1000 miles.....chopping down the tree

My challenge this year has been 1000 miles.  To run it, and to have climbed Stok Kangri on a trip to Indian Himalaya.  Stok Kangri is a 6, 153 metre peak that requires just over a week to ascend, summit and descend.  Because my challenge has been two-fold, I haven't had the full 12 months to run the mileage set.  I was busy July and August to climb Stok Kangri and to prepare physically and mentally for the trek.

So that leaves ten months.  100 miles a month.  25 miles a week.  Along the way, I've set running challenges to raise awareness and keep me focussed and motivated.  There was the ultra, the 3 marathons in 3 days and other races including the Liverpool Half Marathon in a gorilla suit.

At the moment, I'm on track but I've got to keep going.  Mileage is everything.  No matter what, how or even how slow.  It's all about chopping that tree down.

Blimey it's hard keeping going sometimes...

As  someone put on twitter....running is a love/hate thing.  Sometimes you love it, sometimes it's a chore.

Keeping going after 8 months on the go is tough.  I'm looking forward to ticking 1000 miles off.  Don't get me wrong, this year has been fantastic.  The experiences of running in each race and of course the big climb - I wouldn't swap them for the world...but it's the keeping going that's the toughie.

Maybe that's what it's all about....keeping going.  The challenge I've set myself is to run 1000 miles in a year.  To do that, the individual running challenges....the ultra, the 3 in 3, they were all means to an end, to keep me motivated, to set smaller goals so that I could achieve the larger goal - the 1000.

Maybe that's what I need, to break down this final 350 miles.....

Gin Pit Trail Marathon

At the last minute, I entered a local marathon near Wigan and, having not run more than 5 miles, I managed to complete it!  It was a tremendous event, being organised by Malcolm Collins.