Essex Life

Knackered, short of breath, legs hurting and sweat pouring off my forehead - and I haven't even got into the gym yet!

Not really - this is the result of another full-on training session in my local gym in Chelmsford, something which has now become a daily routine since I agreed to do the Maldon Mud Race.

Still, I do like giving myself a challenge, and this is certainly something that I have never done before, and will probably never do again either, so I'm happy to give it a go.

Once I knew I would be running the race, the training kicked in almost immediately. I joined a Fitness First gym in Chelmsford and have dedicated every afternoon to going there - finishing at two in the afternoon has some perks it seems!

My training regime involves going to the gym Monday to Saturday, doing a variety of work on treadmills, cross-trainers and cycling machines, alternated with weights machines as well, so I'm getting a pretty full workout.

Stuart has never experienced the mud race before

In addition to this, I'm also playing football on Thursday evenings, I play squash a couple of times a week and I'm hoping to start playing badminton again, so the physical exercise is going well.

It's not just the training - I've also changed my diet considerably over the last few weeks. I'm now eating very healthily indeed, and haven't touched chocolate or sweets for nearly a month now, despite the temptation!

I know the main thing that I need to kick in order to get properly in shape is the alcohol, but that's proving rather difficult to say goodbye to...

Combining the physical exercise and the change of diet has resulted in me losing 4.5lbs in about a month, so it’s certainly paying off so far. Here’s hoping the good work continues as well as the fundraising - £117 in total so far and all for a good cause.

I’d better go, the treadmill is calling, oh the joy…

If you'd like to sponsor Stuart, or find out more about the Mad Maldon Mud Race, call the BBC Essex Helpline on 01245 348 348.