A few weeks ago I gave a presentation at the Jog Scotland conference as part of the Scottish Athletics awards evening.
I presented this with Bryn Williams of my charity Wobbly Williams
Here is a video from that day
And this is the video I showed at the end of the talk
I cant believe its been so long since my last post, life has been pretty hectic recently, I bought a house with my Girlfriend, it has been undergoing major renovation work, we are four months into it and still not near to moving in, its safe to say that training and racing has been put on the back burner for the last little while.
With a plan to be in the property for around March I have started to turn my attention to my plans for the year.
I will start the racing year in Aberdeen at the d33, a 33 mile run along the Deesideway, I ran this last year for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed it, a nice way to kick of the ultra season and a great value race, recommend it for first time ultra runners – http://deesidewayultra.webnode.com/
Later in March I am considering running the Glasgow to Edinburgh Double Marathon again, I finished 6th in last years race after running the first 40 miles in 2nd place, I was disappointed with the final result but I feel given that experience I can come back and perform better.
In 2011 I was guilty of not giving the West Highland Way Race the respect it deserved, I got sidetracked with other challenges but this year I am making it my main focus for the first 7 months of the year, a 95 mile race of this nature demands it! The training begins on January 21st with a 30 mile training run on the Way to ease into it.
In April I will run the Highland Fling, which is the first 53 miles of the West Highland Way, great prep for the real thing in June but certainly not one to be taken lightly.
Then in June comes the big one, I will finish this year no matter what it takes.
I will then take July off to go away with my Girl somewhere hot and relaxing, I havent had a sun holiday for about 7 years so the rest will be welcome.
In August I will probably run the Speyside Way Ultra again, I loved this race in 2011, great organisers and a lovely course.
I have ideas for October and another possible 100 mile race but just now I want to focus on the West Highland Way and do it right, get myself back to full fitness and get back to where I was physically 12 months ago.
Look forward to meeting new people at the races ahead and catching up with some old Friends as well.
As ever special mention to my support crew, could not do it without you.
I read an interesting article about the effects Coca Cola has on the body - scary stuff as I quite like a can every now and then. Not saying I believe everything this says just trying to get some debate going.
Effect of Coca Cola on your body
In The First 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. (100% of your recommended daily intake.) You don’t immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor allowing you to keep it down.
20 minutes: First effect of coca cola on your body. Your blood sugar spikes, causing an insulin burst. Your liver responds to this by turning any sugar it can get its hands on into fat. (Theres plenty of that at this particular moment)
Your body ups your dopamine production stimulating the pleasure centers of your brain. This effect of coca cola is physically the same way heroin works, by the way.
The phosphoric acid binds calcium, magnesium and zinc in your lower intestine, providing a further boost in metabolism. This is compounded by high doses of sugar and artificial sweeteners also increasing the urinary excretion of calcium.
The effect of coca cola caffeine diuretic properties come into play. (It makes you have to pee.) It is now assured that you’ll evacuate the bonded calcium, magnesium and zinc that was headed to your bones as well as sodium, electrolyte and water.
>60 minutes: As the rave inside of you dies down you’ll start to have a sugar crash. You may become irritable and/or sluggish. You’ve also now, literally, pissed away all the water that was in the Coke. But not before infusing it with valuable nutrients your body could have used for things like even having the ability to hydrate your system or build strong bones and teeth.
This will all be followed by a caffeine crash in the next few hours. (As little as two if you’re a smoker.) But, hey, have another Coke, it’ll make you feel better.
Yuck, this is not a nice message on what happens to your body as the can of coke goes through it but it is interesting.
This post was published on - www.fitnesstipsforlife.com
Interview with Derek Redmond…..
The Cheesy Version……
Distance was 129.2 mile and I’ve just been told that I am 16th in the world for overall distance (even ahead of Dean Karnazes)
http://www.recordholders.org/en/list/treadmill.html
Best pint of my Life
Thanks to Cut Mustard TV for making the film!
Do you eat while reading? If so, you might have noticed the phenomenon I’ve noticed: sometimes you can eat an entire meal without even really tasting the food. This applies to a lot of things in our lives: we can spend an hour with our family without really talking to them. We can go to a park or the beach, and not really notice the things around us.
