Bonkers but brave ! (as i can see 'Insane and Impressive' is already taken ) 

True grit!

staring into the scowling face of adversity and coming out alive!

Well done!

"I can only think that I'm blessed, not with talent, or ability, or passion, although I undoubtedly possess a bit of each..."

Yes.

Indeed; as are we all.

What counts is seeing how much of that bit we each possess we can turn into hard, physical, reality.

Great stuff Rob.......through the mill and out the other side.  Well written too!

It's amazing how the human body can cope with such adversity and sometimes even relish it.  Something that we need to go looking for in our times, but probably a normal day for some of our ancestors in the middle ages!

Awesome feat, well done.

Did my BGR (fellrunning) in July, so I kinda know what you went through.

The "Pain is temporary...." mantra was going through my mind for quite a big chunk of time too!