As a result of the most ill-informed decision since joining the military, in June 2022 I signed up to run the Lewa Safari (half) marathon.

Ladies and gentlemen... I am not a natural runner! My longest distance up to that point was 10 miles for the Great South Run, at a whopping altitude of 10 feet above sea level. The Lewa course, deep in the Kenyan desert, was at 5,500', in 25ºC heat and had some brutally demoralising climbs. 

But in what was the hardest physical challenge since the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst 13 years ago, I made it round without my next of kin having to claim on my repatriation insurance policy