Going long and staying strong

Isn't it funny how time flies when you are busy. I can't believe it has been so long since my last post. It seems that since Grantham and the 50 miler with Helen, everyone has been in touch and seeking advice and guidance with their training.
I get so inspired by peoples enthusiasm and hunger for knowledge, and their impatience to get on with their goals.

Urgency has been the theme from most of those going into the Sahara for this years Marathon des Sables, and last minute challenges from injuries and rethinking food strategies has been the regular theme of those seeking advice.

I had a pleasant surprise when an old school friend got in touch having been inspired by posts on Face book and having heard of our exploits in Cumbria helping Helen to do her 50 miler.Tony Hoskins was always a good runner in his younger years and I remember running a half marathon with him in Germany too long ago! He finished ahead of me I recall. Anyway I got a call from him after hearing of Helen's exploits on the local radio station, and he is now on his way to regaining his fitness, and full of determination. It seems she has inspired many people. Keep it up Tony, you can do it!

Mike Shakesheff was responsible for the greatest challenge though. An invitation to consider a long run lead to us doing a 42 miler with a twist.

We met at Helmsley at 01:00 on Saturday morning and after a conversation with some bemused local policemen who thought we were "Going Equipped"... we set of for the night section of our run across the North Yorkshire Moores. It was a moonless night and after the great weather on Friday it was going to be very cold with no cloud cover. 5 and a half hours later we hit Osmotherly where we intended a quick food stop.

No sooner had I stopped running... I started shivering in the freezing cold frosty morning. The sweat was beginning to chill on my skin and as the blood began draining back to the body core my teeth began chattering much to Mike's amusement... until he started doing it too...we just laughed, and couldn't heat the water quick enough to get the hot food inside us. Fleeces were pulled on and teeth were still chattering 20minutes later having eaten and set off on the return run. The sun was up but not yet reaching down into the valley as we headed back up the valley to the tops..Mike was looking strong, and the pace was well balanced, so we reached the tops and into the sunshine for what became that best part of our run, back along the edge of the valley to Sutton Bank.

The views were stunning and the banter was great, as we discussed our up-comming challenge in Namibia
We burned 5280 Calories during our 42 mile run, a very challenging outbound night section and a very enjoyable retrun section in warm spring sunshine, saw us cover a total of 5807feet of ascent over the distance.

So we worked hard until the final 3 miles where we coasted back down into Helmsley and off home to a hot shower and some sleep.

I often get looks of amazement when people ask, "So what did you do this weekend?" And I often think...shall I just say "Oh nothing much really" but then again I think to myself, "Whats wrong with living outside your comfort zone? and I tell it as it is.

Life's little surprises and greatest senses of achievement lie just on the other side of your comfort zone, Life's too short not to experience it in full...push your boundaries a little... you never know what you might find, or who you might meet...you might meet the person in you that you learn to become proud of.
more later...see you soon

Pushing the Limits

Monday was Helen Skelton's chance to go way beyond her limits and set a personal record, as well as a Blue Peter presenters record as the longest single run achieved to date. 50 mile was the challenge, but with a twist!

It was an 04:30 start to fuel up with breakfast, and a short drive from the hotel to Helen's parents house. A quick cup of coffee later to fend of the chill, and we hit the road. Rory and Helen setting the pace Eric the producer and me leap frogging them as Eric put his "running backwards whilst filming" skills into practice. It was amazing to see how the shots were selected, and how the different angles brought perspective to the tracking shots. He did however fail to catch me going "A over T" and although my reflexes didn't let me down, my forward role through the slurry puddle at the side of the road had Rory and Helen in stitches and keeping well upwind of me for the next few miles.

This run was going to become a reference point for what Helen will face in Namibia, long, hard, energy sapping and mentally difficult to overcome. After a hilly 30 miles she was going to be subjected to 90 laps of Carlisle football ground to add the boredom factor. The film crew joined us as we climbed up out of Penrith along the A6, and the first of many roadside and mobile filming stations were set up.
Rory and Helen maintained the pace and I would spend the next 30miles overtaking them before the filming stations, so the crew could time their approach and catching them up as they held a strong pace.
Helen quite naturally had many questions about Namibia which we covered in detail, but it wasn't long before Rory and I we were back into taking the mickey out of each other and winding each other up at every chance we got, Helen got the hint pretty quickly and was way too good at it! I personally think she's spent too much time training with him! She has however learned one of the skills that will see her succeed in Namibia... a sense of Humour is a vital piece of your kit for ultra endurance events!

