How I got myself into this mess!

Well, 69 miles, where to start? At the beginning I guess.

I’m not what I would call a runner, I go for runs as part of my general fitness routine and I’ve done a few events for fun or for charity but I don’t really train for running. My running career so far includes a few 10k’s, 2 Hell Runs and 3 half marathons and one of those took three hours and I was carrying a car!

I decided 2013 is the year to step up to do a full marathon, but having enjoyed the Brooks Hell Runner events in Delemere forest in 2010 & 2011 I decided to look for an off-road/trail marathon rather than a bog standard road run. This search then overlapped into the intimidating but exciting world of ultra running (basically any event longer than the traditional 26.2 mile marathon). There are loads of events on all through the year, many more than I thought there would be, meaning there must be loads of people out there pushing themselves along some ridiculous distances. So why not me? The more I looked, the more I got sucked in! Then late on Sunday 10^th March after a frustrating hour with a very slow laptop I managed to get myself registered for the Wall Ultra Run June 22^nd 2013. A one day, 69 mile route along the iconic Hadrian's wall from Carlisle castle to Gateshead Millenium bridge. I decided to raise money to support the events partner charity Cancer Research UK, not only as it’s a great cause but because knowing that people were sponsoring me for charity might serve as extra motivation somewhere down line when I start wondering what I’ve got myself into! So that was it I got my just giving page set up (www.justgiving.com/runchinmanrun)  and let the world know what I was doing through the magic of social media!

 

Whilst travelling recently I read a book by Haruki Murakami called What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, a Jazz bar owner turned novelist and oh yeah, Ultramarathon runner! The book was a deep philosophical look at what running was as part of his life and how his approach to running reflects him as man. It was made up of essays he’d written as a sort of running diary over several years and this inspired me to have a go at putting down some of my thoughts about running. So this blog is to share my experience with anyone else who makes the amazing decision to enter an ultra run and also as a personal diary to look back on and enjoy in the future. It probably won’t be very deep or philosophical, I’ll mostly be talking about how much I’m suffering, but I also hope to share bits about my planning my training schedule, what sort of kit I’m using, what I’m eating and drinking (besides beer) and what some of my favourite running music is, along with any random insights about running that pop into my head.

 

I’ve got 14 weeks to go to the big day and I’m hoping to upload something every week, I have no qualifications as a running coach and everything I write is based on my own experiences and feelings so don’t take any of this as advice, I’m just doing what feels right for me!