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Drew Jonkmans cruised through the 100 mile mark with time to spare in his fundraising endurance challenge at Footes Lane.
Greeted by cheers and applause from friends and family, it was some way from where he expected to be at this time, having been forced into a rethink after the desert race he planned on doing was cancelled with just three days notice.
Jonkmans embarked on the bid to beat the 100 mile barrier in 24 hours at Footes Lane at 13:00 on Sunday.
By 11:00 today, having seen off the dark, cold, rain and exhaustion, he had completed 402 laps of the 400m track at Footes Lane.
“It's painful, but it's a relief to get it with two hours spare,” he said while taking a break for food and drink.
“I wasn't expecting that, I thought it was going to be pretty tight.”
With a lack of specific training - he had been preparing for the three day Half Marathon Des Sables in the Eastern part of the Sahara in Egypt - the track 100 miles was something of a shot in the dark.
At the lowest moments, one in the morning, raining, unable to get a quick nap because of the pain and resorting to a show instead, he was perhaps as far from the sandy desert as you could imagine.
There were highs too.
At 06:00, having been running alone for a couple of hours, a group of more than half a dozen runners joined him on the track and lifted the mood.
“All my friends got behind me and I wouldn't have been able to do it without them,” said Jonkmans.
He broke the challenge down into hourly goals.
It started at 20 laps, then worked down to 16, about four miles, which carried him through from about 15 hours on.
His progress was recorded on a whiteboard.
“The money is going towards Guernsey Mind, which is a great charity, they've been so grateful for the donations, we’ve smashed our target and are over £3,000 pounds now, which is great. I'm very grateful for everyone that's donated. It's such an important charity for the community. So it's vital that we keep raising money for them, so they can continue doing the great work they do.”
In April he will take on the full Marathon des Sables, but is planning a break over Christmas before picking up the training again.
He thanked Network Insurance for their swift work in finding covering for the Footes Lane event.
To donate, visit his Just Giving fundraising page.
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