Andrew once declared he’d never run a marathon; he was steadfast on that, but somehow, the 26 Extreme Causeway Coast 40-mile ultra marathon tempted him.

Was it the jaw-dropping cliffs, beaches, and the iconic Giant’s Causeway? Or maybe he got to hang out with his brother, Colin? Despite zero training, he decided, “Why not?”

Race day rolled around, and Andrew appeared fresh as a daisy. Of course, you’d look fresh if you hadn’t bothered training. He had a knee that hadn’t stopped complaining for weeks, but Andrew came prepared—well, sort of. Armed with two rolls of kinesiology tape, painkillers for a small army, and enough deep heat to fumigate a small room, he was ready.

The brothers set off on their 40-mile adventure along the stunning Causeway Coast. Things were going well… until Andrew encountered his greatest foe: a fruitcake.

Feeling invincible, he stuffed himself with it at the aid station, only to realise soon after that this was a terrible idea. Suddenly, he looked less like an ultra runner and more like a pirate stumbling off a ship in a storm.

After walking off his fruitcake-induced misery (and probably sweating out half a tub of deep heat), Andrew somehow got back into the groove, bounding across the hills like he knew what he was doing.

40 miles later, they staggered across the finish line, exhausted but thrilled.

They’d learned two key things:

1. That was ridiculous.

2. They needed another longer challenge!