Page 7 fella

On page 7 of today's Evening Chronicle was none other than my good self. The Chronicle did a canny little article (with a couple of spelling mistakes I might add!) explaining what I'd be doing in July/August.

The picture was taken yesterday while I was on a 5 mile run up to the race course (48:12). I followed this up today with a 6 mile run round the Town Moor in 57:12. Gone are the days of taking over 10 minutes to run a mile.

Hopefully, the newspaper article will attract a couple of new sponsors. I've been stuck on £1857 for a few days now and really need to be getting the fund up to £3000 by the end of March.

The Route (Week 3 of 6)

The 3rd week of the run, in my opinion, is the easiest. I use the word "easiest" loosely mind! As with any ultra long run, I find that you have to overcome the mental battle as well as the physical one. And with that in mind, I think there will be many plus points to be taken from this week. First of all, I will cross the half way point at approximately 10 miles past Kirby Stephen. Prior to that though, I will hopefully have had a few comfortable nights at home. I wonder how luxurious my own bed will feel after sleeping in a tent/camper van or Travelodge. Finally, on the 22nd July I will be joined by 10 or so Northern Rock staff for a day. The crack should be good as we take on a hilly 21.9 mile route from Castleside to Middleton in Teesdale.

Training Summary (Week ending 25/02/2007)

Monday 19th February - Gym (60 minutes).
Tuesday 20th February - 13 miles. Gosforth - Hamsterley Mill (02:15:10)
Thursday 22nd February - 11 miles. Race course and Town Moor (01:51:23).
Sunday 25th February - Tennis (singles). (90 minutes, 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 defeat).

Accommodation problem eases slightly

One of the major logistical problems associated with organising this big run has been finding somewhere to stay for 6 weeks! Numerous letters have been sent to local camper van sales and hire companies begging for the use of a van for a few weeks. Unfortunately no replies have been received to date.

It's not all bad news though. After a brilliant bit of thinking by Keith (one of my support drivers), a few £15 rooms have been booked at various Travelodges up and down the country. This has managed to fill in a few gaps. Also, thanks to the generosity of a few friends/colleagues/family/friends and family of colleagues etc etc, I have been offered a few night's accommodation at various points on the run. Again, more gaps filled! These offers are very much appreciated.

So far, I have somewhere to stay for 14 out of 42 nights. The slight concern I have at present is finding somewhere to stay during the first and last week of the run. i.e. In the Highlands of Scotland and Devon/Cornwall. At present, given the very limited budget I have, the plan is to stay in a tent! This won't be ideal after a 20 something mile run each day. So, if any of my readers have long lost relatives with a spare bed for the night please get in touch.

11 miles of complaints

Ian "the Coach" and I decided to combine 2 familiar runs into 1 to make an 11 mile course. The only problem with this was having to pass the finish line after 5 miles and run a further 6 miles to get back to the finish line. This concept just messed with my mind and resulted in 1 hour and 51 minutes of me complaining. My main complaint was having to run past Gosforth Chippy without stopping to buy anything!

I decided to have a day's rest on Wednesday after Tuesday's problems and I'm glad to report that I felt no pain after today's run.

The threat of an injury cuts short a run home

I had planned to run 17 miles home tonight from Gosforth to Shotley Bridge. I only made it to the 13 mile point (Hamsterley Mill) when I felt some slight pain in my groin. With 4 miles left and energy levels very high I felt that I had nothing to gain or indeed prove by risking an injury and attempting to complete the course. So a quick phone call to Katy was made and she arrived within 10 minutes to take me the rest of the way home.

My previous attempt at this run (pictured to the right and a stone heavier than today!) was in June last year where I stopped off at the chippy and used my emergency pound for a bag of chips. This time round, though, I ate a couple of bananas to give me a boost.

I was due to have a rest day from running tomorrow and just do a gym session. However, I'm keen to see if I get any reaction to tonight's run and in particular I want to give my groin a bit of a test. So it'll be 11 miles along the Derwent Walk Path for me tomorrow after work.

The Route (Week 2 of 6)

This week I'm letting you see the route for the 2nd week of the run. The day I'm really dreading is the 19th July. This is the day that I have to climb over Carter Bar (338 miles) in order to reach England. Pictured is the descent from Carter Bar. I'll be pleased to see this sight, I can tell you!

Earlier highlights include the run over the Forth Road Bridge at approximately 270 miles. Incidentally, I've been trying to attract a significant one off sum of sponsorship to run over that bridge naked. There are no takers at present but I'll keep trying. So if any reader has at least £500 to spare, why not pledge it for a good cause with the potential of seeing me arrested in Scotland or at worst totally embarrassed. The bridge is 1006 metres long! I bet it would be the fastest 1006 metres I have ever ran.

Road side support during this week will be supplied by one of my colleagues, Keith. Imagine a Jag driving, train spotting, James May from Top Gear and you've pretty much got the idea of what Keith is like. He usually has many an interesting tale to tell so the crack should be good.

Training Summary (Week ending 18/02/2007)

Monday 12th February - 4.5 miles (00:45:30).
Tuesday 13th February - 6 miles. Town Moor Memorial. (00:54:30).
Wednesday 14th February - 8.4 miles. Havannah. (01:31:37).
Thursday 15th February - 5 miles. Race course (00:46:13).
Friday 16th February - Gym (60 minutes).
Saturday 17th February - Gym (55 minutes).

Another sponsorship landmark acheived

There has been a flurry of pledges in the latter half of this week and the total now stands at £1807. I'm over a third of the way there now. I'm always on the lookout for new sponsors and Alan, one of the trainers at the Gateshead Marriott gym, has started to pass a sponsor form round for me. Hopefully, it will yield a few more and help me on the way to my £5000 target.

A pacy race course run

Today saw me and Ian "The Coach" run 5 miles up to Newcastle Race Course and back. The first 2 miles were both at a very fast (for me) 08:30 pace with the whole run taking a PB of 45:13. This was a good way to end my running week. I hope I can continue the good work in the gym tomorrow and Saturday.