Here’s a tip that seems so simple, and yet can be difficult to maintain in practice: stop, and notice what you are doing in this moment. Become more aware of the present, instead of always thinking about the past and the future.
This is hard to do throughout the course of a day, but being perfect isn’t the point. Stop and do it once in awhile, at different times of the day, and just notice the little things. And enjoy them.
This is 6 years old but still as moving and relevent as it was in 2005. Unfortunately Steve Jobs is still suffering from ill health, I wish him a full recovery.
So k-swiss have developed their first trail shoe, I was looking forward to trying these out and when they arrived I wasnt disappointed with their appearance. I decided to test them out on a few training runs and on the Speyside Way Ultra, an off road 36.5 miles race in the Scottish Cairngorms. This would put them to the test.
It did seem for a while that all k-swiss were able to focus on was tennis and everyday footwear but with this new product they are looking to challenge the best known brands in the trail shoe department. In appearance I think they certainly matched up to the others but in the end appearance counts for nothing if performance isnt there also.
The shoe weighs around 375 grams, a little heavier than some trail shoes that are out there but about average compared to a lot of the market. The Blade-Max Trail is marketed at the off road/ trail running scene, a very hard market to break into as many Ultra runners have a brand of shoe and indeed specific pair that they are happy with and stick to religiously.
The shoe has some nice features, a “hydrophobic Ion Mask” and a stitched toungue to keep your feet dry. On the Speyside Way Ultra last weekend I noticed that they had good cushioning on the off road sections. Even though I was out running for close to six hours during the Speyside on uneven terrain I did not have a single blister, this was a miracle to me considering my feet were still pretty messed up from running 129.2 miles only four weeks before.
On the trail the shoe sole did not get clogged up with mud (and it was very muddy and wet in places) I did however almost slip twice but as I say the ground was very muddy in parts so I would forgive the shoe for this, anyway I only ALMOST slipped so they done their job.
They do seem to have lost a little bit of their original shape at the front section but this is probably to do with me having wide feet, they still feel comfortable and as I write this I am sitting at my computer screen wearing them to walk around town.
Overall I would say these are a good all round shoe, comfortable with great ankle support. The look great for those that care what a running shoe looks like (not me). A little soft on top perhaps, I would prefer a larger toe guard for the serious trails.
Cost – around £90
The main reason I entered the Speyside Way Ultra was to get a couple of nights camping with my mate Matt. Every year we go away together and do some travelling/camping and so far this year we hadnt managed to get anything sorted so this was a good chance to do our traditional adventure together.
We headed towards Buckie aiming to get there for around 8pm, upon arrival at the campsite we spoke to the owners and asked where we should pitch our tent up. We made our way to the spot and unzipped the tent bag….now….I can be pretty silly at times but this was probably my finest hour.
We emptied the bag to discover that there was indeed a tent inside but no poles or pegs to be found, oh shit!
After discovering there was a Tesco 4 miles away we jumped in the car to try and buy a tent, long story short we got it for £15 and settled down for the night.
Race Day
We drove to the High School in Buckie to register, I seen a few familiar faces there. After that we went to a bakery on the high street to get some food, I couldnt believe it was only 50p for a Latte! Its £2.50 in Edinburgh!
At the start line I had the pleasure of meeting Paul (@pyllon) and his sister Nicola (@lilacswizzle) I didnt have much time to chat as my stomach was already churning like crazy.
Race briefing was brief just like it should be, theres not much to it, just go and run as fast as you can. 9am and we were off.
The Start Line - Photo by Matt Corney
The first 10 miles were flat, pretty uneventful, I did start to feel a slight niggle in my right knee, the same problem that I had after the 24hr Treadmill run 4 week earlier. It worried me to be feeling any sort of pain after this short a distance but I put it to the back of my mind and got the head down. I only went to this race to spend time with my boy and see some nice scenery and I wasnt let down, the route was stunning in places, some of the bridges were a little unsteady but this just made it more interesting.
Got to the first checkpoint and filled up my water bottles, had a gel and kept moving. I wasnt bothered about positions but I knew I was near the front at this point, nowhere near the leaders but respectable.
