A MAN from Goodameavy is aiming to celebrate the dawn of the new millennium on the hoof.
Nigel Jenkins plans to run, non-stop, around the perimeter of Dartmoor on New Year's Eve finishing just before midnight for 'a swift pint of Guinness'.
The run will start at 5am and could take anywhere between 15 and 20 hours, much of it in darkness.
'I was stuck for something to do for New Year's Eve and thought we'd get a bit of fresh air,' said Nigel.
'I train all the time any way — this is what I do — but I've been doing intensive training for the past couple of months.'
The main difficulty, he said, will be the navigation if the mist is down: 'I guess if it is bad, we'll be running on compass bearings, relying on good navigation.'
Nigel has done a number of big runs in the past and is a member of the Fell Running Club — an exclusive club for people hardy enough to complete a 72 mile marathon, taking in 42 mountains of the Lake District, within 24 hours.
He will be tackling the Dartmoor run with a series of pacers, volunteer runners who will carry changes of clothing, food, drink and torches. They will also help with navigation.
The run is 76 miles and incorporates 9,000 feet of ascent.
It has been broken into five sections, beginning at Sheepstor and taking in the more obvious tors — Pew, Cox, Ger, Brat, Rippa, Hameldown, Wind, Sharp, Trowlesworthy, Gutter and back to Sheepstor on a clockwise circuit
As well as the challenge of the run itself, Nigel is aiming to raise money for charity, and sponsors will have the opportunity to guess how long it will take him to complete the run, the closest will win a 'superb' bottle of wine. The chosen charities are the RNLI and the Dartmoor Livestock Protection Society.
Nigel hopes to establish the challenge for other runners in the third millennium.
l Pictured right: Nigel Jenkins with his dog Meg.