876 Miles

The question I'm asing myself this week is, is it possible to run from one end of the country to the other? From Lands End to John O'Groats. 876 miles...
Surprisingly, the questions in my head aren't about the running. I'm mostly asking myself how to carry sleeping supplies, how much food could I afford to carry every day, where would I buy the food from, would I sleep in hotels, what if I got lost, what if there's a lack of footpaths, do I ask my friends for support.
When my brain does turn to how to run 876 miles (plus miles for error, taking footpaths rather than motorways, and diversions to go through towns and cities) it takes a more logical, rather than emotional, view on the idea... How many miles would I have to run each day? 50 perhaps? Then it might take a minimum of 18 days. Almost 3 weeks running every day - could I handle that?

Still, the thought of joining that elite club is incredibly attractive. The journey of self discovery would no doubt be pretty inspiring. And the experiences and the sights would never be forgotten.
The planning, on the other hand, doesn't sound like it would be fun.



Final thought, read this: The Unlikely Pilgramage of Harold Fry

London!

The London marathon is where it all started for me. Watching my Dad run it back in 2006 was the sole reason I decided to start running marathons, and 2008 I was lucky enough to get in. 5 years later and I was back again, ready to give it another go.
It didn't go quite to plan - 14 miles in and my legs were starting to ache. Fortunately I recognised the symptoms early (the blame of which, by the way falls on starting far too quickly - I've never been great at pacing) and slowing down and knocking back a few gels meant I never quite hit bottom. My time was 3 hours 35 - not a PB, but a satisfying 27 minutes quicker than in 2008.
My friends are family were excellent - the boost you get when you see people you know in the crowd can't be underestimated. Particularly the enthusiasm of my parents, and the inspiring home made "Run Ben Run" banner from Kate, got me through the tough 23-25 miles.

I started this post with a nod to my Dad, and it makes sense to use this opportunity to say thanks to him for getting me into running at all. I thought for a long time that it was me that got myself into running, but really it was him.
I remember being 14 or 15 and going out jogging across the fields behind our house together. To start off with it was to the end of the first field and back; then the second; then all the way to the sewage plant, then round the sewage plant and back up the hill. It went from there.
I wasn't great at sports at school, but running was something I could do. You don't really need any skills to run - just a little determination. My first 10k must have been when I was 15, and again was run in the company of my Dad and his friends. The rest, I suppose, came with time. Now I'm here, 4 marathons into 2013, and 7 marathons completed. By the end of January 2014 I'll have doubled this. And thanks for this, goes to my father.

(that's me on the left, my bro in the middle, and my dad on the right)

Paris

It's been a while - for that, my apologies.
I've just completed my 3rd marathon this year, and a PB, in Paris - during what has to be one of my best runs ever!
I'm not great at pacing myself, but I hit the balance just right in Paris, and at 20 miles with energy left in the tank I knew I was on for a good time; in the end in 3 hours 20 minutes 48 seconds.

I'll update my thoughts at some point on my other marathons this year - there's plenty to talk about. I've now completed...
1. February - EnduranceLife's South Devon CTS Marathon (but actually 29 miles!)
2. March - Barcelona Marathon
3. April - Paris Marathon

Race Day Check List

This month I'll be running both the Paris, and London, marathons.
Some of this is a bit unnecessary, or over the top, but still an interesting look at a race day checklist from Brooks.

Good Habits

My running is going well; I'm averaging 6 miles 4-5 times a week at the moment, enough to keep my fitness ticking over. The plan is to start ramping up miles, ahead of Januarys marathon, in a couple of weeks time. It coincides conveniently with moving in with my girlfriend - the date being pretty much bang on 4 months until Endurancelife Anglesey. I think that 4 months is more than enough time, but with the fresh start in the new flat it's important to start with good habits.

Most of my runs at the moment feature part, if not a large chunk, of Hampstead Heath. I love getting lost, and making up my runs, as I go along within the Heath. I'll still be able to run there when I move to West Hampstead, but I'll now start looking further west for inspiration too. I think Richmond Park is an achievable place to run to, opening up a nice area of South West London to my feet. Not so long ago I read 'Why We Run: A Story of Obsession' (running book titles often feature the word obsession!) by Robin Harvie, and his training took him past Richmond Park as he ran alongside the Thames for hours and hours out of London towards Oxford. I like the sound of that.
I'd welcome any running suggestions, in particular if they feature interesting trails as in Hampstead Heath, and if they start near West Hampstead, then all the better.

7 Days, 7 Runs

One of the reasons I've decided to take on 12 marathons in 12 months is so that I keep up my running for a whole year. As with any other people, I find that once a run is over I give myself a "well deserved rest". This tends to last until the next time I feel unfit and decide to run a new marathon.

This week I took on the rather insignificant challenge of running every day for a week (baby steps, ok?!). It was easier than I thought it was going to be, the miles ticked over easily, and I totted up 50 miles for the week. None of the runs were over 10 miles, which I'll be doing next year, but it was an important start. In particular, the Jurassic Coast Challenge that I hope to run in March is 3 back to back marathons over 3 days. I won't get much of a chance to recover between runs, so will need to condition my body to cope with that level of intensity.

I hope to continue back to back days of running into the Autumn - each day felt great last week - but I hope to increase the number of miles I'm covering next time I try it.

I've now signed up to an Autumn challenge - Hellrunner in Cheshire on the 3rd November.

Number 2

I've now signed up for my second, but first of 2013's, marathons.
It turns out that England in January doesn't have much to offer in terms of organised marathons, so I've settled for one in Anglesey (north of Wales), on the 19th, organised by Endurance Life. It's a coastal marathon so should be pretty scenic, as well as really cold...!

This week I've been ploughing through a book called "Eat and Run" by legendary ultramarathon runner Scott Jurek. This, and Dean Karnazes "Ultramarathon Man" are both making me think hard about running, and why I'm trying to increase my capacity for running long distances. I think one of the most insightful things Scott has said is not to forget the joy of running. For me, not taking out my iPhone, or my Garmin to track my speed, distance and time seems like a crazy thing to do, but actually (having now done this for a few runs) has taken the pressure away from running. Perhaps inevitably I might be running slower, or not as far as I think I am, but running without caring about distance, time, or even my whereabouts is surprisingly liberating and enjoyable. My plan now is to try and mix up my training, some with my RunKeeper iPhone app, and some without.

Oh, and read Eat and Run, it's great.