Throughout the whole of 2014 I achieved what many said was either impossible, or highly inadvisable. I ran the best part of 1,000km dressed in an extremely heavy and restrictive costume, and raised both many smiles and many pounds along the way. As I’d entered my forties it made sense to let my doctor keep a close eye on me, which he did, and pronounced me fit as a fiddle.

Which meant that when I turned up at my doctor’s surgery for something terribly minor and unimportant back in March of this year, it was something of a shock when he informed me that my blood pressure was so high I shouldn’t even be considering walking to the shops, let alone run.

After a few weeks of experimenting with various medicines he eventually found one which worked, and has been controlling my blood pressure perfectly. We’ve come all the way from 176/112 down to a nice healthy 122/77.

Although a temporary blip, and now fully under control, it meant that for a few weeks I was unable to run. I have been back training again now, but it has meant that I will unfortunately have to postpone my entry into the London 10km at the end of May until next year now, as there’s no way I can prepare properly for it in time.

My next scheduled race of the year will therefore be the Hull 10k on 14th June – only five weeks away.

I’ve been training without the costume so far, but as from next week I’ll be back in the armour, pounding the streets and parks of Hull once more. Make sure you keep an eye out if you’re in the area, and hoot/high five if you see me!