Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

My name is James Bassett.  I am an ultra runner from the Isle of Man. I have completed 3 Parish Walks and won the England Athletics 100 Mile race walk title in 2017.  I have raced from Belfast to Dublin (107 miles) and from Liverpool to Leeds (130 miles). 

In October 2021 I am racing from Holyhead, on Anglessey, to Cardiff, the length and breadth of Wales, in an event called the Lon Last Ultra. This will be a total of 253 miles - more if I get lost.  I have 88 hours to finish and, unlike events such as the Parish, I am not allowed any support.  There will be water supplied every 25 miles and I have access to my own drop-bag every 50 miles or so.  Other than that I am on my own for three and a half days and nights. If I choose to sleep, it will probably be 10 minutes in a bus shelter or just at the side of the road. I will need to carry a heavy pack of food, water and clothing.

This event has been run just twice before with a total of around 80 entrants.  Only 9 have ever finished (one did it both times!). The longest I have previously run for was 31 hours. This will be totally new territory for me. I have been training since September 2020 and have already run well over 2000 miles.  By the time the race starts that will be over 2500.

I have never asked for donations to charity for my races.  I do them because they are a challenge and I genuinely enjoy them. This is different. I hope that afterwards I will look back on it positively but it is going to hurt. A lot. I have many, many big hills to climb literally and figuratively. I will probably suffer hallucinations through severe sleep deprivation. I will want to quit many times over. 

Knowing that all of this is also helping to raise money for a wonderful charity that helps many children, young adults and families on the Isle of Man will be an enormous source of inspiration to drive me on through the miles.

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