The 30 miles to carlisle passed easily, and the pace was moderated so well that we all felt fresh and ready for more, the prospect of 90 laps round a football pitch was softened for Helen when Friends and family began pitching up for a few laps with her. There were smiles and squeals of surprise, and tears of pride and amazement at what she was attempting to achieve. The rest of the Blue Peter Crew Joel & Andy turned up to put in some laps. So what did Helen learn from the day? Well, she now understands that her ability to succeed in Namibia will be dependant on her ability to maintain three disciplines...energy replacement, measured re-hydration, and a sustainable pace - measured by heart rate!

The rest will be down to guts and determination. As I was miked up to run 5 of the final laps with her for our piece on camera together, we talked on film for the TV programme on 14th April about what it will take to succeed in the Namibian Desert, and in answer to her question "How am I ever going to manage another 26 miles on top of the 50 I have just done?" I replied "Well it will be the same for everyone Helen..."It will only take everything you've got to give!"

That's extreme Ultra Running, but one thing is for sure... when its done... when the final mile is completed on sore and blistered feet, and the pain feels like it is never going to be over, there will be a second when the realization kicks in that the task has been achieved, the challenge was set the challenge was met and the goal was achieved.

When that moment arrives it will be heralded by, tears of joy and a deep sense of achievement and ear to ear smiles that will take weeks to wipe off.
as proof, let me ask you this... Does this really look like a woman who has just run further than she has ever done in her life? 50 miles of hard running, and just look at the smile....

She is one very courageous young woman, and a shining example to all her fans, the children who watch Blue Peter, she has also gained a new fan, as Lauren is now the proud owner of a signed Blue Peter album.


She has also gained the respect of both Rory and myself.


They will excuse me for sharing one more cliche here form our day together...


Winners never Quit and Quitters never Win..... Go Girl! see you in Namibia Helen!

Miles of Smiles...

The last weekend in February saw my own training taking a back seat as I embraced the opportunity to give something back.
Having organized the Grantham Canal Run with Rory, Saturday night was my chance to deliver a seminar on what it will take to succeed in both the Marathon des Sables and Namibian desert Ultra Marathons.
During Saturdays 29.3 miles along the Canal and Sunday's 29.3 return trip I marshaled and photographed some of the check points and took time to praise and encourage the efforts of the competitors, lifting spirits and challenging them to up the pace.

Amongst experienced runners there were also intermediate and novice runners many of them taking a reference for their very first Ultra Marathon.
Michael Shakesheff (pictured here looking fresh and strong) was one of three Namibian Desert Ultra competitors using the weekend to fine tune their training, Francis Jones and Nick Wright who are not pictured were also competing.

At 19:30 I took center stage and delivered a information packed seminar that was aimed at taking them right to the heart of the matter of surviving and succeeding in Extreme Desert Ultra Running events that are staged in some of the most challenging environments on the planet.
Amongst the subjects covered was the psychology of overcoming pain and fatigue, coping with and treating blisters in order to succeed, Hydration -"The Key to Success", in Desert Running, and of course Food and Energy replacement.

The team of Sports Scientists from Lucozade Sports Drinks delivered a scientific version of the Hydration theme, and all in all the night was a great success. At 23:45 long after the competitors were tucked up in bed, Rory and I finalized the Race Results and posted them to the web along with photographs of the event. We retired to our room for Pot Noodle snacks to boost our carb levels, and get some rest before the long Sunday ahead of us!

I didn't escape the weekend without any training benefit though... Rory was determined to subject me to some enforced Sleep Deprivation training... 2 and a half hours of snoring later at almost 3am he finally relented and I drifted off to blissful sleep until the alarm went off at 06:00. It was going to be a long day!
You can imagine my comments when I found him catching some zzz's at one of the checkpoints as Amanda checked in the runners... It must be an age thing!!! Only joking we staged this to wind up the checkpoint teams... we do like to have fun! :)

For me however the day was all about encouraging the the competitors to push themselves beyond their comfort zones and onwards towards another milestone of achievement in their race CV's.

There were smiles and tears of elation as they received their finishers medals, and shocked looks of surprise when they inspected their tired and sore feet, a few of them had new "Badges of Honour" to show their family and friends... the proof that they had earned their medals!





"When you have run 20 miles on top of having blisters... you'll never think about blisters the same way again"

more later, see you soon.