Running is a simple, primitive act, and therein lays its power. For it is one of the few commonalities left between us as a human race.

A Marathon is not about running, it is about salvation. We spend so much of our lives doubting ourselves, thinking we're not good enough, not strong enough, not made of the right stuff. The Marathon is an opportunity for redemption. "Opportunity," because the outcome is uncertain. "Opportunity," because it is up to you, and only you, to make it happen; only you can turn your farfetched dream into a reality.

People think I'm crazy to put myself through such torture, though I would argue otherwise. Somewhere along the line we seem to have confused comfort with happiness... Dostoyevsky had it right: 'Suffering is the sole origin of consciousness.' Never are my senses more engaged than when the pain sets in. There is a magic in misery. Just ask any runner.

How to run an ultramarathon ? Puff out your chest, put one foot in front of the other, and don't stop till you cross the finish line.

Some seek the comfort of their therapist's office, other head to the corner pub and dive into a pint, but I chose running as my therapy.

If someone had said to me before I started doing this that a human being is capable of running 100 miles nonstop, I would have just said: 'No way. I mean, how?' If you just go out there and run 100 miles, it breaks down a lot of barriers in terms of self-imposed limitations.

Sometimes you've got to go through hell to get to heaven.