The final day had arrived and the whole team were excited about the day and all that it held in store for Andy and the rest of us.

We couldn’t have wished for better support from Capt Justin March and the team from 2 Signal Regt, nor indeed the help, assistance and organisation of the WO1 (GSM) Brian Kiernan.

We are extremely grateful to them for the entire organisation and indeed to Brigadier Greville Bibby CBE for his support.

The day started well and the weather looked to be holding out for a splendid climax to Challenge66. We believed everything was in place and at last the media had got involved in a big way.

Nikki was running all over the place directing press and trying to get interviews done. We started with a live broadcast with Sky News in the morning and finished with BFBS in the afternoon.

The Lord mayor Councillor Susan Galloway and the Sherriff Richard Watson were in attendance for the start and the Chief Executive of ABF The Soldiers’ Charity had also come up from London to attend.

We were also delighted to see Hugh Bayley MP in attendance even though the later start had meant he was unable to don his running shoes.

Prior to the start Brigadier Greville Bibby, Commander 15 (North East) Brigade presented Andy a special Birthday Cake to acknowledge that this day not only signified the final run of the Challenge but was also Andy’s 50th Birthday.

Andy addressed the runners and advised them of the significance of the Baton that he was carrying and that he hoped all runners would get a chance to carry it throughout the run.

There was an excellent turnout of runners including the members of 2 Signal Regt who joined Andy as part of their morning Physical Training. Fortunately they got the best of the weather as later in the day the heavens opened, but it didn’t dampen the spirits.

The final part of the run saw Andy break off from the main runners and complete the last 300 metres on the actual racecourse crossing the finishing line in 6:15:12 to be greeted by his wife Caz with a pint of lager shandy.

Not only is that probably the longest race (in time and distance) at York racecourse, but also the first time the winner has been given a lager shandy.

There are so many memories from 66 days on the road and not least from the 66th to record that a simple Blog does not do it justice. Suffice it to say we all had a great day and although tainted with a bit of sadness that this epic trip had come to a close, we were extremely proud of what Andy had achieved and proud of the small part we, and many of you have played in making sure he got there. Thank You.