The route pretty much followed contry roads and wooded trails, there was a hill which zapped a lot of energy out of my legs, I had been running with two other runners at this point, we chatted and then I left them to run to the top of the hill and I walked and took on some fluids, I would shout to them that I would “catch them up” but I never did.
By the time I had run a marathon (3hrs 41mins) I felt exhausted, the night before with all of the confusion I had only managed to eat two jam sandwiches for dinner and I was now feeling the effects of this in my energy levels. At this point I decided it was just about finishing and any ideas of times I had in mind were to be forgotten.
At checkpoint 2 I felt weak, with 11 or so miles to go it felt like a marathon still lay ahead of me, no point in complaining though, just get on with it.
A few people began to pass me, a sign that I hadnt really recovered from the treadmill event as I couldnt run for more than a mile without stopping for a rest.
With a couple of miles left I made it to the coast, I have never been happier than to have made it to a place than I was now, I knew it was 2 miles along here and I could rest and get some food down. I decided I wouldnt stop at all for the last stretch and increased my pace to 8 minutes miles, I just didnt have anything left in me at this point.
I got to within sight of the finish line and had one last climb up to the top of a hill, turned right and was greeted to applause and the cheers, a great finish to a nice but tough race. I have to say a special thanks to the organisers, cracking job and a brilliant route.
THE END
Biggest thanks goes to Matt Corney, Matt has been there at a lot of my events and I owe him a lot for this.
Only low point for me was at the start line – I decided to listen to music during the race, which is something that I never do. At start line another runner seen me with my earphones and said “If your listening to music why even do the race?” All I could think was, “What a complete prick”.
Need a bit of a rest from racing now, unless something pretty special comes up ill be focussing on getting myself in tip top condition for 2012. I have really enjoyed my first SUMS season, met some really nice people as well. Ill be back in 2012.
Photo by Colin Knox
There is nothing that I need to say about these three videos…just watch and enjoy
It is now Wednesday 3rd August, I finished my 24hr treadmill run on Friday 29th July at 6pm.
I have mixed emotions about the event, as usual with ultra runs I found it to be….
Very hard, not that hard, mentally taxing, amazing, frustrating and inspiring – all at the same time.
Unless you have run ultras before it is hard to explain what goes through your head during a run of this distance.
I arrived at the Corinthinan Club on Wednesday morning for a photo call with Miss Scotland, we had a laugh with the treadmill and some jelly (Wobbly Williams being the charity) but at the back of my mind I knew what was about to happen, I knew the range of emotions I was about to go through and I felt ready.
My DNF at the West Highland Way race had really rocked my confidence, it had never happened to me before, I was given a major boost when I completed the Trip to Remember at the start of July, an adventure which saw me and the team cycle 50 miles, row 90 miles of the Irish Sea and walk 20 miles to the top of Snowdon, all within 35hrs. It was however the running which had taken a knock due to this DNF and I was determined to finish this 24hr event and prove to myself that I wasnt a quitter.
What followed for the next 24hrs was something that will stay with me for a long time.
Back in March I had completed a race called the d33, a short ultra in Aberdeen, I had placed 11th (i think) but had run out too fast, I ran the first 17 mles in under 2hrs, it took me 2hrs 30mins to finish the last 16 miles. You will see why this is a key piece of information shortly. After the d33 I decided that I didnt want to do the 24hr treadmill event, purely because I didnt see the benefit in it, the feeling of pain in my legs quickly passed and I gave myself a talking to and got on with planning the event.
Months passed and I was now standing in the rather swanky Corinthian Bar at 5pm with my Friend Lynne on Thursday 28th July. The run was due to start at 6pm on the nose.
The treadmill was in place, it had kindly been donated by Edinburgh Marathon organiser, Neil Kilgour. I took five minutes to myself in the bathroom, the longest I had ever run for time wise was 17hrs, it was more or less one year to the day that I had run this far (100 miles) and I didnt know if I could manage it again a year on, I had to believe anyway. A lot of these events come down to stubborness and thats the one thing I have in abundance.
The horn rang out and I began running, the treadmill was set at km’s p/h so I set it to 10km p/h and began running.
