7 March 2008: 4 weeks left

This has been a strange, flat week after the excitement of last Saturday's cycle to Brighton - please click here for further details. The highlight has been going through the £50,000 sponsorship barrier - we're over halfway but as any marathon runner knows, the second half is much harder than the first!

Giles has been away in Canada, apparently doing due diligence on next year's Challenge. Our leader will not rest until a swimming element is introduced into the Challenge and he has been heard laughing insanely about "combining the Chicago Marathon with a couple of the Great Lakes".

The Brighton trip has sorted out the iron men from the boys. Those that missed out on the trip are sick with worry about the brutal Ditchling Beacon climb (described variously as a sheer-faced mountain (Rhys) or a 10 minute sprint (Angus). The cycling specialists Will and Angus both went for 20 mile runs the day after the 60 mile cycle (nutters). Pat waited a day before putting in an effortless 20 miler with Giles. Rob, John D and Rhys are now quietly confident about the cycling. Having enjoyed the South Downs so much, Rhys is working to see if we can introduce an Alps stage into the French leg of the cycling (once again revealing the startling state of his geographical knowledge).

John P, who is old enough to know better, somehow decided that it was a good idea to follow up the cycle by joining Giles and Pat for the Monday 20 miler. After struggling behind the youngsters for 15 miles the old warhorse had to bow out with a calf strain so insignificant that it does not even have its own medical name. While the rest of us have borne our injuries with a quiet dignity, the old git is such a drama queen that we have had to suffer moans about "my 2CC dream being over" and tedious stories about accupuncture and ice baths and the latest reports from his medical team. Dave Harding is on standby.

Pat and Angus are away skiing and will be bringing back some video footage of them doing that running up the mountain on skis stuff.

Everyone else in London seems to have forgotten to train this week with only Will being seen in the gym (every day). Seb is still injured. Conrad is not doing any training at all as he is sulking about not having any branded kit to show off around the West Country. Leon is Leon.

We have lost a pair of Craghopper relaxation trousers. We are going to need to put them on the next time we have a team argument so if you have any information that could lead to their return please contact Sarah.

Finally, we have received literally thousands of complaints about the recent absence of the word of the week feature so, as a special treat, here's three - "soleus", "hyperbaric healing chamber" and, of course, "hyperchondriac".