I'LL BE stepping on enemy territory in June…Darlington! Let me explain. Last year, along with my good friend Russ Green, we walked ten marathons in ten days.
Starting out at Hartlepool United we walked all the way to Wembley, via lots of wonderful football clubs. Overall we raised £420,000 for Prostate Cancer UK. Something to be very proud of.
But time is a great healer and you soon forget the misery and the pain. You remember the good bits. The satisfaction of having achieved it and raising the profile of a disease that one man dies from every hour, as well as a significant amount of money.
Raising a few quid is a bonus, but the main aim is to keep prostate cancer in the news. Keep people aware of what to look for and who might be vulnerable. It's one of the easiest forms of cancer to treat. But only if you catch it early.
If you have any worries speak to your doctor or call the specialist nurses at Prostate Cancer UK.
Rivalry
We met so many great people last year. Most days we'd have 60 or 70 people walking with us. Virtually everyone had a story to tell.
About the people who had survived, those who were living it and, to be honest, those who were dying from it. It's the stories that keep you going. What are a few achy muscles compared to what these guys have gone through or are going through? So I was pretty easily persuaded to take on another challenge.
We came up with a few ideas, but in the end we decided this was the one that most people could get involved with. The big difference is the length. This time my March for Men is 15 marathons in 15 days. It's 400 miles from point-to-point.
Starting out at Exeter City's St James Park home on June 2, the route will take us to more than 40 clubs. Weston-super-Mare, Forest Green Rovers, Kidderminster, Chester, Tranmere and Gateshead are all on the way to the finishing line at Newcastle United's St James' Park.
On day 14 we'll start out at Darlington. I love them really. There's no doubt about it, there's a huge rivalry between Darlington and my club Hartlepool United. Huge. But when Darlington have been on their knees, we've helped fundraise for them and been very happy to.
At one stage Hartlepool gave Darlington a lawnmower so they could cut the pitch! So, although there's a rivalry, there's an understanding between the fans as well.
When Darlington went down to Step 5 of the Non-League Pyramid, through no fault of the fans or the players, it was a case of there but for the grace of God from a Hartlepool fans' perspective. Or any lower league football fan for that matter.
We all look at those clubs and know it could easily be ours. But you're always encouraged by the way these clubs fight back. Look at Darlo now; they're not all that far away from the Football League. Renewing that rivalry would be fantastic. We'd love to have that local derby back. Having said that, when I'm in Darlington I'll be wearing my tin hat!
The welcome we had from all the clubs last year was absolutely brilliant. From the very first stop at Marske United onwards, they all provided physiotherapy at the end of the day. That was fantastic.
Ray Wilkins suggested I'd need that and he played a big part in arranging it. I didn't realise how valuable a massage and getting the muscles patched up would be. It gives you a fighting chance of getting up and walking again the next day.
Days one, two and three last year were hard. You think, ‘I'm never going to do this'. Too painful, too far and too many hours on your feet. But around day five or six I had a turning point.
All the people I'd spoken to about the challenge, like Ian Botham, said the body would adapt. Mine did around day six. It didn't make it easy, but it was much more comfortable.
Passion
So experience will help – I think! It's basic things like footwear. I had a cunning plan last year. The idea was to wear walking boots for two-thirds of the day and then change into my trainers. On the first day I took the walking boots off, tried to put my trainers on but of course my feet were so swollen my feet wouldn't go in. I had to send for a battered old pair I had at home.
This year I'm going to skip the boots and take a few pairs of really old, comfortable trainers. I also found the way to cope with the hours was talking to people for as long as possible. Russ preferred to keep his head down and get to the end as quickly as possible. People cope in different ways.
I'll be doing the same again, although I wonder how many of the lads from the Soccer Saturday panel will come along. I hope they will, but they're all making excuses about having already booked their summer holiday. They'll have to rebook them.
We're visiting some league grounds this year as well and Ray Wilkins has already said he'll walk some of it. I'm sure I'll enjoy it as much as last year. It was fantastic, but being brutally honest, I'm looking forward to getting over the line at St James' Park.
It's a great place to finish, wonderful football club, fantastic ground and a city with a huge passion for football and life.
Before the end last year, we had to complete a big loop to make sure we'd reached the mile quota. We could see Wembley right there; we could touch it, but we couldn't hold it. It was absolute agony. I'm hoping for a much more direct route to St James' Park this time.
The other difference to this year's route was helpfully pointed out by Paul Merson. ‘Exeter to Newcastle, are you mad? It's uphill!'