Various people were there to see me start, it was nice to have their support, a few familiar faces and a few new ones. Don Lennox who plans to run across America was there and so was Ian Goudie who had supported me in France during last years 50 marathons adventure.
The opening hour wasnt easy, I felt like I was struggling, there was no explanation for it, this was easy pace, really easy pace for me normally. I got to two hours and I had to stop for a bathroom break, I rushed to the toilet and wished I had taken my immodium. I was concerned to be experiencing bowel problems so early in the run, I had only done a half marathon!
In my head at hour three I felt like I was getting nowhere, I punched the treadmill hard with my fist in anger. I had slowed my pace to 8km p/h, then 7, then 6 but still I was struggling to keep up. I reached 26k in just over three hours and I felt exhausted. I couldnt understand, I usually run at this speed with ease.
It was only once I got to 45km’s that I took a break for a couple of minutes. Bryn came over to me and said that he thought the treadmill was set to mph and not km per hour, after working it out we realised our mistake, I couldnt believe it!
I had run the first 20 miles in two hours and the marathon in just over 3! What the hell! Its stupid to go out too fast in any race but a 24hr one……….suicide!
This discovery had an instant impact on my mood, I had been on the floor thinking that I was making no progress and now I felt energised and full of life to find out that I had run the fastest times of my life. I covered the opening 60 miles in 7hrs, I was flying.
Its always a merry go round of emotions running ultras and I had gone from the pits of hell to the highest heights and it felt good. The buzz of discovering I had run a load of miles instead of km’s lasted for hours, I fed off it like a starving animal. I covered just shy of 80 miles in the first 12hrs. I was on track for the world record (160.24 miles).
At hour 12 I took five minutes to have a cheese sandwich and some crisps, all I had eaten so far was gels, cake and energy drinks, I needed something savoury.
I chatted with Ferelith and Lynne about my mental state and about how the adrenaline was now fading and was being replaced by doubt and pain, I was slipping into a hole which would last for about three hours. There is nothing that anyone can really say when you get like this during an ultra, you have to get yourself out of it and the only way to do that is to keep on running and just man up (thanks Donnie Campbell for these words of wisdom)
Or as one of my favourite quotes says “You have a choice, you can throw in the towel or you can use it to wipe the sweat from your face”
How true! Cammon, lets do this.
I walked for thirty minutes, I didnt mind as I was still walking at 4.5mph and feeling ok physically. By this time it was morning again and the sun had risen on Glasgow, it felt good to have made it through the night, Bryn bought the morning papers and read out the articles to me and my Friend Rhona had come from Edinburgh to support me during the day. Lynne who had been there all night had gone to the hotel for some sleep and Ferelith had gone to work to return with my Dad in the evening.
I didnt feel tired, I ordered a double espresso from the bar and downed it, I hadnt eaten too much but as usual I didnt feel like eating. I had managed to stave off the runners runs by swallowing some tablets, it had worked but left me feeling bloated. I was on gel god knows what by this point and I was sick of the taste, in fact sick of all sweetness.
I had watched a few episosed of 24 durin the night and some Curb Your Enthusiasm, to really inspire me I turned on Running the Sahara. Ferelith would later say that she had never seen me so happy, me running while watching other people run, I thought that was funny cause it was true.
Once it got to Noon I felt tired, I had walked for a couple of hours now and even that hurt, my shoes were worn down at the back from the treadmill rubbing them so I changed from my UK Gear, pt-1000 to a pair of Nike Lunar Elite, the change felt good, they were very light and dry, the salty sweat stains looked awful on the pt-1000′s, they had run well over 1,300 miles this year, time for another pair I think.
The only problem with changing my shoes was for the first time I felt the blisters, i hadnt felt any hot spots as I was running but when I stopped to change to my Nikes they becamse painful, strange to say but a welcome distraction to the pain that had been building in my right knee for several hours.
Adele Walker had arranged for Pamela Andrews to come down from Glasgow Run4It, Pamela is a massage therapist and physio and I was greatful for her opinion on my knee. Pamela got me on the floor of the bar and began massaging my, you can imagine how tender my legs were for having run 105 miles, it needed to be looked at. 10 minutes later and a bit of tiger balm rubbed on, I was back on the treadmill and heading for home. I had two hours to go.
