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I reckon that it has two advantages and three disadvantages.

In January you'll hardly get hot and sweaty at all.
In January there are far fewer tourists* to get in your way.

In January there's likely to be ice on the roads which slows one's running.
In January it gets dark at about 4pm, and thereafter it's quite depressing.
In January it's flipping cold when you're standing and waiting around for trains.

*Nevertheless, I'm sure that we all love circumnavigating these people, who dither at the bottom of stairs and just outside ticket barriers, because as somebody rightly said, there's nothing we like better than a challenge.

Guess it also depends which day of the week or time of the month as well. Late January always seems worse than early January.

Snow or very low temperature could perhaps affect service reliability, couldn't it?

Oh yes, definitely. I was assuming that people would think that that was too obvious to include in my list! However, consider it morally added. All in all, the Spring and Autumn months seem to be the best time to do a challenge, or a cool Summer's day.

I'm not looking forward to nine hours' darkness (before 7am and after 5pm) on Team Needing Help's challenge in November...

Starkey7 wrote: I'm not looking forward to nine hours' darkness (before 7am and after 5pm) on Team Needing Help's challenge in November...

Chin up young Starkey, the thought of the money we are raising for such a worthy cause and GWR glory should keep you going

You're quite right Kevin. When we get to Heathrow at 11:30pm I doubt that we'll care that it's bitterly cold out!

My housemate Paul (who accompanied me on the Vauxhall Zone 1 this September) suggested an all-international-airports challenge. I think that he's nuts. However we could do one straight after our GWR if people are up for it.

Starkey7 wrote:My housemate Paul (who accompanied me on the Vauxhall Zone 1 this September) suggested an all-international-airports challenge. I think that he's nuts. However we could do one straight after our GWR if people are up for it.

Well we will certainly be in the right place (hopefully!) to start this challenge, I assume he means all-international UK airports and NOT global

Er ... I think that he meant global actually!