When RTTT was first announced for 2017 I dismissed it - why pay that much to run to a Tower above where I live along trails I can run for free? But then I thought about it. If you're going to run a first ultra, and a double marathon at that, why not finish in the village you live in and at least get to quietly die in your own bed at the end of it. Turns out some of the others I run with had the same thought process and hence eight of us signed up. Somewhere along the line they agreed to run for Breast Cancer Now to follow on from my London exploits, someone suggested tutus and so Team Tutu was born.

To the race itself. I really can't fault anything. Threshold provide great support, the route is clearly marked, the feed stations well stocked with great volunteers and the photos are free!!!!

RTTT is a long way which ever way you look at it and being the Cotswolds it is hilly and you will be running through woods, across fields, up and down hills with little vocal support beyond the various sheep and golf balls that may fly past (think there are three courses in the route). The hills. To the outsider there are a lot of them; to the local we get to run them week in week out and they are great (well maybe not the one 44 miles in out of Stanton) but either way they need respect and that means plenty of hill training to make life easier on the day. One note - the weather was pretty dry in the build up so road shoes were fine throughout. A bit of rain though could've made some of the uphills in particular rather "interesting".

Would I recommend RTTT? Undoubtedly - it was a great way to spend 13 hours outside in the sun and the beauty of the Cotswolds with good friends. Would I do it again? Probably not as now I've broken my first Ultra I would rather take on the unknown of RTTS or RTTK.