The room had been more or less empty on Friday, Rhona had been there and a few other people had popped their heads in to say hello, it was actually nice to get my head down and not have to speak to anyone, I tend to go inside my own head when it gets hard and this suits me fine.
With an hour to go I was flying, I had put the treadmill back up to 7mph and had decided in my own mind that I would run the last hour no matter what, slowly the room began to fill, Sky Sports arrived as did a number of other photographers and jouralists. I ignored them all, stared straight ahead and got on with business.
Bryn had told me with thirty minutes to go that I had run over 200km, i was delighted, that was over 124 miles in 23hrs 30mins. I pushed out.
With 10 minutes to go the room was packed and the atmosphere was amazing, usually when you finish a race there are one of two people there to clap you in, it doesnt really matter and I dont do this for the applause but it felt good.
I again upped the speed of the treadmill to 10mph, exactly where i had started 24hrs before, coasting along at 10mph with over 128 miles in my legs, as the crowd counted down to the final two minutes I was presented with a pint of Guinness on ice, I had been dreaming of this pint for the entire run, it was a nice touch by the venue.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1………….0!!!
I punched the air, celebrating that I had managed it and also celebrating that it was finally over.
Right away the Sky Sports cameras were in my face, various questions were asked, the main one being this….
Q – Are you disappointed not to get the world record?
A – A world record is just a label, I dont need that to tell me I’ve done something pretty special here today.
I downed the pint of Gunness in one and stepped of the treadmill, the final distance was 129.2 miles or 207.9km, just shy of 5 marathons.
I left the room for a few minutes on my own and went to the bathroom, I collapsed on the floor and threw up the guinnes I had just drank, i lay shaking on the floor of the toilet unable to move for ten minutes, I didnt care though, I had managed what I set out to do, I didnt know if I could but I did it.
I gathered myself, walked back into the room where all my Friends were and had another guinness, I chose to sip this one though 
129.2 miles in 24hrs means that I am in the top 10 of all time for this event and I ever beat Dean Karnazes distance on his first attempt, not bad for an ex smoker who used to run around the park with a fag in his hand.
If you want to do something I suggest you do it, whatever it is, just try.
“Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered you will never grow” Thats damn right!
Thanks for all the support on Twitter/Facebook, we raised several thousand pounds for Funding Neuro, if you would like to donate you can by visiting my page.
www.justgiving.com/runwithmark
Mark
Hey folks,
Writing just a quick entry today to let everyone who is interested know that there will be live tweeting from the 24hr treadmill run this Thursday.
The event starts at 6pm on Thursday 28th July and finished 24hrs later.
It is taking place in the Corinthian Club on Ingram Street in Glasgow, which is just a couple of minutes from George Square/Queens Street Station.
The # tag on Twitter to follow will be #24hrRun
If you are not on Twitter then I salute you, all you need to do is google #24hrRun and the live feed will come up oat the top of the search results.
Or to see my Twitter page you can go to – www.twitter.com/runwithmark
Wish me luck, its going to be a long day.
If anyone would like to come along please feel free, I dont know what kind of chat I will be able to give but to see a friendly face would be great.
If you would like to donate, all details on my charity and the attempt can been found at
www.justgiving.com/runwithmark
Thank you
Mark
Cycling – 50 miles / Rowing 90 miles / Hiking 20 miles – Within 36hrs
The weekend was incredible, I was nervous about what to expect as I wasnt really experienced in any of the disciplines but I am always talking about going out of your comfort zone so I thought I should taste some of my own medicine.
Friday 9am I was met by Edinburgh Personal Trainer Kyle Faningham , Kyle is based at Edinburgh’s Factory Gym and had been a great lad at the training day in Wales. We were waiting in St Andrews Square for Mark Beaumont to arrive from Perthshire.
The plan was to meet at 9am, head to the team HQ in Wales and meet the rest of the team. We left Edinburgh at around 9 30am and took the Biggar road towards England.
When we arrived at HQ there was nobody there, we had come from furthest away and were first to arrive, we managed to get access after getting a code for the front door from expedition manager Margaret Bowling.
