In June of last year I ran my first ultra-marathon distance race. I ran the inaugural ‘The Wall’ race, a 69-ish mile race from Carlisle to Gateshead alongside sections of Hadrian’s Wall. I completed the two day version of the race, surprising myself by being the first of the two-day ‘challengers’ to cross the finish line outside the Baltic art gallery.
This year I’m doing it all again, except this time I’m moving up to the ‘expert’ category and doing the whole thing in one go. I did the two-day event in a little over nine hours and I’m hoping to do the one-day in under twelve. To manage this I’m going to have to train for it. A lot.
This year I’m doing it all again, except this time I’m moving up to the ‘expert’ category and doing the whole thing in one go. I did the two-day event in a little over nine hours and I’m hoping to do the one-day in under twelve. To manage this I’m going to have to train for it. A lot.
Before June I’ve got the small matter of the VLM London Marathon in April, which I’m hoping to break 2:55 or even go close to 2:50, along with the Milton Keynes Half where I hope to finally put the sub-1:20 target to bed after coming close (again) at the Great North Run. Managing these targets alongside the ultimate goal of doing the long, long training runs needed to prepare for running for (hopefully no more than) twelve hours non-stop will be a challenge in itself.
My training has been a bit stop-start of late. I was due to run the New York Marathon back in November, but that unfortunately was cancelled for the first time in its history. If it had taken place I would have spent some time recovering, then built back up in order to peak for London and then kick on for The Wall. The cancellation threw me a bit training-wise, not having an outlet for the training I’d put in and being in a sort of limbo. The end result was a staleness, which I’ve found hard to shake off. The cancellation of the Brass Monkey Half in January didn’t help matters, as I tapered again for a race that never happened. A run of tragic events in my own personal life also affected my focus and enthusiasm for most things, so it was inevitable that my running would also suffer.
My training has been a bit stop-start of late. I was due to run the New York Marathon back in November, but that unfortunately was cancelled for the first time in its history. If it had taken place I would have spent some time recovering, then built back up in order to peak for London and then kick on for The Wall. The cancellation threw me a bit training-wise, not having an outlet for the training I’d put in and being in a sort of limbo. The end result was a staleness, which I’ve found hard to shake off. The cancellation of the Brass Monkey Half in January didn’t help matters, as I tapered again for a race that never happened. A run of tragic events in my own personal life also affected my focus and enthusiasm for most things, so it was inevitable that my running would also suffer.
In the past couple of weeks I have rediscovered a bit of my drive and have got my training back at the level it should be. I have taken my long runs, which I had been treading water with post-New York, up to running the full marathon distance. This week I hope to finish my first 70+ mile week since early October.
This coming weekend I’m sure a lot of you will be running in the National XC Championships at Herrington. I’ve ran the last four Nationals which were at London (twice), Leeds and Alton Towers. They were some of the toughest cross country courses I’ve ever ran and this year’s will surely be the same, if the Northern XC championships that were held at Herrington a couple of years ago are anything to go by. The famous start is also a sight to behold, which if you’ve seen the film ‘Zulu’ you’ll have an idea what it is like. Unfortunately, due to an administrative error, I won’t be running. Typical – travel the country and when it is on my doorstep (I live about a mile and a half from the course) I’m not running. An opportunity for a parkrun and a long run is my compensation.
I hope that writing this blog helps me maintain my focus and I will be updating it every few weeks.
This coming weekend I’m sure a lot of you will be running in the National XC Championships at Herrington. I’ve ran the last four Nationals which were at London (twice), Leeds and Alton Towers. They were some of the toughest cross country courses I’ve ever ran and this year’s will surely be the same, if the Northern XC championships that were held at Herrington a couple of years ago are anything to go by. The famous start is also a sight to behold, which if you’ve seen the film ‘Zulu’ you’ll have an idea what it is like. Unfortunately, due to an administrative error, I won’t be running. Typical – travel the country and when it is on my doorstep (I live about a mile and a half from the course) I’m not running. An opportunity for a parkrun and a long run is my compensation.
I hope that writing this blog helps me maintain my focus and I will be updating it every few weeks.