THE fall-out from running at Brown Willy has been tough. The near seven-mile run across the moorland of Cornwall on New Year's Day took its toll. The downhill stretch, picking my way through bogs, clambering down the rocky face of the Duchy's highest peak, and the rugged ground left my knees in a tender state.

I have been regularly taking the supplement Glucosamine, which is used for the treatment of arthritis in the knee, and which many athletes use to help alleviate joint pain and joint stiffness. Debate about the effectiveness of Glucosamine has been considerable, with the medical profession unable to give a definite conclusion about its use. Glucosamine is a major building block of complex proteins which form an important role in healthy cartilage, tendons and ligaments, and I have been taking the supplement irregularly for some while.

With the onset of knee pain following Bodmin, I've been back on with the Glucosamine, and a daily dosage of the inflamatory Voltarol, which contains the active ingredient, diclofenac sodium.

Steadily, throughout the week, the pain in my right knee has lessened. I ran a training session on Thursday evening with my club, and then decided at the weekend to abandon plans to compete in the Hampshire Cross Country Championships in Basingstoke, and instead concentrate on the Tadworth 10 race on the Sunday. It was a wise decision. Two races in two days would have been too much.

As it was, with the rest and ensuring I had taken the right medication, I arrived on the Epsom Downs in Surrey in relatively good shape, though clearly a little bit concerned at how my knee would stand up to the race.

My dad, who lives nearby in Woking, came along for the day, and when we got to the racecourse an hour before the start, conditions were awful. A cold wind ripped across Epsom Downs accompanied by squally showers. After a brief trip to the toilets, I changed in the car and waited for the start.

I was so unsure what to wear. The experience of the rain, wind and cold at Bodmin had left me worried about being soaked to the skin at Epsom and enduring a tough race. So I decided to wear a polyester green top underneath a running vest, with thigh-length shorts and a woolly hat. What a mistake!

Within a mile of the start as we clambered up an horrendous hill leading into the village of Tadworth, my body was cooking. I was overheating quite a lot. The rain had stopped, and the wind had eased. I wasn't running flat out, but I was hot. Fortunately, the Tadworth 10 consists of two five-mile circuits, so as we entered Epsom racecourse for the second time, I spotted my dad and ran towards him. In mid-run, I stripped off my top clothes, threw the polyester top and wolly hat at my dad, and pulled on the green running vest. It was such a relief.

The race itself was fairly soulless. The marshalls were great and encouraging, the course was challenging, but there was very little race atmosphere. The start in itself was disorganised - right in the middle of the race course, with the two car parks sited either side of the start, half a mile away! I tried to chat to a few of the runners on the way, but it was a quiet and uneventful run.

I managed to finish 112th in a steady time of 75 minutes, which is a good nine minutes outside of my best for 10 miles - but with this whole project I'm not gunning for personal bests.

Above all, my knee felt good, and the run had been worth it.