We settled down and waited for the rest of the team to arrive. Once everyone was settled we had dinner and prepared our kit for the next 48hrs.
Team Briefing
A team briefing from Nate Fulcher and there was nothing left to do but go to bed and hope for a peaceful sleep.
Saturday 9th July 6am – The alarm went off and the place sprung to life, everyone was clearly excited and eager to get on with the challenge. We loaded up the support vehicles with the bikes and were on the road to Holyhead at 7 20am.
We boarded the Ferry to Dublin and tried to get some sleep, it would be a three hour crossing to Dublin so it was important that everyone tried to rest.
The Start
In Dublin we were driven to the start line (cant remember where that was) Everything David had worked towards came down to the next 36hrs, from my own experience in organising large events im sure it must have been a very special moment for him.
The plan was to cycle the 45 miles to Arklow in 3hrs, the reality was different. Busy roads out of Dublin and some navigational problems meant it took longer than expected to hit the coastal road. After a tricky opening 10 miles it all fell into place, we made it to the coastal country roads and settled into a steady pace. Twenty miles went by in no time. I was surprised at how difficult I was finding the cycle but I reminded myself that it was not a race and getting to Arklow fresh was the main goal. With 40 miles done and 10 to go I was feeling it in my legs, I knew once I got to the boat I would be ok but it did concern me slightly.
We all finished at around the same time and the first crew board the surf boat while the rest of us took on some fluids and much needed food. We boarded the boat and were given a run through of the captains code of conduct while we were on board. Things can go wrong very quickly at sea and it was important to take this seriously.
View from the support boat
The cycle had taken 4hrs 15mins which meant we were already running later than planned, conditions on the Irish Sea the previous night had been terrible. We could only hope that they would improve for our crossing, they would have to.
Getting out of the harbour for the first team was difficult and given that Kyle, myself and another crew member Stuart were all novice rowers it was going to be tough.
The plan was for the support boat (a large fishing boat) to follow on ahead and the rowing team to follow it. I was in the second team to row and I was nervous, I had only previously been in a boat for about an hour and I didnt want to let anyone down. We stepped into the boat and began to row. The conditions were good for us, not much swell and plenty of moments where the sea was glassy. My team were fantastic, Jum Houlton, Philippa Capel, David Bedford and sweeper supreme Justin Scholes. The sweeper has a hugely important role, not only does he steer the boat but he keeps the team together and in time, what ended up happening was that Justin coached me all the way across the Irish Sea for 21hrs and basically taught me how to row. The fact that I had such a strong team in my boat definately helped me, keeping in time with Philippa was easy because every one of her strokes was perfect.
We finished our first shift and worked out that our next one would be at midnight, we went below deck to try and get some sleep, something I would try to do but never really manage.
Our midnight shift came, it was cold but the sea was calm, the RIB took us out to the rowing boat and we swapped teams over, once the support team left us alone the feeling was something that will stay with me forever, we were alone in the Irish Sea, in the pitch dark, crossing the water on our own strength. Its always special being part of a team but the feeling of counting on each other in the middle of the sea, at night was very special. From rowing in a team I can tell you that I havent experienced such a team bond in any other sport, you are absolutely dependent on each other, if your not in sync, your not going to go anywhere.
Below deck - for 15 people
When our third shift came around nobody wanted to get up, not that we were negative but I think each and every one of us were tired and cold. We went to the RIB, swapped over with team 1 who had finished their shift and began rowing. I could tell that everyone was tired as nobody said a word for the first 30 minutes. Justin soon piped up and gave us a boost and we began working in tandem to make good progress. The strange thing is, at the end of this hard shift we had rowed 9 miles in 90 minutes, our biggest mileage yet, we just got on with the job.
The time was around 7am and we were on for our 4th and what we thought might be final shift. It was a beautiful morning with perfect conditions, the more experienced members of the team had been saying how we could have attempted this crossing 100 times and only once had conditions as good as this. We all felt very small out there in the middle of the water and very greatful that the Irish had allowed us to cross so far without issue.
