Nigel Dean – 2025-10-09
While I have completed 32 out of 32 High Peak 40 mile challenges, this is by no means a matter of prowess. It is purely a matter of being available and well on the day each year.
As far as being well is concerned I’ve been very lucky to be largely illness and injury free over the years. While being only ever a walker, I’m certainly not super fit, but it does help with being injury free although I have had some rare injuries.
Regarding being available, I have had three very close calls. For each I have been amazingly lucky. One of these was early on but I’ve forgotten which year. The last two have been the last two years. The first was when I had a technical design meeting with some people in Oslo on the Friday before. I booked the first plane out via Schjphol and the last direct flight back to Manchester. The meeting however, went on ten minutes beyond my plane’s departure time. Refusing the offer of a hotel, I elected to be taken to the airport in the hopes of getting back via another route. Arriving over half an hour after departure time, I headed straight to information desk. I said I had missed my flight #, was there any way I could get back to Manchester tonight? The incredible answer was, it’s been delayed three quarters of an hour. You might still catch it. I did, I was the last to board getting stared at. It would have been much worse, had I had bags of duty free!

By May of 2024 , I was a 24/7 carer and all walking had ceased and been impacted before that. Occasional falls requiring lifting and twice injuries had been sustained while getting up requiring hospital attendance. I had arranged a couple of her friends to look after her during the day. If she was not up in time for me to get there, I would have been a no show. A month before the event, she had taken to sleeping in the afternoon. I used that to nip out for less than 2 hours to do seven miles. Nearer the event I ramped that up to 10 mile maximum. I asked Chris if he would add me to the checkpoint lists. If I could get there on the day I would pay on arrival. As the event was not full he kindly agreed given my circumstances. Unusually she was up, uninjured and seated with breakfast in time for me to leave. I parked outside the school rather than the Tennis courts. I told Chris, I thought I had a fifty percent chance of getting round and ten percent of doing it in the time limit. I said I was going to make the most of my one day off. If I felt I could get round but not in the 14 hours I would slow down and finish when ever. I had food and drink in the car and would text him I had got back OK. Obviously out of time that would not count as a completion. While I finished last I could scarcely belive It was 35 minutes inside the time limit. For the first time ever, I was caught by the sweep on an event 300 yd before the finish. None of that mattered, though, because almost unbelievably I’d maintained my 100% completion record. I entered the 2025 event straight away. The omens were good surely 2025 would be plain sailing.
Early 2025 a care home took over from my 24/7 caring during which I had noticed some concerning changes. These were having to go more frequently with reduced quantity and flow rate. I put them down to the lack of exercise thinking when I got fit again, they would disappear. They did not. I reported it to the surgery on March 10th. I had a very good idea it was due to an enlarging prostate, but apparently, there were other things to eliminate first. At lunch time on April 8th, I got a call from the surgery asking me to see the doctor at 5pm regarding my blood test. The only good news in that is it was going to prove I was correct in my suspicion. A PSA of 22.4 triggered an urgent referral to hospital. At this point, the thought that it might impact the HP40 never occurred to me as It was so far away. After a detailed MRI, I got appointments through the post for a biopsy and one for a radiological injection and gamma camera bone scan. Surprisingly they were both for the same morning. While there was a three hour period from the radiological injection going in and the gamma camera scan starting I did not think they would want to get up close to someone radioactive to get 8 biopsy samples from the MRI abnormal areas. I phoned up and the scan was arranged for the day after. The NHS system does not have collision detection between departments. On 23rd May I was informed that I had locally advanced i.e. already on the surface, moderatly aggressive T3a prostate cancer. My condition was described as curable requiring expedited not urgent treatment. This was because, while on the surface, the cancer still had to progress through the fibrous sack containing the prostate. I was also told the current waiting list for a radical prostectomy was 2 months. I would get a meeting through with a member of the oncology team to decide on that or hormone therapy then a months radiology. I studied both options. Each have pros and cons. That meeting was not until 25th June. That’s when I thought that would take me to the end of August, not leaving much time to recover for the HP40. Six hours before the 25th June meeting I got a phone call saying it was cancelled. I would get a phone call the following week with another appointment. The HP40 was beginning to look a potential non starter but I was determined to keep my options open. Obviously though preserving one’s life has to take precedence. On Thursday the 3rd of July I was offered an appointment the next day. I was told in due course, I would get a pre-op assessment date. That was the 5th of August. I did ask how long after the operation could I do a long walk. I was told as soon as the catheter is removed 10 days after. However it would not be easy. Is it ever? At the pre op assessment I was told if I heard nothing in two days all was OK. I was also told it could be up to a month before I got a date. Finally on the 3rd of September I got an op date, 22nd September. That was a seriously close one 4 months but one day after diagnosis. Fortunately, I’ve never been an inveterate worrier so my hair has not turned pure white and stood on end like a former Prime Minister’s. It is all part of life’s pageant.

Some salutary points. Firstly, if you have any suspicions, get them checked out straight away. You could be looking at two and a half months for diagnosis. Secondly you may think if symptoms are so obvious what’s the problem. If it starts towards the outside of the prostate, you won’t get any of the symptoms I had before it has spread beyond it i.e. T4 status. Even then the symptoms you get won’t be obvious. For warned is forearmed, so I would urge you to consult prostatecanceruk.org Thirdly, it could be worse than you think. A very fit friend of mine had to go more often producing less, but he did not have reduced flow. Turned out his bladder capacity was reduced by cancer growth, which had already spread. Operating would only gain a few months, but cause significant debilitation. He elected to have three months of decent life before entering a hospice.
In short, I have been incredibly lucky in more ways than one. It will be mid November before I discover if it was a cure or I need further treatment. If a cure I will still need 3 monthly monitoring via PSA testing in case some escaped and flares up elsewhere. Hopefully, though, this will ensure my prostate will never leave me permanently prostrate.
Being positive I’ve already entered next years LDWA hundred mile challenge. I will also be entering the 2026 HP40.
I was fortunate to discover the joys of marshalling on events at the same time as doing them 35 years ago. Over the years, I’ve done virtually every marshalling job. One of the best was hiking up to Calf Top in the Barbon fells at just under 2000 feet, with tent and stove. Clearing the snow to pitch the tent for five hours. The definition of bitterly cold, felt when checkpointing not walking. Life sustained only by a stove, snow and plenty of hot drinks. Stunning location on a clear day. Followed by hiking from there to the finish. Getting a walk and seeing everyone is arguably better than the event itself. That’s because for me it’s putting a bit back for all I get out of it and the enjoyment of facilitating others in enjoying what I enjoy.
Nigel