Day 45: What I thaught would happen!

Day 45 – The Finish Line That Didn't Feel Like One: How I thaught it'd be...

It’s taken me six and a half, okay, closer to seven months to write this post. Day 45 feels like a lifetime ago, but also yesterday. And I know what you're thinking: "What took so long?"

Honestly? It's been hard to put it into words. How do you distill an experience that was part epic adventure, part logistical juggling act, and part emotional rollercoaster, into a tidy little blog post? Let’s rewind.

Before this all started, I had a vision. I spent three years dreaming, training, and prepping. When you're training for something that most people (including your own inner critic) say is impossible, your brain has a lot of time to wander. And mine did. Often. I'd imagine what success might look like, what it might feel like. Spoiler: reality had other plans.

I thought finishing would feel like fireworks in my chest. I thought we’d all be sobbing into each other’s arms at the finish line. I thought I’d be lifted up on shoulders like some gloriously sweaty hero. (I know, go big or go home, right?) But instead… well, it was different.

The lead-up was epic. We built a team, a glorious mix of dedicated legends, some fly-by-night helpers, and a few long-haulers who gave everything they had. Neil, for instance, played it cool all year but showed up big when it mattered most. Six weeks of his life, offering to sleep in the support van, and was an unwavering presence. Pam was our hourly videographer for guiness, and gave the best cuddles. Fiona? The undisputed queen of Rugby Club Ops. Honestly, if logistics were a sport, she’d be world champion. Theresa and Paul and the whole of team Adopstar, the website, social media, street party planning extraordinary bunch of pure delight... My wife, Cat... Driving, planning, route plotting, and supporting me all the way! Mike & Karen who route planned and sorted accommodation to exact standards. Alexis, Vicky and so many others who drove, planned and delved into the new world of electric cars... Legends, all of them!

We planned everything. Meals. Beds. Toilets (yes, plural). Daily schedules. Talks at clubs. Swaps of ceremonial rugby balls in glass cases. It was a touring circus with a cause, raising money for tiny, wonderful clubs and life-changing charities...and we did it!

But here’s the thing: finishing didn’t feel how I thought it would. I expected tears. Joy. Elation. Maybe a spontaneous group hug that turned into a viral TikTok. What I got was... not that. There was no campfire singalong, no cinematic ending. Just the surreal quiet of reaching the finish line and realizing that the crescendo I had imagined was more of a fading echo...and that hit hard!

Don’t get me wrong, I'm proud. So damn proud! But I didn’t anticipate how disorienting it would be to pour your whole soul into something, achieve it, and still feel a bit... off. Like the ending was missing its last page. Maybe that’s why I waited so long to write this, because I wasn’t sure how to say, “I did the impossible, and it kind of broke my heart.”

But maybe that’s what real growth looks like: messy, unexpected, deeply human.

The second blog post will get into why the ending didn’t land the way I hoped. But for now, I just want to say this: if you ever chase a big dream, prepare for it to surprise you. It might not end how you thought, but it’ll still change you in all the ways that matter.

And sometimes, that’s even better than fireworks.