We had noticed something black off stroke side earlier in the evening, we were sure it was a dolphin but couldnt get a good view to be certain. Once our 4th shift was over we all settled down on deck, it was a beaufitul morning, Olga, who was in crew 1, suddenly screamed! Oh no, whats happened I thought, “dolhpins!”.
We all raced to the front of the boat and seen a pod of dolphins jumping and leaping from the water, clearly playing with each other. I joked that the dolphins had been with us since we first seen them in Wales and had given us safe passage over the sea, it was meant as a joke but after I said it, the thought of that made me happy so thats the story im sticking to.
We could see land by this point and we were flying towards Porthmadog. With 9 miles to go it became clear that my team would be the one to bring the boat home, I couldnt believe it, I felt very lucky but at the same time tired! We had been on the boat for over 19hrs and had 2hrs or rowing left to do. The entire team had worked incredibly hard and we wanted to finish it strongly.
We began rowing in the hot sun, the atmosphere on the boat was special, we had all came together as more or less strangers and now we were bound together through one common goal. We got closer and closer to the finish and were met by Porthmadog rowing club who one of the crew members Sarah Medcalf rows for. Upon arrival there was a lot of support to greet us, I especially felt happy for David, he had worked on this for close to a year and was seeing it all come true before his very eyes.
In Porthmadog
We docked in the harbour and lapped up the glory, Margaret met us with bacon sandwiches, some of us had showers, we had been on the go for 27hrs now.
I had always looked at the climb as the lap of honour, I dont know why, it just seemed so easy after the crossing. In fact after all the dust had settled on the challenge, I would look back and have to say that the walk was the hardest part, followed by the cycle then the row!
We started walking towards the foot of Snowdon, it was 10.5 miles, I wanted to run this part but after all that we had done it was probably wise that we didnt. It was a glorious day and the team moral was high, there was a constant chatter between us all, if we didnt know each other at the start, we certainly did now. There is something special about being a team, no matter if its two of you or fifty, going through something together and seeing off hard times brings you very close.
After 10.5 miles we reached the bottom of Snowdon, the highest moutain in Wales. We took on some final food and drinks then set off, I walked a large part of this with my assigned buddy Jim, i was fascinated at how he had rowed the Atlantic (as had two other members of the crew, nutters!). Jim was also a vet, as an animal lover we had a lot to talk about. I had left Jim sleeping on the crossing and had acquired a beer fine because of it. We bascially had to wake poor Jim up, drag him from bed, literally 30 seconds after waking up he was on the RIB heading to row.
Views from Snowdon - nearly at the top
The climb really started to get steep and the legs began to bite, I think everyone was feeling it at this point. We reached the point at Snowdon just before the final ascent to the top, this is the part people say you have to scramble, it wasnt really that bad but it was steep.
We kept safe distance between each other and began making our way to the summit. While rowing we had seen the sun set and rise, now we wanted to make it to the top of Snowdon to see it set again on the Irish Sea. Sunset was 9 40pm and we made it up in time to see her set.
We made it! Top of Snowdon
The total time of the challenge was 33hrs 17mins.
WE MADE IT!
Panton cooling off at the top
So this weekend its The Trip to Remember
A 150 mile journey within 36 Hours, three disciplines.
Cycling 45 miles – Rowing 95 miles – Hiking (running) 15 miles
I signed up to this trip a couple of months ago, the thought of doing a challenge at sea has always appealed to me but the distinct possiblity that I would probably kill myself always put me off.
The chance to join an experience team felt too good to be true and I deicded the same day upon hearing about the challenge from Ocean Rowing legend and Aussie, Margaret Bowling that I would do it.
Any now its this weekend, where does time go?
I am leaving Edinburgh for Wales on Friday with Mark Beaumont and Kyle Farningham. We will travel in Mark’s car and arrive early in the evening, meeting up with the team and taking over our villa. (complete with Jacuzzi)
We will start the challenge on the Saturday, hopefully a good nights sleep, although I tend to struggle sleep wise before a big race so Im pretty sure the thought of rowing the Irish Sea will keep me up all night.
Hopefully we will cycle from Dublin to Arklow, row 95 miles of the Irish Sea and then depending on time either Hike/Run 15 miles through Snowdonia National Park to the top of Snowdon.
