Liverpool Half Marathon - Sunday 27th March 2011

Done!!  Finished in a time of 2 hours 40 minutes, which ain't bad for a gorilla!  There's a link to the video here 

It was a truly memorable day, but I'd like to share with you one particular story that I think is truly amazing:

I'll try to do this justice.

The last 'thousands of people' race I did was with my dad and sister, years ago, the 2002 London Marathon. Carla, my dad and I ran the whole distance together. Running a marathon is hard in itself, but it's even harder to stick together because you want to do things at your own pace. Even though it was over 9 years ago, I still remember

WAAD, Stok Kangri, Gorillas and more!

I feel like got a lot to write about!

Stok Kangri

I've had a ton of ideas I've wanted to put in motion.  But first, I thought it best to announce that officially I am going to climb Stok Kangri in the Summer.  I've held back, but as Eddie Izzaard says, 'Sometimes you just have to go for it.'  Stok Kangri is a 6,137m high Himalayan peak in Northern India.  It 'll mean a lot of saving from me for the next six months, but it'll be worth it.  I'll get to realise an ambition, to climb a high altitude peak!  It seemed like the time was write to change to challenge to 'Running 1000 miles and Climbing Stok Kangri'.

The mountain will take a week to climb to the top with a couple of days to descend.  At just over 6,000m high, it's taller than Kilimanjaro.  To climb it in August, I've set my running goal to get to 600 miles by the end of June, have July and August 'off' for c

Here comes the Gorilla Run......Liverpool Half Marathon!

Two massive runs tonight! I'm going to run the Liverpool Half Marathon a week on Sunday........dressed as a gorilla! So tonight, did a 3.3 mile run in just my normal running gear, then drove to Adlington.....to do a mile and a half run dressed as a gorilla! Day One of gorilla training done....Sunday 27th March....Here we come!

Lancaster Trimpell 20-Miler

Last Sunday's run was brilliant, as I managed to smash my expectations, finishing in 3 hours 42 minutes!  I also broke my personal best for the half-marathon in the first 13 miles!  I ran this event with Carla, my sister, and Frank, my brother-in-law, which made it even more special.  In fact, my sister and I stuck together the entire distance, crossing the line hand-in-hand.  Words can't express how special that was.

I was hoping to write much more than this, but I've been really unwell all week, and not done anything that even closely resembles running.  I'm hoping to get back on the horse soon.

Running, Running, Running

I’m amazed to say that the fundraising has risen to almost £450, inc. gift aid, already!

A massive thank you to everyone who has sponsored me.  It really does make it all worthwhile.  I was bowled over by the support I got before, during and after the London 50k.  It was incredible.

This Sunday, I’m running the Lancaster Trimpell 20-miler.  Sure, I’m looking forward to the challenge, to pushing myself once again.  But also, I love the fact that as I run each mile, I’m running to promote autism awareness, and to raise money for the National Autistic Society. 

London Ultra 50k 2011

'It's often said that if you want the biggest cheer in a marathon, finish last.' - anon

Well guess what.....

Pre-race
In some ways, Friday and Saturday were harder than Sunday!  It was hard to relax during Saturday day, thinking about the challenge ahead.  How hard would it be?  Would I be able to cope?  And there were other, more basic questions, like would I be safe?  As Saturday day turned into night, I was able to chill at my mates Stueys, eating good food, drinking good water and feeling much better.  We even jogged to the local pub, humming the Rocky tune!  I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep much the night before, but I'd made sure I slept well on Thursday and Friday night.

Waking up on Sunday morning, I felt a real sense of energy and adrenaline.  'Baby we were born to run!' sings Bruce Springsteen.  How right he is!  Finally, I would be able to get some actual miles under my belt, after thinking about the race all week.

0 miles to 7 miles: Pure unadulturated fun
After feeling nervous and anxious for about 48 hours, it was a

Running a load of miles.....(31 to be exact)

'Pain is temporary, pride is forever.'

Currently at 178 miles ran in the year, as of today's date.  I'm ahead of schedule, but that's only because I feel better when I've got something in the bag!  Plus I'll hopefully be taking a break from running in the Summer to climb one huge mountain (more on that later).  Last week's running was a grand total of 18 miles, way below my weekly goal of 25 miles.  I'm tapering right now for the London Ultra, this Sunday the 20th of February.

At the moment, I'm really looking forward to it, getting to wear the NAS shirt with pride, running for a cause I'm passionate about.......................................but it's still a long way!

What's going through my mind now about the race this Sunday?  So many things.....nerves, anxiety, excitement, fear, passion, pride.  I know physically I can do it.  Let's see how I do!

www.justgiving.com/runclimbmather

Enjoying the miles....

Boy, did the marathon take it out of me!

It was Tuesday before I ran again, a 5 miler.  I ran after work, and still had soreness from last Friday.   I didn't enjoy it at all.  It felt like I was just running to 'add to the total', if you get what I mean.  It felt like a chore, something to endure.  At the end of the run there was no feeling of accomplishment, just sheer relief, which wasn't good.

Wednesday was a no-go, but Thursday

26 miles on a Friday night

Well, it wasn't your average Friday night.  It did, however, move me from 105 miles done to 131!


I decided to get my training run in for the London 50k. The way the dates fell, I either had to run a 22 mile/26 mile run on either the weekend just gone, or the one coming up. To get the most out of my weekend, I ran it on the Friday night to get it out of the way.

I've got to be honest, it was kind of cool to get to mile 16, and bump into my parents and sister on their drive home.  The conversation went something like this