seems to have flown by. We are all in Ilkley and have been catching up on your news. Sounds fantastic. Can understand your not being easily overwhelmed after so many experiences. Just imagine your reaction when, sometime in the future, you have to face up to the prospect of a visit to the Riverside ! Nick and I were both envious of you and Greg going to the Melbourne Grand Prix. Glad it was such a good race. You are obviously having a ball in Oz and your experiences with the local wildlife make great reading. A word of of caution though; there are apparently a large number of small unpleasant creatures in Australia. I suppose you we shouldn't be surprised by this - think Ricky Pontin and Harry Kewell. Anyway, watch your step. I see Andy Bond has resigned. Any chance of your Andy getting that job? I'm supposed to be off to Lagos tomorrow, although this seems unlikely now, given the volcanic ash scenario. Am not losing sleep over this. Everybody here sends their very best wishes to you and we will continue to follow your adventures with great interest. G'day, Paul, Liz, nathalie and Nick

Adam Oi Stinson… what is going in with these Xrays??!! Not best pleased when I read that, you need to be careful with your leg. I hope you have recovered ok… Sorry I haven't written on the blog for a couple of weeks, things seem to have been pretty manic at this end. Your trip sounds as always fantastic, I was a bit freaked out when I saw the pictures on facebook of the snake your driver ran over, the thing looked massive. It totally overshadows all the other superb views. I couldn't relax if I knew those thing were crawling about. We are meant to be flying to Rome tomorrow afternoon, however, Easy Jet still have all there flights cancelled so not looking very good. Hopefully it will be really windy overnight and blow the clouds in the opposite direction, I'm not holding my breath though. Training is going well, I did my first open water swim in the lakes the other weekend, oh, that was very cold. I knocked out a cheeky 120miles today. Great weather, first time I've had the arm warmers off…So off for some well deserved beers tonight. Dowl, using your kids as an excuse… I was looking forward to going head to head… Never mind if you decide to strap a pair on let me know ;-) Take care mate and be careful with the leg. Adam