For more info on the challenge visit the official website for the event which is at the top of the page. We will try to tweet during the weekend with updates, follow @runwithmark and @triptoremeber for info on that.
The countdown begins!
Training Weekend
Carrying the Olympic Flame will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The Torchbearers will help to shine a light on the best of their communities, as well as having their own moment to shine… Here’s a typical day in the life of a Torchbearer…
You wake up in the morning and you’re excited: today’s the day. You have your uniform, you know your position, you’ve told all your friends and family. You leave early so you have plenty of time to reach your pick up location. With closest family and friends alongside, you head off for an experience you will never forget.
As you near the pick up location, you see the other Torchbearers milling around – you start to feel nervous. There are media interviewing people, and the Torch Relay crew are making sure everything runs smoothly.
You easily spot the Torchbearer shuttle bus and get on. As it sets off, the briefing session starts and helps to relax you: the details about how to handle the Torch and how the whole Relay works are pretty straightforward.
Then you’re given the Torch you’ll be carrying. You’ve seen others carrying it in the coverage of the Relay on TV… now you’ve got your own.
You get chatting to some of the other Torchbearers, they’ve got some amazing stories to tell. You tell them what taking part in the Relay means to you too.
Before you know it, you have arrived at your allocated position. You get off the bus and wait. The crowd is excited to see you – they’ve read about you on the website and know you’re something special. They chat to you and want to have their photos taken with you. A motorcyclist appears and helps you into position.
A Torchbearer appears and is moving towards you. As they approach you feel the excitement building…your Flames meet… your Torch is alight.
It is your moment to shine.
You set off with the Flame, with your escort runners beside you. You can hear the cheers of the crowd – it’s overwhelming…
There is a vehicle up ahead – it seems like a hundred cameras are filming you. After a while you start to relax and enjoy the experience. Up ahead you can see your family waving excitedly. Another Torchbearer is waiting for you – they look as nervous as you were when you started. You exchange the Flame and cheer them on. Without realising, someone gently guides you off the road (so the convoy behind doesn’t run you over).
After greeting your family you are picked up again by the shuttle bus. As the rest of the Torchbearers get on the bus you can’t wait to exchange stories about your experience.
You arrive back at the original pick up point, everyone disperses and make their way to the evening celebration site. You want to be with the people that have shared that incredible moment with you. You just want that exhilarating feeling to last forever. You have a story to tell – of a most precious moment in history…
Source – London 2012 website
Its the West Highland Way Race this weekend and I am very excited about it.
This will be my first time taking part in the race and my aim is to complete it in under 24hrs. Even though I have set this time I am not applying any pressure and will not be too disappointed if I go over this estimate.
The race is definately going to be the highlight of my running year, I rememeber watching a programme in 2009 about the race on The Adventure Show and thinking that these people must be insane. I had not run a marathon distance or ultra at that point. I think ive run over 80 marathon distances and 5 or 6 ultras since then, amazing how times change.
My only other experience which I can draw on for the WHW race is my 100 mile battle with Hadrian’s Wall in July 2010. I finished that in 16hrs 59mins, I remember the pain for the last 6 miles all too well! As usual though now looking back all I am left with is pride and happy memories of finishing.
So to everyone running this weekend, good luck, look after each other (and me) and start slowly
I would like to thank my support crew in advance as without the team I wouldnt be able to compete, its going to be quite an adventure for us all im sure.
Mark
Louise at the Highland Fling
Before the d33 Ultra this year I was sitting having breakfast before the start of the race and got chatting to a few fellow runners who were enjoying their pre race meal. After the race I found out that one of the runners names was Louise, aka on Twitter as @goodonskis
We added each other on social media and began chatting about my blog, Louise sent over a copy of her training plan for the d33 and I was so impressed with it I decided to put it up on the blog, so here it is……
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Below are some of Louise’s tips as well…..
D33 Training Notes
Notes and Tips
Stick to the plan man, you may wish and think you can do longer earlier on, but you’ll just burn out and the longer runs become strained.
Race Day is here!!!!
Enjoy every minute, you have put it all the hard work, it’s now time for all systems go, go, go!!
If I was going to do it again…
