This event took place during the heat wave and the relentless hot sun and lack of shade rapidly affected my race strategy. I had acclimatised by scheduling my training runs for the hottest part of the day during the few weeks prior to the event. Even so, by the time evening arrived I was already mainly walking and this didn’t improve during the night. This extensive walking was disconcerting and demotivating. I soon calculated that I would be unlikely to achieve my minimum goal of 14 laps and at 12 hours decided it really wasn’t worth continuing. Actually, I wanted to withdraw there and then but felt self-conscious about driving away from the campsite half way through the event. I decided to leave the option to continue open, thinking that in three or four hours I wouldn’t feel so bad about leaving early. I therefore returned to the tent, checked my groin dressing, which was encouraging as it was in good condition, and took a rest break. I was going to see how I felt in 2 hours but after slightly less than an hour I felt a lot better. I changed my socks and running shoes and decided to return to the course. Nonetheless, I was still thinking about withdrawing. I thought doing one more lap would help me feel better about withdrawing early. The experience on the course was quite good actually; I set off at a steady jog though I was soon back to walking again. The thought of not achieving even my minimal goal of 14 laps continued to affect my motivation. After all, I'd run 73 miles in 12 hours previously even though this was in 1989. Looking back, I miscalculated and if I’d stayed on the course and continued, even at a slow walk, I would have managed the 78 miles in 24 hours. But in any case, I really wanted to jog rather than walk so the extensive walking continued to weigh. Consequently, instead of continuing, after completing this lap I returned to the tent again and actually fell partially asleep for three hours. During this time I could hear the two runners in the neighbouring tent talking about their team strategy as they crossed over. They also seemed to be trying to encourage me to come out of my tent and get back on the course… but I wasn’t about to move. I actually felt like I was hiding out in the safety of my tent. Then it went quiet and I fell asleep. I woke up about quarter to six in the morning, once again really revived. It was a pleasant morning with the sun still not too hot and I felt the six remaining hours was a long time. I thought I might as well go and do at least one more lap though I’d still not noticed my miscalculation. In the end I did two more laps, almost exclusively walking, and finished with just over an hour to go but not enough time to complete another lap inside 24 hours. For me, these are interesting reflections on my motivational state. Overall I really enjoyed the whole experience and as an event I would definitely recommend it as well organised and friendly.